More than a month after the Ice Bucket Challenge first swept across the globe, Russia's health and safety watchdog has issued a somewhat late warning to Russians "not to try this at home."
"[The challenge results in] very high levels of stress. Doctors don't recommend to take part," Anna Popova, a spokesperson for Rospotrebnadzor, told the TASS news agency on Wednesday.
Popova added that those wishing to participate in the challenge — which sees participants tip a bucket of ice-cold water over their heads in the name of charity — should prepare themselves for over a 21-day-period, allowing time for the body to acclimatize to the low temperatures.
The Ice Bucket Challenge went viral this summer with videos of the craze rampant on social-media news feeds and video-sharing website YouTube.
A number of celebrities, including U.S. actor Vin Diesel and television personality Seth Meyers even nominated Russian President Vladimir Putin to take part in the challenge, though the presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Lenta.ru at the time: "We've had other things on our agenda."
As a result of the Ice Bucket Challenge, U.S.-based charity ALS foundation — the charity most closely associated with the challenge — raised $115 million over summer, according to an online statement.
