The 'Skull Breaker' challenge may result in death

A new challenge on social media, The Skull Breaker, may result in head and brain trauma, according to online sources.

According to the New York Post "the viral stunt originated in Spain, and went viral on TikTok resulting in injuries across the U.S.

The death of a girl was reported on a social media posted by Dr. Adrian Wong.

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According to a post on social media by Dr. Nathan Richards, an internal medicine and pediatric specialist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, the Skull Breaker challenge can cause a variety of injuries to the head, neck and wrist, and can be fatal.

Common head injuries include concussions, skull fractures, and scalp wounds.

According to WebMD, head injuries are dangerous. They can lead to permanent disability, mental impairment, and even death.

Additionally, other types of Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are contusion, which is a bruise on the brain that can cause swelling, and a hematoma, bleeding in the brain that collects and forms a clot. A skull fracture is another type of head injury that can affect the brain. Sometimes with a fracture, pieces of bone can cut into the brain and cause bleeding and other types of injury, per WebMD.

According to Medical News Today, different types of skull fracture include:

• Simple fracture, where the skull fractures without damaging the skin
• Linear fracture, where the fracture is one thin line with no additional lines splintering from it and no compression or distortion of the bones
• Depressed fracture, where the fracture causes displacement of the bone toward the brain
• Compound fracture, where there is a break in the skin and a splintering of the skull bone
• Some skull fractures can cause bleeding or swelling in the brain, which can compress the underlying brain tissue and result in brain damage

Parents were urged by posts on social media to explain the "dangers of this challenge" and check their children for any signs of head trauma.

Pamela L. Bonner can be reached at 575-202-5555, 575-257-4102, Pbonner@Ruidosonews.com, @PamelaLBonner1 on Twitter and @Pam Bonner on Facebook.