Unfortunately, there are no winners and there are no resemblances to being a game. Talk about a useless and senseless tragedy, this has to be one of the top heart wrenching events right alongside with teen suicide.
This is not new; however, with the power of the Internet, its popularity is growing. It is practiced predominately by adolescents and teens and is called by many names and the outcome is your child is dead, brain damaged, and/or a life of diminished capacity. In addition, the absurdity is, it is called the "Choking Game". It is as much a game as "Russian Roulette".
Carlos Flores, is the pediatric nurse in emergency trauma care and trauma coordinator for Children's Hospital Central California in Madera, County, and is an authority on the "choking game".
The Choking Game is a high-risk activity being played by pre-teen and teen kids, usually peaking at age 13 for both boys and girls.
This activity causes a self-induced loss of consciousness by hypoxia (lack of oxygen) and is responsible for hundreds of deaths worldwide. There are a variety of methods that are used, legal and seemingly innocuous, including a method using ligatures.
The first step in prevention is awareness.
