What is dry scooping on TikTok? The dangerous trend explained

4 June 2021, 17:16

Holly Madison explains what Cheug Life means on TikTok

By Jazmin Duribe

Here's what you need to know about dry scooping on TikTok.

An OnlyFans model suffered a heart attack after attempting the dangerous new dry scooping TikTok trend.

Sadly, extremely dangerous trends and challenges sometimes make their way onto the platform. Recently, a 13-year-old girl landed herself in the intensive care unit with third-degree burns after attempting TikTok's Fire Challenge. Last month, a teen from Pakistan lost his life while being filmed by his friends for a TikTok prank. And in March, Joshua Haileyesus died after doing the Blackout Challenge on TikTok.

Briatney Portillo, 20, recently took part in the dry scooping trend and swallowed a spoonful of pre-workout powder before hitting the gym. She later ended up in hospital. But what is dry scooping, exactly? Here's what you need to know about the TikTok trend.

What is dry scooping on TikTok?

Dry scooping involves swallowing pre-workout powder, which is supposed to be mixed with water, before hitting the gym. It's not known who started the trend but it strangely it's caught on.

Pre-workout powders are meant to be ingested before your workout to enhance your performance. They usually contain amino acids, B vitamins, caffeine, creatine and artificial sweeteners, but quantities vary from brand to brand. Taking the pre-workout powder dry is supposed to make the energising effects even more intense, however, it can seriously affect your heart and blood pressure because of the high levels of caffeine.

Briatney now knows the dangers of dry scooping firsthand having suffered a heart attack shortly after doing the trend and now she's warning others. "After I took the pre-workout, I started to feel tingly and itchy all over my body, which wasn’t a good feeling, but I googled it and it said that was a normal side effect. ... So I began to do my workout," Briatney told BuzzFeed.

"I started to feel a heavy feeling in my chest and slight pain, but it wasn’t too bad. I thought it was maybe anxiety or a bad panic attack, so I decided to just ignore it and push through my workout."

Although Briatney's chest pain eased, she started to feel extremely nauseous and light-headed, so she decided to go home. Showering helped her symptoms so she headed to her job as an exotic dancer. "In the locker room of my job, I started getting hot, even though it was cold in there. I started sweating a lot and was drenched even though I was wearing a bikini," Briatney explained.

"Then my chest pain came back and this time it was more intense. The pain went to my back and to my left arm and my left arm went slightly limp, so I knew those were symptoms of a heart attack. I called 911 and the ambulance came."

After Briatney was kept in hospital overnight, it was found that she'd had an NSTEMI – a type of heart attack that's less damaging to the heart but is still considered a serious medical emergency. "They said to stay away from caffeine and watch what I take – especially pre-workout, since it isn't regulated by the FDA. They said I was OK to work out within 3-4 days after my hospitalization and to start watching my heart rate on either a Fitbit or a smart watch," she added.

She continued: "I just want people to be careful with what they're consuming. Just because you see it online, even if it’s 'fitness influencers' doing it, doesn’t mean it’s safe. Being young doesn’t mean we’re invincible."