sexual asphyxia---attention parents..!!

.many of you may not be knowing what is ' auto erotic asphyxia 'or 'sexual asphyxia'. some of you may be wondering why i have put the tag 'parenting' for this page.Now, read what an American mother said a few years back :

"After our son died, we called his school to tell them what really happened. We begged them to warn other students, but nothing was ever done. And the next year another boy in the school died in exactly the same way.It's time to tell people this horrendous thing exists and that children can be saved if we know the cues and if we take action.''

a case report

One day, it was reported to the police that aconstable of the 1st IRB (Indian Reserve Battalion)posted at Imphal was found hanging in the morning inside his quarter. He was a 44 year old man married with 2 (two) kids and staying with his wife and children in his quarter. On PME, stature was 5 ft. 5 inches weighing 50 kgs, of average build, fair nutrition. The lower half of the body was naked. He was wearing only a half-sleeved T-shirt. Rigor mortis was fully developed, postmortem staining was present on the distal aspects of the limbs and fixed, saliva stains extended from the left angle of the mouth to the chest, tongue was bitten, head and neck congested, cyanosis present and penis was found to be semi-erect with dry seminal stain on the thigh which formed a very important finding. One old blue plastic rope was tied around the neck in the form of a running noose. His vest was loosely wrapped around the neck beneath the rope to act as padding for the noose. Ligature mark was found in the neck as a parchmentised groove high up in the neck, 40 cms x 1.0 cm, going obliquely upwards towards the right mastoid region. Internally, there was fracture of the hyoid and transverse tear of intima of both common carotid arteries. Viscera were congested. Blood was dark and fluidish. Stomach was full. Death was concluded to be due to asphyxiaas a result of hanging.

(Department of Forensic Medicine, Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal, Manipur, 795004 , india)

an unusual cause of death

the above case was not a usual suicide. forensic experts concluded it as a case of auto erotic death.

what is sexual asphyxia or Hypoxyphilia ?

Hypoxyphilia is a paraphilia which is a sub-category of sexual masochism. Also known by terms such as asphyxiophilia, autoerotic or sexual asphyxia, this potentially lethal sexual practice refers to sexual arousal that is produced while reducing the oxygen supply to the brain.They use a variety of techniques to produce the hypoxia. Among the more common are self-hanging, strangulation, choking, suffocation and techniques to restrict breathing movements.They do this with the intention of inducing sexual excitement.death occures when they loose control over the settings-just accidental.

typical scene ;accidental sexual asphyxiation

There is no suicide note; the victim is partly or totally undressed or wearing women's underclothes; asphyxiating devices are arranged so that the victim could have applied and released them; a towel or cloth is around the neck to prevent burns and marks; pornographic material is nearby; extremities may be bound with ropes or chains; masturbation apparently occurred; there may be evidence that the behavior had been done repeatedly in the past; the victim is found suspended by the neck either with his feet on the floor, sitting in a chair or lying on a bed; the act appears to have been performed alone, usually behind a locked door.( Dr. Rosenblum and Dr. Faber)

why should i care???

because what we see is only the tip of an ice berg.Researchers say there is an alarmingly rising trend among people especially teenagers to resort to this dangerous sexual act.The mother ( quoted in the 1st para) continued :

''Yes,'' she said, ''I saw marks, a rashlike redness on his throat - 'an allergy,' he said. Yes, he did take long showers, but all boys do and besides, we read 'Portnoy's Complaint' and we respect privacy. Yes, I saw all the signs and yes, I and my husband ignored them because we had never heard of adolescent sexual asphyxia.''

now, i think , you got the point!