Mental burns: a dangerous trend has spread among teenagers

Parents are seriously alarmed — another "fashion" brings children back to the hospital walls. The traumatic trend has also scared doctors, who do not hide their worries for young patients. What does deodorant and the movie "Fight Club" have to do with it? Izvestia found out.

A similar injury

Blistering blisters, reddened skin, and a "thermal burn" or even a "chemical burn" entry in the medical record — this is what the traces of teenage "entertainment" look like in the wake of the popularity of the next trend.

The teenagers allegedly began to repeat a scene from the American movie "Fight Club", based on the novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. The younger generation accompanies the whole process with the music that was played in the film. However, in the hands of children, it is more often not lye, but deodorant.

The main danger lies in the contents hidden under the iron shell. The skin is damaged by aluminum salts and acidic ingredients, which causes a burn. In addition, it can be caused by substances used to flavor the product, and alcohol, the main "core" of any deodorant.

Ineradicable consequences

Burns from deodorant are different from the usual ones in our understanding, since a teenager who has inflicted such an injury does not handle fire, but with a real periodic table in one bottle.

Irina Ilyashova, a pediatric dermatologist and cosmetologist, warns that this will result in serious consequences for a teenager: not only pain and blisters, but also infection and scarring. According to her, in severe cases, skin grafting may be necessary, and if the area of damage is significant, this is a real threat to life.

— Spraying deodorant for a long period of time from close range, at the recommended distance of at least 15 centimeters, causes the so—called aerosol frostbite of the skin — this is an injury caused by exposure to compressed gas contained in a canister, — explained Ilyashova.

The fact is that during spraying, propylene and other volatile components contained in the aerosol rapidly evaporate. The dermatologist told Izvestia that such substances have a low boiling point, so they absorb heat from the environment, including from the skin, during evaporation, which provides a strong cooling effect. According to the results of controlled experiments, deodorant spray gas can lower skin temperature by 60 degrees.

Contact with chemicals leads not only to thermal burns, but also often to chemical burns. It is difficult to treat such injuries, because the skin corrodes, which causes its deep layers to be seriously damaged. It is not uncommon for such a burn to require hospitalization in a medical facility.

So in St. Petersburg, a teenage girl ended up in the hospital - she inflicted thermal burns on herself in four places.

— The longer the aerosol is sprayed, the deeper the damage. This leads to more serious consequences, affects the dermis and deeper structures, destroys nerve endings and increases the risk of infection and scarring. Such injuries rarely go away without a trace, the blisters leave behind age spots, and deeper scars," Ilyashova explained.

In addition, the dermatologist emphasized that a burst bladder with liquid eventually forms an open wound, which can be infected, after which inflammation will develop.

Traumatologist Ibragim Yevtemirov added that most often injuries are inflicted on their hands or feet, less often on their stomach or face. If the skin is severely frostbitten, a scar or white spot may remain where hair does not grow and there is no normal pigmentation. Yevtemirov warned that in severe cases, if the burn is deep and the joint has been affected, there may be constant sensitivity to cold, pain, and decreased mobility.

Experts warn that it is impossible to pierce blisters that appear at the site of injury. First aid, in this case, is to apply a sterile bandage and seek medical help as soon as possible.

Yevtemirov also advises to gently warm the burn — you can apply a clean, dry cloth at room temperature. Do not rub or pour hot water immediately, as the damage may worsen. Moreover, in the presence of blisters and severe pain, you can not only open them, but also smear them with alcohol, green tea or creams. If necessary, the child can be given painkillers before being taken to the emergency room or an ambulance can be called.

Yevtemirov stressed that the main thing is to explain to teenagers that this is not a "joke", but a real trauma that can remain for life.

Burn Request

A rebellious spirit or a cry for help are two extremes that can definitely be the real reason for such a teenage trend. It's no wonder that Chuck Palahniuk's brainchild will end up having nothing to do with it. Ekaterina Mizulina, director of the Safe Internet League and a member of the Public Chamber of Russia, noted in her Telegram channel that the deodorant burns trend looks like a new kind of self-harm.

"Teenagers often write that family conflicts, lack of parental care and attention, loneliness and bullying in schools lead them to self-harm. Little attention is paid to this topic at all, but the problem is big and teenagers really need help," Mizulina emphasized.

The popularity of such trends is also due to the fact that in adolescence there is one main task — to become a person. The process of becoming is also through imitation. This is the opinion of child psychologist and forensic expert Anastasia Shakirova.

— Imitation is a rather important mental function, thanks to which we assimilate social experience. Thanks to this imitation function, we copy norms of behavior, self—service skills, objective actions, and so on, but in adolescence, imitation reaches such a shocking, epic level," Shakirova explained.

According to her, teenagers use imitation to focus on their external identification with a significant person for them. The problem is that in adolescence, children are very suggestible, which is why the desire to express themselves, to take their place in society comes through imitation, and through following even traumatic trends.

— Such trends are promoted in order to capture the child emotionally. After that, the child becomes suggestible. He believes that if he does the same, he will supposedly become "cool" and noticeable, he will be recognized, and he will stand out among his peers, because becoming noticeable and standing out is also one of the most important elements in adolescence, the search for himself, Shakirova said.

The teenager's environment itself can have an impact. Child psychologist and forensic expert Anastasia Shakirova explained: it is not a fact that a teenager will do exactly this during the period of internal growth and development, however, if he is in a place where it is "accepted", where he draws information about this trend, this scenario becomes more than possible.

— We all have an instinct for self-preservation. But in adolescence, it fades a little, it is blocked by adrenaline. The center of the brain, which is responsible for our pleasure, becomes more active. If a child grows up in a prosperous family, enjoys himself in an adequate way, he does not want to injure himself. If a child grows up in an antisocial environment, in an environment where he is ignored, where little attention is paid to him, then they begin to engage in this self—harm," Shakirova said.

The expert emphasizes that such behavior is one of the ways to attract attention to oneself, one of the ways to prove to oneself that "I am alive." This is one of the ways to draw attention to yourself, to say: "I am here, I am, yes, I exist, pay attention to me."

According to her, it is necessary to pay attention to self-harming behavior right away, since it can be a signal of a mental disorder, including prolonged depression, or even a symptom-a consequence of substance use.

Get ahead of yourself

The trauma of a teenager by himself does not always occur spontaneously, on the contrary, it is preceded by many signs that are worth paying attention to.

— If a child comes home, throws his briefcase, slams the door, or locks himself in the room for the whole day, this is the very first call that you should pay attention to. He signals that we need to align, to establish a relationship with a teenager, we need him to trust. And trust is mainly expressed in the fact that the child shares his feelings," Shakirova emphasizes.

A secondary sign, she says— is appearance. A signal that a teenager is trying to hide something may be a hoodie and sleeves in the heat, or pressing his hands to his body as if at the seams - this indicates a clear violation of bodily boundaries.

If self-harm has already happened, then panicking will only hurt. It is important to establish relationships within the family itself. Therefore, there is only one way to contact a child psychologist or a child psychiatrist.

— If we have such a situation, it means only one thing: family relations are overly tense, the teenager is absolutely not satisfied. There are serious conflicts in the family that require the intervention of specialists. This will help to avoid more unpleasant consequences," Shakirova said.