Your Health Matters

I recently received an email from a dear friend from another state that told me about a mutual friend who had lost by accidental or suicidal death, her fourteen year old grandson. To me, the death of a grandchild is incomprehensible. I phoned my friend and after a lengthy dialogue of up and down emotions she pleaded with me to do everything in my power to educate parents, grandparents and children about "this dangerous thing" that children are (maybe) doing! I promised!

My research has shaken me. It also brought back the memory of a shocking incident from my own sixth grade experiences. (This incidentally was a long time ago!) It went like this: It was recess- we had a large playground area--the girls were in one area and the boys in another. The girls noticed something going on with the boys- from a distance- they had moved to the far corner of the playground and something didn't look just right to us girls! The boys made a circle around other boys who were doing something and then falling to the ground. Several of us decided that we should go tell the two teachers on duty- who were sitting on the front steps of the school. The teachers went straight away to check on our tattletale observation.

Upon their arrival to the boy's corner, there was extreme commotion. One of our classmates lay on the grass. Blood was smeared about his face and head and clothes- it was a gruesome sight. Upon quick examination by one of the teachers, she yelled, "Oh God, He's dead!" She sent me and another student to the principal's office to tell him what had happened. I can hear my mother to this day say, "Thank goodness your brother was home sick, for he would have been in the middle of it!"

If you haven't guessed what was going on- now's the time to tell you! They were playing the fainting game, also commonly known as the choking game, and this is a loose term that covers dangerous activities designed to induce a partial or complete loss of consciousness brought about by the intentional deprivation of oxygen to the brain for a period of time. There are two distinct methods used to achieve oxygen deprivation: strangulation and selfinduced hypocapnia. The boys were hyperventilating themselves (forced overbreathing) and then putting their thumb in their mouth and blowing real hard- they would pass out- often hitting their heads. This is what some of our classmates were doing right there on the playground! They didn't seem to have a clue just how serious this game that they were playing could turn out to be. If it doesn't kill you it can cause serious neurologic injury.

It would be about twelve years later when this so called "game" crossed my path again. I accompanied the doctor whom I worked with on a house call along with a policeman early one morning to find a sixteen year old boy hanging from his closet door with a dog collar around his neck- naked. I remember the policeman asking the parents if they wanted it listed as a suicide or accidental hanging. They chose suicide because they didn't want the world to think that they had a perverted son! The doctor explained to me later that this was a fairly common practice among male teenagers and some adult males - seeking a thrill. He said the term is "autoerotic asphyxiation, a practice of choking oneself during sexual stimulation. I was about 25 years old and I'd never heard of it! He said, "You just didn't know what to look for, and you can figure at least 50-75 percent of hanging suicides are really playing the choking game."

It wasn't until 1995 that the CDC really took notice and actually started keeping track of the deaths for what they really were! (86 percent were male with the mean age 13.3) The game is also known as the "blackout game," "pass out game," "scarf game," "space monkey" and many more- all over the world! Most of the time it is played with a friend who can make sure the person comes back around! The extreme danger is when it is played alone! Now, kids can go on the internet and get all kinds of instructions on how to play it!

Few of the parents of children who died had been familiar with the choking game. Parents, educators, and healthcare providers should learn about the choking game and be able to recognize any of the following: bloodshot eyes; marks on the neck; frequent, severe headaches; disorientation after spending time alone; and ropes, scarves, and belts tied to bedroom furniture or doorknobs or found knotted on the floor and dog collars. PLEASE Google on this subject (choking game, etc.) and get much more detailed information.

Claudia Parks, RN, is a former doctor's office and emergency room nurse and retired as an educator from Fulton County Schools. She writes Your Health Matters as a public service; the information here is designed to help you make informed choices about your health. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of your physician. Claudia and her husband make their home in the beautiful north Georgia Mountains. Claudia can be reached at yhm@windstream. net