“Chroming”, also known as “huffing” or “bagging”, has become a notorious – and potentially fatal – trend. Chroming is a form of recreational drug use that involves inhaling but highly dangerous substances and solvents, such as deodorant aerosols, paints and permanent markers. Sniffing the chemicals gives an immediate – but it comes at enormous risk.
Author
Adam Taylor
Professor and Director of the Clinical Anatomy Learning Centre, Lancaster University
In March 2024, , an 11-year-old boy, died in the UK after inhaling toxic chemicals in aerosols. His grandmother, Tina Burns, blamed the for his death. In August, 12-year-old survived a cardiac arrest during a chroming challenge for social media. In Australia, 13-year-old died last year after inhaling chemicals from an aerosol deodorant can while at a friend’s sleepover.
As well as inducing a fast high, chroming can cause sudden death. Inhaling chemicals can lead to , when the heart becomes more sensitive to adrenaline and other – hormones that help your body deal with stress. This can lead to life-threatening changes to the heart’s rhythm, causing it to beat irregularly (ventricular ) or abnormally fast (). Resuscitation is in these cases.
But that’s not all. Chroming can also lead to and , where the molecules of the chemical being inhaled displace oxygen from the lungs, or prevent oxygen crossing into them. This can also prove fatal.
Inhaling dangerous substances is a terrible idea. Even if users survive the short-term risks, there are longer-term dangers from the of hydrocarbons in the inhalants, which can cross the .
As use continues, hydrocarbons can accumulate in the body and cause damage to the brain (), which can lead to degeneration of brain cells and nerves.
Skull-breaking
Chroming isn’t the only potentially deadly social media craze. The aptly named – when two people kick the legs from under a third person to make them fall over – has caused in the US and UK.
Our skull has a unique construction, with flat bony plates protecting the brain. At the front there is a of many smaller bones or parts of bones that absorb facial impacts to protect the brain. Trauma to the face is , unless the airway is compromised or important blood vessels .
But if someone falls and hits the back of their head, then there is only a relatively thin, flat bone protecting the brain. The impact of a fall isn’t usually immediately fatal – but the risks can come later. Delicate vessels inside the skull can , causing internal bleeding. Over a few hours, as the size of the bleed increases, it can begin to compress the brain. If not diagnosed and treated, the brain bleed can cause the person to slip into a , suffer and .
Blackout
The is a potentially fatal social media craze where people try to choke themselves until they pass out.
This trend has claimed the lives of at least two children. In 2019, 15-year-old died after attempting the blackout challenge. In 2021, nine-year-old also died after participating in the challenge on TikTok.
Choking limits and deprives the brain of oxygen, which causes people to blackout. But not everyone is able to after passing out.
People have different anatomical variations in their and, when passing out, there is no guarantee that the blood and oxygen supplies will be reinstated. This challenge can cause irreversible brain damage .
Unfortunately, despite the casualties, these trends keep cropping up on social media. It’s a good idea to educate children and teens about the harms of attempting them, so they don’t find out the risks for themselves.
