Dangerous Fads

The young always have the same problem - how to rebel and conform at the same time.  They have now solved this by defying their parents and copying one another.  

Quentin Crisp

Today's post is slightly different from other posts being that there are no teens in my household, but as a substance abuse counselor, I have to stay alert to things.  I was shocked to learn the risks that today's teens engage in to get high.  Many of you probably already heard the methods they are using, some may have not.  I thought it important enough to share.

Yesterday morning while I was watching the news before work, the doctor on the medical segment was the latest teen fad...'the cinnamon challenge'. It seems that teenagers think it is fun to swallow a spoonful of ground cinnamon in 60 seconds without water. The reasoning behind this I don't know. This senseless act is downright dangerous and has been known to cause choking, throat irritation, shortness of breath and trouble breathing as well as irritation of the lungs, including collapsed lungs. People with asthma or other respiratory problems are at greater risk. Not good.  

Seeing this news segment piqued my interest, and I decided to look into some of the latest crazes.  What I found made me cringe. 

One of the current trends at parties is what they call the 'alcohol enema' or 'butt chugging'.  This involves pouring alcohol through a tube that has been inserted into the rectum, causing the teen to get drunk more quickly than if they had drank the alcohol.  And, because the alcohol spills directly into the colon, it can lead to severe alcohol poisoning and death. For teenage girls, there is a variation of this is called 'slimming'.  This is when a female inserts an alcohol soaked tampon to achieve the same effect.  

Another of the latest crazy and dangerous trends is  called 'vodka eyeballing'. This involves pouring hard liquor directly into the eye to get a quick buzz. This can be very damaging to the eyes. Alcohol can burn and scar the cornea, perhaps even causing blindness. Yikes!!!  How unbelievably stupid can you be? Kids were never this stupid when I was a teenager. Yes, we experimented with alcohol, but we 'drank' it.  Isn't that what it is made for?

Kids today are even misusing something as seemingly harmless as marshmallows. In a game teens call 'Chubby Bunny' teenagers stuff marshmallows, as many as they possibly can, into their mouths and then attempt to say the words 'Chubby Bunny'. This fad has caused at least two deaths, both from suffocation due to the throat being blocked with marshmallows.  

Speaking of choking, teens actually choke themselves or each other to experience a temporary mild euphoria without using drugs and alcohol.  Some strangle themselves with a belt, a rope or their bare hands; others push on their chest or hyperventilate.Thousands of adolescence have died or suffered permanent brain damage as a result of 'the choking game'. There is also a chance of seizures or stroke.  Totally unbelievable, isn't it?  We used to see how long we could hold our breath, but never to the point of passing out. I think the most dangerous things we did was spin around until we got dizzy and couldn't stay on our feet.  The danger there was hitting our head or injuring some other part of our body.  But, haven't we all done this?

Teenagers have always engaged in the latest fads. but what the hell is wrong with these kids today?  Aside from the Hippie movement of the late 60's, the fads I remember engaging in during my teenage years were far from  dangerous. Our fads mostly had to do with our appearance.  Big hair was in, and we wore min-skirts with go-go boots.  Remember them?  And dancing. We sure loved dancing.  Those were the days of the limbo rock, the monkey, the jerk, the mashed potato, and the twist. Every Friday the school held a dance.  Sometimes I got to go.   We had frisbees, troll dolls, superballs, and hula hoops.  Getting high, aside from our first 'drunk' was beyond our comprehension. We did smoke, yes, but I don't consider that a fad.  That is a habit.  

I often refer back to my teenage years as a time when I was 'young and prone to making mistakes', but in those days, we knew when to draw the line. It is unfortunate that they  often decide that the benefits of risky behavior for immediate gratification or peer acceptance—outweigh the risks. I find it terribly sad that today's teens are taking such stupid risks and endangering their lives in the process.  What comes next, I wonder. What comes next?