Another case of children dying from following social media challenges
Brenda Santana was found unconscious last Sunday (March 9) at her home in the Bom Jardim municipality, Pernambuco state, Brazil. Her family took her to the hospital, but doctors determined that she had already died from cardiac arrest.
Brenda's cause of death was determined to be poisoning due to following a challenge that went viral on TikTok and several other social media platforms, called the "chroming challenge" (inhaling toxic gas).
Little girl Brenda Santana died after following the "poison gas inhalation" challenge (Photo: Globo).
Participants in the "chroming challenge" will inhale fumes from household chemicals such as paint spray, hair spray, bleach or cleaning solutions... then video the participants' reactions and share the feelings they experienced on social network TikTok.
Jose Santana, Brenda’s father, said his daughter had recently started sniffing air freshener. Despite her parents’ repeated warnings and attempts to stop her, she apparently did not listen.
Jose added that he did not know how his daughter had heard about the “chroming challenge” on social media as she did not have her own phone . Jose believed that she had picked up the trend from her friends.
Dr. Andrey Damasceno, who treated Brenda, said the victim's bronchi, the organs that carry air to the lungs, were severely affected by the girl directly inhaling large amounts of deodorant spray.
Participants in the "chroming challenge" will directly inhale dangerous chemicals to create a "high" feeling (Illustration: Reddit).
Doctors warn that directly inhaling household chemicals such as paint sprayers, deodorant sprays, nail polish removers, etc. is an extremely dangerous act that can lead to death, as in the case of Brenda Santana.
Notably, Brenda Santana is not the first person to die from doing the "chroming challenge".
In March last year, 11-year-old Tommie-Lee Gracie Billington died after inhaling toxic chemicals while taking part in a "chroming challenge" in Lancaster, England.
The incident happened when Tommie-Lee went to stay overnight at a friend's house and the two of them took on the challenge together.
However, immediately after participating in the challenge, the boy had difficulty breathing and lost consciousness... Tommie-Lee's friend's family quickly took the boy to the hospital, but doctors said the child had died earlier due to cardiac arrest.
In 2023, Esra Haynes, a 13-year-old living in Melbourne, Australia, also died after participating in the "chroming challenge". Doctors said she suffered cardiac arrest and brain damage after inhaling toxic chemicals, leading to her death.
Warning about many deadly dangerous challenges spreading on TikTok
The "chroming challenge" is not the first time a dangerous challenge that can lead to fatal accidents has been spread and shared on social media, especially on the TikTok platform.
Another dangerous challenge that has gone viral on TikTok is called the "blackout challenge."
The "blackout challenge" (also known as the "blackout challenge") is a challenge where participants must use a rope to strangle themselves (or use any form of suffocation) until they fall into a state of temporary unconsciousness.
A 4-year-old girl from the Philippines got a scar on her neck after trying the "Blackout" challenge. She was lucky to escape death because her family discovered her in time (Photo: YN).
Participants will record videos of themselves performing the challenge and then share them on social network TikTok.
A report by the Social Media Victims Law Center (SMVLC) said that in 2022, at least seven children were recorded to have died from following the "blackout challenge" in the US alone, all under the age of 15.
Another dangerous prank that went viral on TikTok is called the "Skullbreaker" challenge.
An American teenager living in Arizona suffered a serious head injury while performing the "Skullbreaker" challenge (Photo: Valerie Hodson).
There have been many injuries around the world while performing the "Skullbreaker" challenge. There has even been at least one death due to this prank; a 16-year-old Brazilian girl. The victim fell, resulting in a traumatic brain injury and death.
Governments of many countries have had to speak out to warn about the dangers of the "Skullbreaker" prank, and at the same time ask people not to perform this prank.
In addition, there is also a joke called "coin challenge" that has spread quickly on TikTok, causing concern for many people.
This prank can lead to dangerous electrical accidents or cause short circuits, damaging the electrical system over a large area.
The reason why TikTok is often the place where dangerous pranks originate and spread is because it is a social network aimed at young people, an age group that is willing to carry out risky pranks without thinking about the consequences.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/cong-nghe/be-gai-11-tuoi-thiet-mang-vi-lam-theo-thu-thach-lan-truyen-tren-tiktok-20250317144535461.htm
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