According to The Sun in the UK on the 26th, a 12-year-old boy Oliver Gorman was found unconscious and collapsed in the Hyde area of Thameside, Manchester, on May 5 after inhaling deodorant.
Oliver was lying in the room and an empty can of deodorant was dropped by the bed, the mother said.
Oliver was taken to a hospital but died without waking up, and an autopsy confirmed that cardiac arrest caused by gas inhalation was the cause of death.
His mother burst into tears, saying, “The child who watched SNS and followed the curiosity died in just 20 minutes.” Chroming is the act of inhaling gas from aerosol products such as deodorants, hair sprays, and paints, and ‘challenge videos’ are spreading like a trend on SNS. In addition to sprays, various products containing toxic chemicals such as paint, adhesives, and gasoline are used.
Inhaling the spray through the nose or mouth causes hallucinations due to volatile substances in the spray, and an increasing number of teenagers are participating in the challenge to increase views by posting such images on social media.
In the video clip uploaded by the students, they inhale the spray through their noses or mouths in various places, including the driver’s seat, public transportation, and rooms. Soon, they shake as if they can’t control themselves. One student, unable to control himself in the car, holds the spray in one hand and says, “It’s only $3. It’s as strong as a scalpel.”
According to the Drug Abuse Research Institute under the National Institutes of Health, more than 200 teenagers die every year from spray inhalation.
In June, a teenage girl Lena O’Rourke, who was being treated after inhaling spray, was diagnosed with brain death in the intensive care unit. In June last year, a 13-year-old boy, Nicky Lowther, died in the same way in Canterbury, Kent, England.
Earlier in August of the same year, a 12-year-old boy Caesar suffered cardiac arrest and seizures in Doncaster, Yorkshire, England, and fell into a coma. Caesar recovered after eight days of hospitalization, but left side effects such as short-term memory damage.
Experts warned that repeated inhalation of nitrous oxide and formaldehyde during the chroming challenge could lead to hallucinations, as well as nausea, vomiting, seizures, and speech disorders, and risk death from kidney and liver dysfunction, brain damage, and heart attacks.
Dr. Thomas Horowitz, an American family medicine specialist, said, “A single inhalation can cause sudden death. If the spray liquid containing harmful ingredients comes into direct contact with the nose, lungs, and airways, it can seriously damage (brain and organs).”
JULIE KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
