Dangerous Games Teens Play

As a pediatric nurse, I've seen plenty "teen games" go awry. I write this, not only as possible fodder for fiction novels, but also as education to parents everywhere. Please, watch your children for signs they may be involved in some of these dangerous practices.

The dangerous games teens play that parents should be aware of. Click to Tweet.

1. Choking game. This is not new but comes in many forms. The simple choking game is choking yourself with your hands until you pass out in an attempt to get high. Others use ligatures to do the same thing. Be suspicous your child might be involved in this activity if they have any unusual bruising around their neck.

2. Pharming. This is also not a new game as I first heard about if nearly twenty years ago working in an adult ER. We had gotten several patients from EMS who also brought with them, literally, a punch size bowl of various pharmaceuticals gathered by various teens from their parents' medicine cabinets. They pour them all into a bowl, mix, and then swallow a handful. Often times with alcohol. Identifying pills without labels can be done but it is time consuming and it's important we know what the drug is to provide targeted treatment. If you're an adult-- be aware of the prescription pills you have-- especially narcotics. If expired, they need to be thrown out. Does it seems like there are less pills in the bottle than there should be? Are pill bottles missing?

3. The Cotton Ball Diet. A more recent filing under the dangerous dieting category that is nothing new in the teen world but swallowing cotton balls dipped in juice to stave off hunger reaches a new level. Not only is it obviously not nutritious but can actually cause obstructions in the GI tract requiring surgery to eliminate.

4. Neknomination: A drinking games fueled by competition and social media shows older teens and adults chugging large quantities of alcohol in unusual ways and then challenging a friend to do the same type of thing but more alcohol in perhaps a more creative setting. Responsible for five deaths in Great Britain so far.

What other dangerous teen games are you aware of?