Ice Bucket Challenge pose minimal risks, focus on raising awareness on ALS

According to the Malaysian Integrated Medical Professionals Association (MIMPA) Assistant National Outreach Coordinator Dr. Rahmat Harun, the challenge is only risky for the elderly or those with extreme medical condition like diabetes.

“It does not pose much risk because it is only a moment of coldness over the head. It is something different from brain freeze that you get from eating ice-cream. Brain freeze happens when the coldness affect the core body temperature. The water and ice are also dumped from a distance so it won't affect the body temperature much.”

“However, those with an extreme health condition like diabetes, their bodies are not able to make the desired reaction due to the sudden coldness. This could cause shock their body and they could possibly faint,” explained the neurosurgeon.

Despite the minimal risk, Dr Rahmat does not encourage the participation of the challenge, unless they know the context to it.

“People are doing the Ice Bucket Challenge for fun and they’ve forgotten the reason behind it. They want to make it trending, but they forget the reason. Those in Malaysia might not even know about ALS.

“For example, our former footballer Datuk Mokhtar Dahari suffered ALS. If they are doing it to create awareness then it is okay,” he said.

ALS or Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease

The Ice Bucket challenge became viral in the United States when the friends of former Boston College baseball captain Pete Frates, who was diagnosed with ALS, challenged local athletes for the challenge.

It was to raise awareness on the disease and raise donations for research on the disease

The challenge went viral on social media with many Hollywood stars taking part in the challenge.

Singing sensation Justin Bieber did it twice, and he was one of the first to challenge Barack Obama, Elle DeGeneres and Chris D’Elia.

During the second try, he challenged all of his fans to participate in the challenge:

Other stars also took part in the fun:

Talk-show host Oprah Winfrey was challenged by friend Tyler Perry and her reaction was priceless:

In the world of technology, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg challenged Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

Gates was creative in his video presentation:

Sports personalities also supported this cause, with tennis ace Andy Roddick, Roger Federer dan football superstar David Beckham being soaked in ice water:

Beckham’s wife Victoria Beckham represented the fashion industry. She enlisted the help of her children:

Former US President George W. Bush was challenged by many Americans including his daugther Jenna.

In the video he said he would not do the challenge but would write a cheque as donation. However, his wife appeared with a dumped a bucket of ice water over his head and joked that the cheque is actually for her : In Malaysia, former national squash player Azlan Iskandar accepted the challenge, joining other prominent Malaysians in the challenge.

Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin looked cool when he was accepted the challenge. He then challenged Minister of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan, Minister of Tourism and Culture Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz and squash queen Nicold David.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng did his bid for charity as well:

Deputy Education Minister P. Kamalanathan also uploaded a video on his Facebook page: