The first known case of the ‘choking game' to be seen in Ireland has left a teenage boy in serious condition in Temple Street Children's Hospital.

The ‘choking' or ‘fainting game' usually involves teenagers and sees them putting pressure on their own or somebody else's throat - either with their hands or some type of noose - until the person almost passes out.

Speaking on RTE's Morning Ireland show this morning, Dr Kevin Carson, who is the director of Temple Street's paediatric intensive care unit, explained that just before a young person becomes unconscious, ‘they get a euphoric high'.

However, he said that teenagers are deluding themselves that they can get a high without drugs in a safe way.

"It is far from safe. It is very dangerous and can have varying effects on the brain because it is starved of oxygen," he explained.

Dr Carson noted that some of these effects include a loss of short-term memory, seizures, brain damage and even death.

At least 80 people have died as a result of this game in the US and while this is the first known case in Ireland, Dr Carson said that from talking to parents anecdotally, ‘we are aware it is going on around the country'.

He said that instructional videos on how to ‘play' the game are available online and it is essential that parents are aware of this.

The boy, who is understood to be in his young teens, was unconscious and in critical condition when he was admitted to the hospital. He remains in serious condition.