TYLER, Texas — Tyler ISD said Tuesday three of its students were taken to the hospital and they blame a social media challenge.
It's called the "One Chip Challenge," where the goal is to eat a dangerously spicy chip made by a company named Paqui.
TISD is warning parents about the challenge because three middle school students went to the hospital after a bad reaction.
"We would just really like for parents and students to understand the severity of what these challenges can lead to," said Jennifer Hines, chief communications officer for TISD.
Eating one tortilla chip might sound harmless, but this is no ordinary snack.
The box contains the spicy chip and on the back there is a big red warning label saying to not eat it if you’re sensitive to spicy food. When you open it you'll see the dark blue chip wrapped in blue foil. The box also tells you what to expect when you eat it along with the rules of the challenge.
"We're highly concerned about this, because you can buy these chips at any convenience store," Hines said. "It seems like these days, it's very easy for kids to get their hands on."
CBS19 visited two convenience stores to find the chip.
The nearest store to a Tyler middle school was sold out, but the store where CBS19 found it was still within walking distance of a school.
So how does a spicy chip hurt you?
"Throughout your digestive tract you might feel burning or pain and it can be pretty severe after a short time," said Brett Christiansen, executive medical director at Marshall Medical Center. "Similar to what an asthmatic might have with bronchospasms."
TISD hopes that a part of its overall campus safety plan might help students protect each other by stopping them from attempting this challenge.
The school district recently launched a new app called Safe2SpeakUp. The app allows students to anonymously report unsafe activities on campus.
"This is one thing that they could do is they see somebody doing the 'One Chip Challenge,'" Hines said. "We can have some administrator step in and make sure that things are okay and that the children are not doing something that could harm them health wise."
The box the chip comes in has a label that says to seek medical assistance if you have difficulties breathing, fainting or extended nausea. Also inside the box was a paper saying "I crushed the Paqui 2022 One Chip Challenge.
It comes with a coupon for a free bag of the company's chips, which are much less spicy than the "One Chip Challenge" chip.