Warning: This article contains content and images that some readers may find distressing
Anyone with an active social media account has probably come across ‘chroming’ - a deadly trend that recently left one young boy fighting for his life.
The internet can be a seriously dangerous place for impressionable youngsters. While millennials took part in relatively harmless trends such as the Harlem Shake and the ALS ice bucket challenge, kids these days are participating in much more sinister situations.
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Over the last few years, there have been reports of children participating in the choking game - also known as the blackout challenge - and a dare known as the ‘Tide Pod Challenge’, that saw teens chewing on laundry detergent pods.
Another social media practice that has fatal consequences is called chroming, and parents are being warned not to allow their little ones to participate.
What is chroming?
Chroming, also called solvent abuse, is the act of getting high from inhaling dangerous chemicals and substances, as per the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne.
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People who participate in chroming often inhale the fumes of nail polish remover, hairspray and aerosol deodorant, as well as permanent markers, gasoline and lighter fluid.
Inhaling cartridges filled with nitrous oxide, legally reserved for inflating balloons, is also a form of chroming.
What happens to your body when you chrome?
People who abuse solvents will experience different side effects due to factors such as gender, age, body weight and drug tolerance.
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However, when you inhale dangerous chemicals you’re likely to start vomiting, experience dizziness or lose coordination, writes Care In Mind.
Some people will see their speech become slurred, while others may exhibit eyes that are glazed, red or watery.
Extended solvent abuse may cause you to suffer short attention spans, increase your anger and the likelihood of experiencing depression and anxiety.
According to a study published in the Journal of Drug and Alcohol Research, the long-term effects of chroming include a lower IQ and severe memory loss. In extreme cases, your brain may become damaged due to chemical poisoning and you could have hallucinations, psychotic episodes and seizures.
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Who is chroming?
Drug Free World, who analysed data from 2002 to 2006, wrote in a report that around 593,000 teens aged 12 to 17 engaged in chroming for the first time in the year prior to participating in the survey.
And of those who died from ‘sudden sniffing death syndrome’—when a user’s body goes into cardiac arrest upon abusing an inhalant—22 percent were reported to be first-time users.
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Earlier this year, an 11-year-old schoolboy named Tommie-Lee Gracie Billington died after allegedly taking part in the ‘chroming’ trend whilst at a sleepover.
But he isn’t the only child to suffer the consequences of the viral trend.
Mum issues warning after her child almost died after chroming
Earlier this month, mum-of-four Nichola King found her 12-year-old son Cesar on the floor with his eyes rolling to the back of his head after getting high on toxic fumes.
After being administered CPR, Cesar was rushed to hospital and was placed into a medically induced coma for two days.
Cesar was forced to rely on breathing tubes and spent eight days in hospital before eventually being discharged.
Following the ordeal, Nichola has warned kids thinking about chroming to be careful.
“I'd say to the kids, ‘It's not worth it’. It might feel good but it definitely doesn't when you're in the hospital trying to breathe for yourself and the pain you cause to your parents,” she explained.
"And I want to stress the importance of parents being first-aid trained. I think anyone with kids should attend a course as it could be the difference between life and death."
Topics: Health, UK News, Social Media, Parenting, Crime
Ella Scott