A Greek citizen had a medical emergency and was on the verge of death in his country after trying swallow a whole hamburger without chewing as part of a «joke» with his friendsaccording to information released by local media.
On November 12, according to the national newspaper The Kathimeriansa man of 22 years with choked on food while I was in a fast food restaurant from the city of Koropilocated just over 15 kilometers southeast of Athens.
At that time, according to the same newspaper, the young man suffered an airway obstruction when trying to swallow full hamburger in one bitewhich caused him suffocation.
«He started hitting his back against a pillar»
«He had a kind of panic attack (NdR: out of desperation). He got up and ran a little further, we thought he was going to spit (the hamburger) and that he didn’t want to dirty the people around him. However, he didn’t make ithe turned around and ran again to try to expel her. With the rest (of his friends) we thought: ‘Ok, he’s probably got it now.’ But it didn’t happen‘, an alleged friend of the young man told the Greek television channel MEGA Channel (MEGA TV).
«Then he came back in our direction. We realized it was serious when he started to hit your back against a pillarprobably in a attempt to expel food. The boys (referring to his other friends) ran to give him first aid: one is a lifeguard and the other is a crew member of a sailboat,» the friend told the TV channel.
According to The Kathimeriansthe young collapsed y He was treated by a team of paramedics of an ambulance, who then rushed him to the Athens State General Hospital ‘Georgios Gennimatas’. The doctors, cited by the same newspaper, reported that the patient he spent at least more than three minutes without oxygen.
«When food or another foreign object gets stuck in the airways, it can cause suffocation.. Asphyxiation prevents oxygen from reaching the lungs and brain. Lack of oxygen to the brain for more than 4 minutes can cause brain damage or death«, communicated the United States academic health institution Johns Hopkins Medicine in a web article on its page titled «Asphyxia: first aid and prevention.»
The act was used in the city of koropi. Photo Archive: CC by, CC by-sa 4:0After arriving at the hospital, the young man was admitted to the intensive care unit.
«Only a miracle can save himis in state very critical. Even if you have received first aid, the intervention of a doctor is necessary, since when the brain runs out of oxygen, irreparable damage«, he indicated to MEGA Channel the president of the Panhellenic Federation of Public Hospital Workers (POEDHN), Michalis Giannakos.
On the other hand, the former president of the Athens-Piraeus Hospital Doctors Association Matina Pagoni reaffirmed to the TV channel that the patient’s condition is very delicate.
«Intubated and with very serious problems»
«These are tragic circumstances. A 22-year-old young man who went to Koropi just to have fun he is now intubated and in extremely critical condition, with very serious problems that affect your brain, kidneys and all your organs«, he stated.
On the other hand, the spokesperson for the local police, Konstantina Dimoglidou, assured, according to the british news portal Metro.co.uk, that the authorities would demand the recordings of the restaurant to determine if someone induced the 22-year-old to commit that dangerous act.
The young man was admitted to intensive care. The image is illustrative, it is not related to the case. Photo: Pexels.Reports were spread in the local media stating that the young man had tried to swallow the hamburger. as part of a viral social media challenge. Given this information, the victim’s friend implied in conversation with MEGA Channel that it was not a viral challenge, but rather a «joke» by the young man himself.
«It’s something that we, his group of friends, we did many times before: eat everything in one bite. It wasn’t a viral challenge or anything like that, It was a regular occurrence of ours.. He just said, ‘Hey, look.’ If you want to call it something, call it a joke,» the friend declared, referring to the extremely risky action carried out by the 22-year-old young man.
