KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 (Bernama) — Those with high blood pressure should put a freeze on the global charity activity, the Ice Bucket Challenge.
Associate Prof Dr Zaleha Md Isa said the ice bucket challenge – a global charity activity involving pouring a bucket of ice water on the head which has become viral on social media – could be risky to those suffering from the health condition.
The public health researcher with the Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (PPUKM) said:
“Those with extreme medical condition like high blood pressure should avoid the ice bucket challenge.
“Studies have shown that those with high blood pressure risk their health by pouring ice water on themselves as the drastic body temperature change might trigger a response that will increase the blood pressure and may even worsen matters,” she told Bernama here today.
Dr Zaleha also suggested that clinical tests be carried out before organising this kind of challenge to study the adverse effects.
She nevertheless, noted that the ice bucket challenge was good because it created awareness of the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) disease worldwide, including among Malaysians, as the challenge was being organised to raise funds for this cause.
“There are many reasons why people do this (ice bucket challenge) in Malaysia…some for fun and some are really honest. It’s good if they doing it in the right way and for the right purpose.
“In the United Kingdom, it was reported that a teenagar died when he tried the challenge in a different way by jumping into the water,” she added.
The Ice Bucket Challenge is an activity involving dumping a bucket of ice water on someone’s head and organised to promote awareness of the ALS disease.
It encourages participants to donate to help patients and undertake research in that field.
In Malaysia, some of the leaders participated in the challenge, including Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin and Education Deputy Minister P. Kamalanathan.
— BERNAMA
