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Choking game: What are the warning signs?
The choking game can cause serious harm. Here's how to tell if your child is playing the choking game — and what you can do about it.
By Mayo Clinic staffWhether it's done as a dare, a rite of passage or a desire to get high without using drugs or alcohol, the choking game has potentially deadly consequences. Understand how the choking game works — and what you can do if you think your child may be involved in this dangerous activity.
What is the choking game?
Participants in the choking game — typically adolescents — attempt to trigger a high by temporarily depriving the brain of oxygen through strangulation. The choking game is often done with a noose or another person's hands around the participant's neck. A child may also take a deep breath, hold it, and have someone hug him or her from behind until he or she feels dizzy and passes out.
The choking game is also sometimes called the blackout game, pass-out game, scarf game and space monkey.
What are the consequences of the choking game?
The choking game can result in serious injuries, such as seizures, fractures and permanent brain damage. Taken to an extreme, the choking game can be life-threatening. If a child plays the choking game alone and with a noose, for example, he or she may lose consciousness and be unable to release the noose.
Next page(1 of 2)
- "Choking game" awareness and participation among 8th graders — Oregon, 2008. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 2010;59:1.
- McClave JL, et al. The choking game: Physician perspectives. Pediatrics. 2010;125:82.
- Toblin RL, et al. Unintentional strangulation deaths from the "choking game" among youths aged 6-19 years — United States, 1995-2007. Journal of Safety Research. 2008;39:445.
- Egge MK, et al. The choking game: A cause of unintentional strangulation. Pediatric Emergency Care. 2010;26:206.
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