12-Year-old Boy Inhales Deodorant Can In UK As Part of Challenge on TikTok, Suffers Cardiac Arrest

London: A 12-year-old boy narrowly escaped death after engaging in a perilous social media trend.  Cesar Watson-King inhaled deodorant as part of a challenge known as "chroming" and collapsed at his home in Doncaster, South Yorkshire on August 21.

His mother, Nichola King, had just finished breastfeeding her youngest child upstairs when she heard a loud thud. Rushing downstairs, the 36-year-old was horrified to find her son having a seizure on the kitchen floor before he went into cardiac arrest, a report in a UK daily stated. 

Boy Inhales Deodorant Can, Suffers Cardiac Arrest 

Nichola’s eldest son, Kaiden, promptly called 999, while Nichola gave Cesar CPR as they waited for the ambulance. At the hospital, Cesar was put into a medically induced coma for two days after experiencing more seizures and cardiac arrests.

As per the reports, fortunately, Cesar has recovered and is now back home. However, Nichola, a mother of four, has shared photos of her son receiving CPR and in intensive care to raise awareness about the dangers of chroming.

What is 'Chroming' Challenge Trending on TikTok?

This dangerous trend involves inhaling toxic chemicals from substances such as paint, solvents, aerosol cans, cleaning products, or petrol to experience a fleeting 'high.' This practice can result in slurred speech, dizziness, hallucinations, nausea, and disorientation. However, it also poses severe risks, including heart attacks and suffocation.

After Cesar was taken to Doncaster Royal Infirmary, police informed Nichola that they had found a can of Aldi Lacura deodorant and other chroming paraphernalia on the kitchen floor, leading them to believe Cesar had inhaled the deodorant before losing consciousness.

Nichola said, "I hadn't heard of chroming before this. An older boy had shown him how to do it. When police told me what he'd inhaled, I thought he was going to die. I knew the warnings on the back of the cans that say 'solvent abuse kills instantly.'"

Cesar was later transferred to Sheffield Children's Hospital, where he was kept in a medically induced coma for 48 hours. When he came out of the coma, he began showing signs of progress, soon breathing on his own and able to talk and walk.

After eight days in the hospital, Cesar was discharged and allowed to return home.