IT’S the latest craze doing the rounds of Facebook and the ultimate challenge for Orange residents in the middle of winter.
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By taking on the ice water challenge some souls are cracking hardy being drenched in iced water posting it on social media, and all in the name of charity.
From solicitors to high school students, the challenge is being taken up and posted on Facebook with images of cold bodies standing in a bucket of iced water before being doused with a bucket of water.
However general practitioner David Howe says the trend to prank your friends by drenching them in ice water could have potentially fatal effects.
He said ice water should never be poured on someone’s head.
“The brain is an organ and when it rapidly loses heat the brain function slows down with a number of side effects including delirium,” Dr Howe said.
Dr Howe said anyone involved in the ice water challenge should be mindful a woman died in the northern hemisphere when she was drenched in ice water in summer weather much warmer than the temperatures in Orange at the moment.
“Immersion can certainly contribute as there is a reflex action which closes off the larynx and someone is unable to breath,” he said.
“I would not suggest anyone with cardiac or bad circulation problems try this,” he said.
CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO OF TOM DOING THE ICE WATER CHALLENGE:
He also said a person who has been doused in iced water should not rub their limbs to get warm.
“All this does is move the cold water around the body,” he said.
Dr Howe recommends anyone who has taken the challenge to dry off as quickly as possible and stay in a warm environment.
“You shouldn’t stand directly in front of a heater to warm yourself up again,” he said.
Emus rugby player Tom Goolagong took up the challenge after training on Tuesday night to raise funds for Westmead Hospital where his young cousin is receiving chemotherapy treatment.
“But the guys didn’t use ice - just cold water.
“It wasn’t too bad at first - you don’t feel it until after a few minutes.”
janice.harris@fairfaxmedia.com