ALS Ice Bucket Challenge: $80m raised for charity and 2 deaths

Many celebrities have taken up the challenge, including
George Bush, Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift

The ALS has taken the internet and the world by storm. Millions of youtube videos of celebrities and people taking on the challenge have helped raise $80m in one month and a great deal of awareness, for the ALS Association. The charity leads the way in global research and providing assistance for people who suffer from the disease.

The fund raising campaign is in the spotlight, however what many people fail to notice is that the Ice Bucket Challenge can be potentially deadly. A Scottish teenager, Cameron Lancaster at 18 years of age, died while undertaking the challenge and jumping into a flooded quarry. This demonstrates the dangers of cold water.

 Cold shock response is the first thing experience when coming in contact with cold water, and completely destroys people's ablity to hold their

Cameron Lancaster, 18, died while performing the Ice Bucket
Challenge and jumping into water

breath, putting them at risk of drowning. The way cold water is dangerous even without submerging in it, is when you're holding your breath and cold water comes in contact with you face. A 40 year old man from New Zealand also died from the challenge of a heart attack.

 ALS stands for Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis- also referred to as motor neurone disease (MND). It is a progressive neurodegenerative disease. It affects the
nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord Its symptoms are muscle atrophy, muscle spacicity, difficulty swallowing, breathing and speaking. It is the most common of the five motor neuron diseases.

 In 1939 it ended the career of Lou Gehrig, a legendary New York Yankees player, who was 36 years of age and at the peak of his career. He died two years after his diagnosis, in 1941. ALS is also sometimes refered to as Lou Gehrig's disease.

A safer way to perform the challenge is by tucking
you head into your shoulders 

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