The Choking Game – a New High
A Choking Game – who would play and why?
Wow! on this story that I heard this morning on NPR’s Health Program by Rob Stein, “Deadly ‘Choking Game’ Comes With Big Risks.” Quoting from the show’s transcript:
“‘The choking game is a strangulation activity that some kids participate in, using either their hands or something like a rope or a belt or something like that,’ she [Katrina Hedberg, the state epidemiologist in Oregon] says.
“Why? Thomas A. Andrew, New Hampshire’s chief medical examiner, who has studied the trend, explains: ‘As the brain is deprived of oxygen, there’s this sensation of lightheadedness, which is interpreted as a high. And then once the pressure is released and blood flow is restored in a fashion, they see stars and the feeling is described as a rush,’ he said.
“According to a study Hedberg’s colleagues published today in the journal Pediatrics, around 6 percent of more than 5,000 middle-schoolers surveyed in Portland, Ore., have tried the choking game. And about a quarter of them have tried it at least five times, the researchers reported.
“‘With each of those episodes, obviously, just a little bit of the brain is being damaged,’ Andrew said. ‘So who knows what the long-term effects may be on children who do this repeatedly?'” (NPR’s Health Program by Rob Stein, “Deadly ‘Choking Game’ Comes With Big Risks.)
To listen to the show:
Lisa Frederiksen
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Hi Lisa,
I’ve heard of this before. It sounds very dangerous and I’m sure people have lost their lives because of it. Thanks for sharing this important message.
Thanks for your comment, Cathy. I was so surprised by the numbers of children doing it!!