After A Gynecologist Saw The Latest TikTok Trend, She Released A Stark Warning

Those lip-syncs on TikTok may look a little silly, but they’re innocent enough. No, what you have to watch out for – particularly if you have impressionable young people in your life – is the challenges. While some are A-OK, others can be downright dangerous.

On the face of it, TikTok doesn’t look too bad. If you have kids, you’ve probably seen them looking at funny videos, new dances, or gaming clips on the app. Pretty harmless stuff, really! But it’s not the regular, everyday videos you have to worry about.

Take the hot-pepper challenge, for instance, which involves the participant filming themselves eating a scotch bonnet, ghost pepper, or habanero. While the heat from spicy peppers can be hard to deal with, you’ll probably survive the ordeal without any injuries.

Now, the Ice Cube Challenge – the one the gynecologist was talking about – is even weirder than that. But it’s the weird fads that usually grab the most attention. And this particular challenge has got a whole lot of attention – enough for some folks to attempt to try it out.

But this isn’t the first time young people have taken part in strange challenges online in the hope of getting extra likes or views. Remember the Tide Pod Challenge craze? Yes, that gross one where kids eat – or pretend to eat – Tide Pods.

It may have started because Tide Pods look a bit like candy. They’re definitely not tasty, though – or good for you! And YouTube seemingly exploded with videos of teenagers who appeared to eat the pods – though, thankfully, most were just pretending.

According to the political magazine New Statesman, Tide Pods were only ever eaten by 86 young adults. Still, many more participated in the charade. And as the gynecologist did with the Ice Cube Challenge, Tide Pods’ owner, Procter & Gamble, warned everyone against taking part in the craze.

That’s because consuming laundry detergent can, of course, be deadly. But the dangerous fun didn’t end there. The Shell-On Challenge circulated on Snapchat in 2019. And while it wasn’t as lethal as the Tide Pod Challenge, it’s still not something you’d want your kids taking part in.

What do you have to do in the Shell-On Challenge? Basically, eat something without removing its outer shell. Usually, that meant chowing down on a banana or an orange, skin and all. But some kids took the dare a bit further.

That inedible packaging around crackers or a Twinkie counted as a “shell,” too. Yes, even if the product was wrapped in plastic or cardboard, it got eaten in its entirety – or so it seemed, anyway. But there was a twist.

Even when folks filmed themselves biting into packaged foods, their videos typically ended right there. Any chewing and swallowing were left entirely to the imagination – even with harmless unpeeled fruit. Phew! But some people may actually be doing the Ice Cube Challenge for real.

Don’t get it confused with the Ice Bucket Challenge, though! Remember that? Back in the day, folks taking part in the challenge dumped buckets of iced water over themselves to raise money for ALS. And it worked. Apparently, more than $220 million was donated towards the cause.

So, yeah, the Ice Bucket Challenge and the Ice Cube Challenge are two very different things. One’s a harmless way of promoting awareness for a deadly disease. The other is a dare that may get you sent to the emergency room – or so that gynecologist says, anyway.

And you probably won’t see celebrities promoting the Ice Cube Challenge, either! Not like they did the Mannequin Challenge, anyway. Yes, we’re talking about that time when seemingly everyone was standing still in poses that made them look like department store dummies.

You probably saw sports teams from the NFL doing the Mannequin Challenge. Adele, Taylor Swift, and Paul McCartney also took part. Yes, that Paul McCartney! Even he’s not averse to having a bit of fun sometimes.

These challenges all came before TikTok, however. In fact, you’re unlikely to see someone just standing still on the app! TikTokers are dancing, lip-syncing, and acting out skits like nobody’s business. And because the app is so popular, it’s no wonder that celebs have got in on the action.

Reese Witherspoon invited her son onto a TikTok video so that he could explain the platform and its purpose to her. The mother and son have since posted a clip of them taking on a dance challenge together.

Then there’s Will Smith. And his first post was pretty neat! The actor collaborated with FX guru Caleb Natale to make it look as though he was being snatched out of a phone and put down in a room. A dazed and confused Smith then said, “I guess I’m on TikTok now.”

One star even started a challenge of her own. After her Super Bowl half-time show with Shakira, Jennifer Lopez asked her TikTok followers to recreate a snippet of the medley she performed on stage.

When even celebrities are encouraging young people to take part in challenges, it can be hard to resist. And like anywhere where kids congregate, there can be a certain amount of peer pressure on TikTok. Do the latest cool thing or risk missing out – and being very uncool as a result.

When peer pressure is an influence on participating in these viral challenges, it can be hard to say no. And an engaged audience can sometimes add an extra level of thrill to completing the dare. It may even result in more followers and likes – particularly when a given craze catches on and goes viral.

And you should definitely beware of the Ice Cube Challenge. While it started off innocently, it eventually took a pretty dicey path. So much so, that when a medical professional caught wind of what was going on, she felt she had to speak up.

To begin with, the Ice Cube Challenge involved TikTok users placing pieces of ice in their bodies – their ears or mouths, for instance. Then they had to film their reactions. But some female users have taken the idea to its furthest extreme.

You may have guessed it, but for some, the Ice Cube Challenge has become, well, X-rated. Yup, some women on TikTok have apparently been inserting pieces of ice into their vaginas. Eek! It hurts just to think about it.

There’s something else you should know, though. Remember we said that part of the challenge was to film the whole thing? If you’re putting an ice cube... well, down below... you’d assume that means showing it all. And we mean all.

Thankfully, nothing X-rated is allowed on TikTok. Only the girl’s reaction is filmed! So, maybe there’s some acting going on. Perhaps it’s just like the Shell-On Challenge, where folks just pretended to do it. Well, maybe. You see, there’s evidence women are doing it for real.

No videos ever show what happens down below, but some of the women’s neck-up reactions seem too expressive to seriously doubt. And just like the risky stunts that came before the Ice Cube Challenge, some medical professionals are concerned about how far participants are taking the dare – and what they’re saying about it.

If you believe what these women are telling their followers, then the ice will help tighten your downstairs. Other influencers have suggested that these ice cubes can help infections — they claim that the cold has some kind of holistic benefit. But these claims are so far-fetched that gynecologists have felt the need to respond. Of course, there's no guarantee that the general public will listen to their doctors instead of a viral health trend. Still, some medical professionals felt that they at least had to try.

Gynecologist Staci Tanouye hijacked the Ice Cube Challenge hashtag – and she explained how potentially dangerous the trend could be. The doctor explained how using ice cubes externally was fine, particularly as she advocates only washing with water anyway. But the difference in acidity levels between water and the vagina could be a real problem for intimate health.

Fellow gynecologist Dr. Jennifer Lincoln agreed. She’d seen some of the claims that TikTok users had been making about the personal use of ice cubes. And, she, too, used the Ice Cube Challenge trend to address the myths some girls were perpetuating.

Dr. Lincoln said, “Ladies, it’s two o’clock in the afternoon, and you’re bored and you haven’t left the house in a week. You want to put an ice cube in your vagina. Sure, that’s fine.” Hold on, though, as she wasn’t advocating the challenge. She wanted to debunk a few misconceptions doing the TikTok rounds.

First up, Dr. Lincoln spoke up about ice being used in the bedroom during foreplay. While some criticized the practice, it certainly had its fair share of fans. And to that, the gynecologist’s response was, essentially, “Hey, girl, whatever gets you off.” You should always take care, though, as ice cubes can have sharp edges — even if they start out nice and smooth, the cubes can become sharper as they melt. You definitely don’t want cuts down there. But that technique was on the tip of the iceberg, so to speak, for Dr. Lincoln.

Dr. Lincoln had also seen people claiming that the Ice Cube Challenge could help with mental health issues. And she wanted to debunk this myth, too. The expert said, “According to what I’ve seen on TikTok, girls are claiming that it helps with depression and anxiety. No, it don’t!”

However, while ice cubes in themselves won’t cure mental health issues, self-pleasure could help. Yep, that's exactly what the experts are talking about. According to the medical website Healthline, “Masturbation has many positive benefits, including stress relief, better mood, and greater relaxation.” Even so, don’t expect the Ice Cube Challenge — or a bit of self-gratification, for that matter — to be a miracle cure for depression. Mental illnesses of this sort are so complex that we're still trying to fully understand their triggers and impacts. Boiling down your mental well-being to such a simple solution won't do you any favors in the long term.

What about the next claim Dr. Lincoln addressed? She could not possibly ignore the one that claimed that ice cubes can cause the vagina to become tighter. And you won’t be surprised to hear that she brushed off this one, too. She even expressed some disbelief that people would actually buy into this idea. The gynecologist didn't mince words when she said, “How? [Ice is] not going to freeze it into a tighter shape.” That set the record straight on that old wives' tale, and yet the batty ice theories kept coming from the dark corners of the internet.

TikTok users were also saying that ice cubes can treat warts. To this claim, Dr. Lincoln simply said, “It doesn’t do any of that.” While freezing regular warts can be a method of removing them, doctors use liquid nitrogen for the treatment. And liquid nitrogen is way, way colder than ice.

Dr. Tanouye also chimed in to address the myth that ice could help treat health problems down below. She reminded people that water has a neutral pH value of 7, while the vagina has a far more acidic pH of 4. And if that acidity is altered, it could leave women more prone to infections rather than curing them. The medical professional said, “If you’re doing [the Ice Cube Challenge] for pleasure, by all means, that’s fine. But don’t do it regularly to try to treat anything.”

Dr. Lincoln’s final words? “I think ice cubes are great. For drinks and smoothies, that sort of thing. [But] let’s not forget in pre-school when Johnny stuck a bead up his nose. And then Timmy did it because he thought it was cool. And next thing you know, Billy’s in the ER because he’s got two beads stuck up there. Let’s just stop and think before we do crazy stuff.” We agree.

At least there’s an upshot to the challenge. Dr. Lincoln and Dr. Tanouye’s viral vids have helped tell their followers what not to do. They’ve cleared up myths and are using TikTok as a fun way to educate girls on feminine health. See, TikTok isn’t so bad after all!

And if you’re looking for a medically approved way to improve your mental and physical wellbeing, then it’s not ice you need – but warm water instead. Apparently, incorporating a glass of heated H2O into your morning routine could significantly benefit your health.

The most common water-related rule of thumb suggests that you drink eight glasses of the clear stuff each day. But before you fill up your first cup with cool or even ice-cold H20, you really should read on. You see, it turns out that consuming warm water in the morning may actually do your body more good. And these are just 20 of the most surprising benefits to knocking back a tepid drink or two before breakfast.

Yes, a warm glass of water can soothe even the testiest of tummies. In general, drinking ample amounts of H20 helps flush out the small intestine; failing to do this, however, means the organ absorbs all of the fluids it can get – causing dehydration as a result. And without enough liquid flowing through the small intestine, bowel movement can therefore be affected.

So, proper hydration may just be the key to solving ongoing constipation issues as well as making it more comfortable and less painful to go. Hot water hastens all of these wonderful side effects, too, as it has been shown to break down food faster than cold or even warm liquid.

As the central nervous system encompasses both the brain and the spine, it’s naturally all-important to your day-to-day functioning. And a 2006 study by the University of California, San Diego, has found that the central nervous system may also control the body’s inflammatory responses, making it a huge player in conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis.

Thankfully, then, a glass of hot water in the morning can help keep that vital setup running smoothly, as H2O keeps everything lubricated. You see, proper hydration helps your brain, spine and other aspects of the nervous system respond accordingly, with the result being that you’ll likely end up feeling less achy and panicky as a consequence. Arthritis-related side effects could be put on pause, too.

While many of us know that pressed fruits and vegetables are good for detoxifying the body, fewer people realize that piping hot water can offer similar benefits. However, you’ll have to forego cups of H20 that are cold to warm if you want to start an internal detox session.

After all, drinking hot water will raise your body temperature. Then, as you start getting warmer, you may break out into a sweat. And as soon as those beads start to fall, you’ve successfully detoxed with the help of hot water alone. Sweat purges the body’s toxins and clears out pores to boot.

Stunningly, 75 percent of Americans suffer from chronic dehydration, according to a 1998 study by the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. In other words, there’s a good chance that you need to drink more fluids. And making a point to consume a glass of warm water in the morning can naturally get you on track to meet your daily requirements.

Now, when it comes to hydration, there’s no particular benefit to making sure you drink warm or hot water as opposed to the cold stuff. But as you’ll continue learning, warm water has ample benefits when sipped in the morning, so you may want to make your first pour a tepid one.

You may not know that you have poor circulation – especially because the condition has a varied list of symptoms. Some people may have tingling in their limbs, for example, while others may notice their joints swelling up. Regardless of how it shows itself, though, a lack of proper circulation can be a serious danger to a person’s health, so talk to your doctor if you think you may need a blood flow boost.

And, in fact, if you have poor circulation, your doctor could very well recommend that you drink a glass of warm water first thing in the morning. Why? Well, the clear beverage works as a vasodilator, which means that it encourages blood cells to expand and flow more freely. Then, with blood pumping properly, muscle aches and bodily pains may subside, too.

So many remedies exist to help women alleviate pain caused by their menstrual cramps – but not all prove to be winners. So, if you’ve already tried popping pills, using heating pads or relying on hormones to ease the ache, try sipping on warm water next time; you may be surprised by its effectiveness.

In actual fact, warm water can help with any kind of bodily twinges, as boosted circulation means muscles relax and pain reduces. When it comes to menstrual cramps specifically, though, a hotter than room temperature cup of H20 helps the stomach muscles to unwind, and this naturally helps curb the sometimes unbearable agony that arrives during that time of the month.

When you feel a cold coming, start drinking warm water as soon as the symptoms start, as proper hydration can help your body move mucus more quickly. Yes, while that may sound gross, the more fluid you knock back, the more “productive” your sneezes, coughs and nose-blowing will be.

And water in its warmest form – steam, that is – can help with sinus pressure, too. For one thing, the hot vapor can break up sinus clogs. In addition, if you apply a hot compress to your sinuses, you can help to diffuse the pressure that builds up there mid-infection. So, drink up, breathe in the steam and press a damp cloth to your face until you start to feel better.

Perhaps you’ve chopped off your hair only to wish it’d re-grow immediately. On the other hand, maybe you have trouble lengthening your locks regardless of how long you wait between haircuts. Either way, a daily hot water-drinking regimen can help to change all of that. That’s right: the heated beverage can speed up hair growth, too.

You see, sipping on hot water not only softens strands, but it also benefits them from the inside out. Basically, your hair is energized at its roots, and this can inspire it to grow once again. So, if you want a fuller mane, grab a hot mug full of water and drink up; you’re just a few mornings away from the ’do of your dreams.

Achalasia is a condition that affects the esophagus’ ability to push food from the mouth to the stomach. And those who have achalasia may feel as though they can’t always swallow food; instead, there may be the sensation that a meal is lodged in the throat rather than sliding smoothly into the stomach.

Researchers have found, however, that warm water stands as a potential solution to achalasia – even if they don’t know precisely why it works so well. And sipping a heated cup of H2O is apparently of particular benefit when paired with either an oily meal or a meat-centric dish.

Long before questions of water’s temperature came into the conversation, experts have known that the clear stuff can be a real boon in any weight-loss journey. With ample hydration, you see, a person feels more full, and that can help stall extraneous eating. Then there’s the fact that water helps push waste from the body while promoting the absorption of vital nutrients.

Things get even better when you swap cold water for a warm glass, though. According to Medical News Today, a 2003 study found that just heating up your water’s temperature could play a part in shedding those pounds. Apparently, downing a 99-degree glass of water pre-meal could speed up your metabolic rate by up to 40 percent.

Unchecked, high blood pressure can wreak havoc on a person’s body, as it strains everything from the heart to the brain. And some of the life-threatening conditions risked as a result of hypertension include strokes, kidney disease, heart attacks and aneurysms.

If you’re on a quest to cut your blood pressure, then, try sipping a glass of warm water each morning. This daily ritual should push salt from the body and thus dilute thicker blood to a thinner, freer-flowing consistency. Blood pressure levels could come down as a consequence, too – possibly preventing the scary conditions that a higher number could cause.

Of course, you can just drink warm water as it is in order to reap its many rewards. In the mornings, though, many of us are considerably keener on coffee. Yet there’s no need to necessarily swap your mug of joe for plain H20, as coffee made with warm water can in itself be a healthy option.

For starters, regular coffee consumption may can ward off serious diseases including cancer and Parkinson’s. In fact, there’s another benefit that goes hand in hand with that one: drinking coffee can help you live a longer life. How’s that for a pick-me-up?

Yes, tea also has a slew of benefits that you can deliver to your system first thing in the morning. And if you drop a tea bag or diffuser into hot water, let it steep and then sip, you may not only be protecting your teeth from damage, but you could also be warding off the threat of a stroke, liver disease and cancer.

Torn between tea and coffee? Well, you may want to choose the former if you prefer a lighter dose of caffeine; some herbal blends even come with absolutely zero caffeine in them. And while your traditional teas do give you that little boost, they still typically contain half the amount of caffeine to be found in coffee.

Dandruff starts to flake and fall from your scalp for a number of different reasons. Perhaps a new self-care product has caused dermatitis, which results in itchy, flurrying dandruff, or maybe you’ve failed to shampoo your hair enough – which in turn may end in cell accumulation.

But dandruff could also appear because of dehydration. After all, each speck is a bit of dead skin, and these tend to detach when you’re improperly hydrated. So, sip a glass of warm water every morning to help keep dandruff at bay – and get that liquid working for your scalp.

In 2011 the American Psychological Association realized something that we now know to be very true: stress had become a huge problem in the U.S. Or, as the organization’s report put it, “Chronic stress [which]… interferes with your ability to function normally over an extended period is becoming a public health crisis.”

With so many people feeling frazzled, then, it’s vital to have methods for alleviating that pressure. And one way to ward off your own anxieties is to fill a cup with hot water and start sipping. That soothing sensation helps cut stress, with this method applying to all hot beverages – from coffee to tea and beyond.

Yes, believe it or not: wrapping your hands around a warm mug of water could strengthen your social connections. And science has actually proven the importance of having chums to rely upon. Apparently, good buddies can help you live longer, sharpen your mind and keep your waist circumference down, among other benefits.

So, fortify these health-boosting bonds by drinking warm water in the a.m. How does that work? Well, University of Colorado Boulder research has found that subjects who clutched warm heating pads were more likely to choose gifts for friends instead of for themselves. Similarly, another part of the study revealed that a hot cup in hand helped people see others’ personalities in a kinder light.

Of course, most of us already take steps to protect our teeth from damage. Sometimes, though, brushing twice daily isn’t enough to maintain your pearly whites. You may have to be careful about what you eat and drink, too – and that’s precisely where our friend warm water comes into the conversation.

As it turns out, warm water is gentler on the teeth than cooler liquid – especially if your mouth contains any sort of dental restoration. You see, some materials used in fillings could react to the temperature of cold water by actually detaching from your teeth. By contrast, tepid H20 – not hot, as that’s also too extreme – protects your chompers in the long run.

Taking care of your skin isn’t just a topical job. Sure, you can wash your face daily, slather on moisturizers, lie under sheet masks or cut through oil with an astringent. But you should also consider fighting patches of bad skin with a big gulp of warm water.

Again, as hot water enters your body, it can boost your temperature and elicit a bit of sweat, and emptying your pores in this way helps clear your skin in the long run. Water also generally cleanses the body of toxins when it flows through our systems – meaning it could clear out the nasties that cause acne, too.

With a sip of cold water, you’re telling your muscles to contract. Sipping something warm, though, boosts blood flow to all of your body’s tissues. And this reaction feels something like a gigantic sigh of relief, as your once-achy muscles and joints should begin to ease back to normal.

Yes, while this list is all about the benefits of making drinking warm water into a morning ritual, it’s important to mention that nighttime beverages have their perks, too. Perhaps best of all, a glass of warm water before bed can help you ease into sleep ASAP. Plus, you’ll also feel fuller overnight – great news for all midnight snackers out there.

Although you may attempt to ward off the years by slathering on a bunch of anti-aging serums, creams and lotions, you could prevent the appearance of aging lines and wrinkles by reaching for a glass of warm water instead. The heated liquid in particular restores cells and boosts skin’s overall elasticity – which is what makes us appear youthful in the first place.

Warm water’s anti-aging properties don’t start and end with the skin, though. As previously mentioned, water performs a vital role in flushing toxins from the body. And if you don’t drink enough H2O, those accumulated toxins make it easy for your body to acquire illnesses and thus potentially age more quickly. So, drink up and don’t look back; warm water’s great for you now and forever.