November 27, 2005 – 10:46 am
Initially ruled a suicide, 13-year-old Chelsea Dunn may have accidentally killed herself by what some kids call a game.
?They call it something dreaming,? says twenty-year-old Kelly Pilger. Sarah Johnson remembers, ?They call it fainting each other.?
Self-asphyxiation-choking each other or themselves, which produces a kind of high. ?Press people up against a wall, until they didn?t have any oxygen, until they passed out,? describes Kelly. Jessica Fuller says ?[they] probably do it for about four hours at a time, like repeatedly, over and over again.?
They use bags, belts, ties, or even their own bare hands, causing hypoxia, a shortage of oxygen. ?Basically, it?s a very dangerous play where the person deprives his brain of oxygen,? explains Dr. Ashraf Attalla, child psychiatrist, ?By reducing the blood pressure the brain basically starts an irreversible process of dying.?
And he says the result can be permanent brain damage, or in cases like Chelsea Dunn- death.
Obviously there is no drug test, but there are clues that parents need to watch for. ?Any unusual marks around the neck. Parents might find some ties, or ropes tied in unusual ways, complaints of headaches, blood shot eyes,? explains Dr. Attalla.
He says some kids may be fascinated by this strange and dangerous play. As Sarah Johnson says, ?It?s something that?s not talked about, it?s not well known, and there?s a lure to that.?
And that?s why experts say- take away the mystery. Teach your kids that this is no game. ?It?s a very, very dangerous practice,? says the doctor, ?and I think the community and parents need to know about this.?
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