Ice bucket challenge, safe or unsafe?

[Anonymous]

I am an Emergency Medical Responder and have experience with Fire/EMS.

I have been taught that extreme changes in temperature can cause shock and ultimately death.

Safe

Unsafe

[DeVhre]

I honestly think it's safe. I play in a ball tourney each year where the river next to the ball diamonds are glacier fed. Our team jumps into it every year. And for me when I watch people's reaction dumping some ice water on themselves (especially when the ice had just been added, and not given enough time to get cold) I just laugh and think people are playing it up for the camers.

[LaikaFreefall]

It's totally safe... In my home town every winter we do the "Polar Plunge" into a hole in the ice that we cut. There's all kinds of paramedics and what not standing by in case anything goes wrong, but nothing does.

Maybe it's dangerous if you're like 70+ with a bum ticker, but in general it's fairly safe.

[Anonymous]

Safe. People can see it as dangerous though because of dropping the bucket or the cold water doing something to your body. But it's suppose to give you the feeling of being paralyzed and not being about to use your arms and legs for that moment.

[smellyflowers]

I don't think they can get the water cold enough for it to be dangerous, the real danger is the dummies who drop the bucket on the head.

[TadCurious]

Scandinavians for ages have taken saunas and then run out into the cold, snowy weather to plunge into icy water. I don't think they would do that if it was that harmful. That said, someone with a preexisting heart condition, for example, might not tolerate it as well.

[Anonymous]

Safe to me. People do the polar plunge in winter and there's rarely an issue with that and that's way worse. And the people doing the ice bucket challenge are likely in healthy condition since they are doing that so I would guess it's very rare for something to happen

[kittykatg]

As long as you are somewhere warm and get out of your wet clothes/in to something dry quickly then you're fine.

[pr3ttybr0wn]

yeah its not safe at all. why can't these people just donate money

[aamy811]

Safe just use a small bucket and don't make the water too cold

[lumos]

Safe for most people. Obviously having a towel and dry clothes nearby is smart.

[neoagent1]

It's only unsafe if you watch the previous epic ice bucket challenge fail videos and you repeat setting yours up the same ways the failures did

[Anonymous]

Never done it but haven't heard it's unsafe either. Maybe google it?

[Jimrat86]

Stupid. Just donate money.

[kimshee]

Not. worse than. the ice salt challenge

[Anonymous]

I don't think that it's harmful

[Jcw98]

Did it myself

[Anonymous]

It is safe