Shedding light on the "Blackout": risky behaviors and accidental deaths among adolescents.

In February 2018, a 14-year-old boy from Rome died by asphyxiation, strangling himself with a cable of his PlayStation. On September 6th, a same-aged free climber from Milan died similarly after hanging a climbing rope around his neck. In both cases, suicidal intention was ruled out after careful interviews with family and friends of the victims: the deaths were classified as accidental, and the parents of the two boys soon discovered that they had watched on the Internet videos related to the so-called "Blackout" or "Choking Game" (CG). This challenge appears to be trending among adolescents and pre-adolescents, who self-induce asphyxia to "prove themselves" and to "get a free high" from temporary cerebral hypoxia. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.