Let’s “game” it!: Dangerous games, a new health challenge

Abstract

In the past several years, children and adolescents have increasingly been enticed into playing dangerous and challenging games, particularly through social networks. Epidemiological data regarding this phenomenon are particularly difficult to come by, as is information regarding the somatic and psychological consequences of these activities, which can end up having fatal outcomes. We here report the case of a suspicion of child abuse that turned out to be due to participation in a challenge game known as “The Deodorant Challenge” by a 10-year-old child who presented with burn-like lesions. Collaboration with the police and assessment of the psychopathological profile of the child allowed the self-inflicted nature of the injuries to be identified, thereby allowing intrafamilial abuse to be ruled out as the cause of the injuries.