rhiannon, you're talking about two completely different things.
A child who knows nothing of the respiratory and circulatory systems, who ties on of their dad's neckties around their neck and hangs from it slightly so as to cut off blood flow and oxygenation to the brain, in order to attain some sort of "buzz" afterwards, will then, upon achieving unconsiousness, fall limp and hang themselves, completely cutting off both airflow and bloodflow to the brain, causing permanent, potentially lethal brain damage and internal organ failure.
On the other hand, a lee who is tied down to the bed by a safety-consious and caring ler, who is hyperventilating because the ticklish sensations shooting through her body are making her laugh like an insane asylum patient, who passes out due to lack of ozygen to the brain and nervous system overload, is going to do nothing different after passing out than she was doing before passing out, aside from no longer laughing. She's going to resume normal breathing because the respiratory center at the base of her brain, which controls several bodily functions such as lung and heart rythym, will take over since the consious brain is no longer able to. Nothing would be obstructing her airway or her bloodflow, and after a short period she'll come right back to again. Granted, she'll probably gasp for air because the last thing she remembers is screaming her fool head off, but she'll be fine.
Furthermore, the threat of someone swallowing their tongue is generally only present in people who's nervous systems have been impaired by another foreign substance, such as alchohol a sedative like anesthesia. Simply passing out from lack of oxygen to the brain does not cause all the muscles in the body to relax. Also, you know that thin little flap of skin that connects the front of your tongue to the bottom of your jaw? That keeps your tongue from rolling back into your throat - otherwise, you'd choke to death the first time you slept on your back!
Now, I am not a doctor either, but instead of just believing everything the interwebs and the television tells me, I've taken the time to learn about these things on my own, both through education and personal experience. So please, rhiannon, if you're going to base an argument on what one doctor on one television show said about something that's completely unrelated to the discussion we're having in this thread, understand that nothing you say is going to be taken seriously.
I am going to wrap up this post by saying this - very few people enjoy being tickled until they pass out, but keep in mind that some do. Different strokes for different folks - if you don't like it, you don't like it. "If it gets you off, go for it."
