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Dragon’s breath are corn balls filled with liquid nitrogen that are put into the mouth. Then the evaporated nitrogen is inflated, which has given the phenomenon its name: the dragon’s breath.
– Liquid nitrogen is very cold. When it evaporates, which happens very quickly at body temperature, a large amount of gas is formed. Then you post a video on how to put the balls in your mouth and blow them, says Christin Edmark.
It is mainly young people in their teens who buy the corn balls.
Swallowing corn balls can lead to life-threatening injuries as the liquid nitrogen turns into gas and expands within the body.
– Nitrogen expands to 700 times its own volume when it evaporates. There are cases where you have drunk liquid nitrogen in very small amounts and your stomach has exploded, says Christin Edmark.
Those who inhale larger amounts can also lose consciousness due to lack of oxygen and experience frostbite in the mouth and throat.
After having He drew attention to several cases in health, the Poisons Information Center now warns against corn balls. For confidentiality reasons, Christin Edmark does not want to go into exactly how many cases have been reported.
– But this has had very serious consequences in other countries where the phenomenon has grown. Because the risks are so great, a small number of cases is enough for us to go out and warn, he says.
So far, no one has received life-threatening injuries from corn balls in Sweden.
– No one has been close to death. However, you can have symptoms that have serious consequences, says Christin Edmark.
The phenomenon likely started in Asia and has since spread around the world, according to the Poison Information Center. The most popular trend was in the US in the summer of 2018, prompting the US Food and Drug Administration, FDA, to ban corn balls.
