Fainting game

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The fainting game, also commonly known as the choking game, 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 self-induced hypocapnia. Many teenagers do it to show off in front of their friends, but what they don't know is that it can kill them.

The term 'game' is used because these activities have typically been pursued by children as recreation; the practice among adults appears to be uncommon and generally in the different context of the pursuit of erotic asphyxiation. However, experts state that for some teens, the choking game can take on elements of erotic asphyxiation.

1 Extent of and reasons for its practice
2 Mechanisms behind the activity
3 Injuries arising from the practice
4 Other names
5 See also
6 Sources
7 External links

[edit] Extent of and reasons for its practice

Although the fainting game is believed to be practiced widely, few empirical studies have been done.

No empirical study is known to have been done on the reasons for its attraction but anecdotally stated reasons include:

Peer pressure, a challenge or dare, a rite of passage into a social group or amusement over erratic behaviour.
Curiosity in an altered state of consciousness, the experience of a brownout, an imagined approximation to a near death experience or more recently, copycatting elements of the film Flatliners
A belief, not clearly substantiated, that it can induce a brief sense of euphoria (a rush sensation or high).
A belief, also not clearly substantiated, that it may enhance erotic feelings.
The prospect of intoxication, albeit brief, at no financial cost.
An underlying lack of knowledge concerning the physiological mechanisms involved and the risk of neurological damage or death.

A Centre for Addiction and Mental Health study in 2008 found that at least 79,000 students in the Canadian province of Ontario participated in this act[1].

[edit] Mechanisms behind the activity

There are only two mechanisms behind all of the many variations of this practice, both resulting in Cerebral hypoxia (oxygen deprivation to the brain). The two mechanisms tend to be confused with each other or treated as one but are quite dissimilar although both have the potential to cause permanent brain damage or death. The two mechanisms are strangulation and self-induced hypocapnia and work as follows:

The vulnerable carotid artery, (large, red tube), and the vagus nerve running parallel on its left

[edit] Strangulation

A ligature such as a belt or rope around the neck, or hands or arm pressure on the neck compresses the internal carotid artery. Apart from the direct restriction of blood to the brain there are two other significant responses produced by pressing on the neck:

Pressing on the carotid arteries also presses on baroreceptors. These bodies then cause vasodilation (dilation (widening) of the blood vessels) in the brain leading to insufficient blood to perfuse the brain with oxygen and maintain consciousness.
A message is also sent via the vagus nerve to the main pacemaker of the heart to decrease the rate and volume of the heartbeat, typically by up to a third. [2] In some cases there is evidence that this may escalate into asystole, a form of cardiac arrest that is difficult to treat. There is a dissenting view on the full extent how and when a person reaches a stage of permanent injury, but it is agreed that pressure on the vagus nerve causes changes to pulse rate and blood pressure and is dangerous in cases of carotid sinus hypersensitivity.

This method is responsible for most, but not all, of the reported fatalities. The method is especially dangerous when practiced alone and can be mistaken for suicide where the motivation is not known.

[edit] Self-induced hypocapnia

The second mechanism requires hyperventilation (forced overbreathing) until symptoms of hypocapnia such as tingling, light-headedness or dizziness are felt, followed by a breath-hold. This alone is enough to cause a blackout but it is widely believed that the effect is enhanced if lung air pressure is increased by holding the breath "hard", that is forcing exhalation while allowing no air to escape or by a bear-hug by an assistant. These later actions may augment the effects of hypoxia by approximating the Valsalva maneuver, causing vagal stimulation.

The fact that hyperventilation causes rapid cerebral hypoxia is paradoxical because the body should be well stocked with oxygen after over-breathing. The mechanism here is that the blood is made abnormally alkaline as a result of the excessive elimination of CO₂; this subsequent rise in blood pH is termed alkalosis. The symptoms of alkalosis are: neuromuscular irritability, muscular spasms, tingling and numbness of the extremities and around the mouth, and a dizziness, or giddiness, often interpreted as a sense of euphoria. This brief euphoria is what practitioners of the fainting game seek.

Unfortunately alkalosis has other far-reaching and dangerous effects on the neuromuscular system and, among other things, interferes with normal oxygen utilization by the brain. In the body alkalosis generally induces vasodilatation (widening of the blood vessels) but in the brain alone it causes vasoconstriction (narrowing of the blood vessels). This vasoconstriction appears to be made even worse by a sudden increase in blood pressure caused by squeezing or holding the breath ‘hard’. The alkalosis induced euphoria can be followed rapidly by hypoxia-induced unconsciousness.

The sequence of events leading to unconsciousness from hyperventilation is as follows:

Decrease in partial pressure of alveolar CO₂.
Decrease in partial pressure of arterial CO₂.
Increase in blood pH, (respiratory alkalosis).
Vasoconstriction of blood vessels supplying brain.
Pooling of the blood present in the brain at the time.
Brain rapidly uses up O₂ available in the pooled blood.
O₂ concentration in the brain drops.
Unconsciousness from hypoxia of cerebral tissue.

Because the brain cannot store reserves of O₂ and, unlike other organs, has an exceedingly low tolerance of O₂ deprivation, it is highly vulnerable if vasoconstriction is not reversed. Normally, if the brain is hypoxic, autonomous systems in the body divert blood to the brain at the expense of other organs; because the brain is vasoconstricted this mechanism is not available. Vasoconstriction is only reversed by the build-up of CO₂ in the blood through suspension of breathing. If this build-up does not happen quickly enough, or if the vasodilation mechanism itself is slow to respond, irreversible brain damage or death becomes a possibility.^{[citation needed]}

In some versions the bear-hug is replaced by pressure on the neck in which case blackout is a hybrid of strangulation and self-induced hypocapnia.

[edit] Other mechanisms

Unconsciousness may be induced by other methods although these are controversial: Pressure over the carotid sinus may induce a syncope (fainting) without any other action at all but this is difficult to reproduce and is not the basis of the game. For those susceptible to carotid sinus syncope, of which most people would be unaware until it occurred, this can be an exceedingly dangerous game.^{[citation needed]}

In both strangulation and self-induced hypocapnia blackouts the victim may experience dreaming or hallucinations, though fleetingly, and regains consciousness with involuntary movement of their hands or feet much to the amusement of the onlookers. Full recovery is usually made within seconds but these activities cause many deaths and permanent brain injuries every year, particularly when played alone or with a ligature. Permanent brain damage may be subtle and not immediately obvious to either the participants or its observers.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Injuries arising from the practice

Any activity that deprives the brain of oxygen has the potential to cause moderate to severe brain cell death leading to permanent loss of neurological function ranging from difficulty in concentration or loss of short term memory capacity through severe, lifelong mental disability to death. Statistics on fatalities and neurological damage are controversial, no definitive, empirical study exists although the indications are that the practice is a significant contributor to death and disability, particularly among male juveniles in most developed countries. Many believe that deaths are significantly undereported because of false attributions to suicide. ^[1]

One study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found sufficient evidence to indicate that since 1995 at least 82 youths between the age of 6 and 19 have died in the United States as a result of the game, see chart right. Of these 86.6% were male, the mean age being 13.3. 95.7% of these deaths occurred while the youth was alone; parents of the decedents were unaware of the game in 92.9% of cases. Deaths were recorded in 31 states and were not clustered by location, season or day of week.^[2] Neurological damage is harder to attribute accurately because of the difficulty of linking generalised, acquired neurological disability to a specific past event.

Incidental, or indirect, injuries may arise from falling or uncontrolled movements and crushing by a ligature or an assistant. Such injuries may include concussion, bone fractures, tongue biting and hemorrhaging of the eye.^[3]

The CDC encourages parents, educators and health-care providers to familiarize themselves with the signs of the game.^[2] These include: discussion of the game; bloodshot eyes; marks on the neck; severe headaches; disorientation after spending time alone; ropes, scarves, and belts tied to bedroom furniture or doorknobs or found knotted on the floor; and unexplained presence of things like dog leashes, choke collars and bungee cords.^[4]

[edit] Other names

The practice goes by many other names in different parts of the world or simultaneously in a single location. The names are usually one of several types: ones that assign drug-like qualities to the game, ones that describe the effects, ones that emphasize the risks involved, and others that come from pop-culture references. Common names in the United Kingdom, Australia and North America include:

Airplaning, America Dream Game, Black Out Game, Breath Play, Breathing the Zoo, Bum Rushing, California Blackout, California Choke, California Dreaming, California Headrush, California High, California Knockout, Catching Some Zs, Choking Game, Cloud Nine, Crank, Dream Game, Dreaming Game, Dying game, Fall Out Game, Flat Liner, Flatline Game, Flatliner Game, Funky Chicken, Getting Passed Out, Grandma's Boy, Halloween, High Riser, Hoola Hooping, Hyperventilation Game, Indian Headrush, Knockout Game, Passing Out Game, Pass-out Game, Purple Dragon, Natural High, Neckies, Redline, Rising Sun, Rocket Ride, Sandboxing, Sleeper Hold, Sleepers, Space Monkey, Speed Dreaming, Suffocation Game, Suffocation Roulette, Teen Choking Game, Tingling Game, Trip to Heaven, Wall-Hit