Welcome to Culture Clinic, MedPage Today's collaboration with Northwell Health to offer a healthcare professional's take on the latest viral medical topics.
The hit movie "KPop Demon Hunters" became a cultural sensation when it premiered on Netflix earlier this summer, sparking brand collaborations and sponsored products galore -- including branded instant noodles inspired by a sceneopens in a new tab or window in the movie where the main characters charge up to fight demons by chugging instant ramen.
However, some people on social media have been recreating this scene -- slurping down hot instant noodles after letting them soak in boiling water -- which doctors warn could be more dangerous than it looks.
"Adolescents are very impressionable and can see these social media trends and not understand the inherent risks involved with them," said Joseph Kaczmarek, MD, an emergency physician at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco, New York.
Some hospitals have issued warnings to parentsopens in a new tab or window about the trend, and while Kaczmarek hasn't seen an uptick in pediatric burn cases in his hospital, he said the most common pediatric burns that come through the emergency department tend to be scald burns. These are often from accidents involving hot liquid in the kitchen, like a kid knocking over a pot of water on the stove -- or a flimsy container of instant noodles.
Hot liquids are no joke, especially for young kids whose skin can be thinner than that of grown adults, increasing the risk of more severe burns. Not to mention the kids might not fully understand that hot liquids can be dangerous to them.
"So it's a combination of [them being] physically more prone to these injuries, and that their behaviors put them at increased risk of burns as well," Kaczmarek said.
He explained that anything over 130ºF can instantaneously begin to cause skin damage and that significant burns can happen in just a few seconds.
"The longer that your skin is exposed to that heat, the deeper the energy from the burn can travel and cause deeper tissue injury," Kaczmarek said. "The big issue with soup and noodles is that they hold heat and energy themselves, so after the liquid drains off, the noodles still have heat involved, and they tend to be really sticky ... and can continue to burn for a period of time afterwards, until they're removed."
In some ways, wearing clothing can protect the skin by mitigating the amount of hot liquid it comes in contact with. On the flipside, it also means the fabric has to be promptly removed to stop the burning.
Burn severity is categorized as superficial, partial thickness, or deep thickness -- nomenclature that has largely replaced first, second, and third degree. Most scald burns Kaczmarek sees in the emergency department fall into the partial thickness category.
Even if the hot liquid isn't spilled, just eating soup that's too hot can cause burns, and scarfing it down quickly can increase the risk of choking. The mucous membranes of the lips, tongue, and mouth are very sensitive to scald burns, Kaczmarek said. Unlike topical burns, which can be covered and treated, more internal severe burns can make it difficult to eat or drink and require hospitalization for IV hydration and nutrition intake.
With severe burns, emergency departments may refer the patient to specialized burn centers for care.
In the case of the "KPop Demon Hunters" ramen challenge and kitchen-related scald burns more broadly, the risk is more about kids not knowing any better, Kaczmarek said.
