The challenge of boiling water sends 8 people to the hospital during the polar vortex

Have you seen videos of people throwing boiling water in the air to watch it freeze instantly? This is the latest viral challenge and send people to the hospital.

In recent weeks, some parts of the United States have been affected by the polar vortex, which occurs when circulating winds from the North Pole move south and cause subzero temperatures.

To check how cold the weather was, people threw boiling water into the sky to turn it into tiny ice crystals.

Eight people who took part in the challenge were treated at the burn center at the Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

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The treated patients are aged 3 to 53 years and have been injured on the feet, arms, hands and face with varying degrees of burns.

A burn can penetrate into all skin layers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It can leave it charred with white, black or brown spots. Symptoms of severe cases may include persistent pain and redness, swelling, fever, blisters greater than two inches, or sweat. Doctors can treat burns with bandages, antibiotics or even tetanus bites.

The waterfall has not only affected those who throw the water. Witnesses were also affected. The water can repress and burn those who watch if a gust of wind suddenly came.

"We strongly warn people not to rise to the boiling water challenge," said Burns surgeon Arthur Sanford at LOSOLA Chicago. "There is no sure way to do it."

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