Chinese teen suffers stroke after non-stop gaming for a month during pandemic

In some news that would make any parent hastily forward over to their kids, a teen in China was said to have lost control of his entire left arm after a whole month of non-stop gaming. 

Nanning Television reported that a 15-year-old boy by the name of Xiaobin was rushed to a hospital in Guangxi after he fainted. 

What apparently transpired over the course of a month was that he cooped himself in his room and played video games for 22 hours a day. 

The Covid-19 outbreak meant that Xiaobin was supposed to be taking online classes at home after schools were shut down. His parents, however, were unaware of what he was really doing in his room as he shut the windows and locked the door. 

“We had no idea what he was doing in there,” his parents told reporters. 

In the hospital, it was revealed that Xiaobin has been diagnosed with a cerebral ischemic stroke — a condition that culminated from playing video games excessively without getting enough sleep. After seeing their son’s online conversations with friends, the parents found out that he was sleeping for two hours a day at most. 

As a result, Xiaobin suffered a stroke from the reduced amount of blood and oxygen reaching his brain due to the lack of nutrition and rest. 

The teen is currently undergoing rehabilitation to regain full control of his left arm and hand. 

The pandemic has had a substantial impact on the video game industry, which is rather expected — people around the world are turning to video games as a much-needed distraction while being stuck indoors. 

Even the World Health Organisation launched a campaign to encourage people to pick up gaming controllers, keyboards and handhelds alike to play games together, but in their separate homes.

Of course, like everything in life, moderation is key — lest you risk suffering a stroke. 

ilyas@asiaone.com