An Australian mother is warning parents to look out for the warning signs after her teenage daughter died from suspected inhalant abuse in February.
Anne Ryan, from Broken Hill, found her daughter Brooke,16, lying face down on her bedroom floor with a can of deodorant and a tea towel underneath her.
Ryan believed the teenager had been participating in "huffing" or "chroming" where people sniff aerosols, which public health experts warn is incredibly dangerous.
The teenager's mother told Sydney Morning Herald she had no clue her daughter was using inhalants before her death.
She's urging parents to make sure they are aware of the warning signs which include frequent headaches, headache pill usage, excessive use of deodorant or other aerosols, the smell in their bedroom and white patches on tea towels or hand towels.
Ryan told Sydney Morning Herald on Sunday she just wants her daughter back.
"I wake up, I think of her. I go to sleep and think of her, and you wish, you wish [you could bring her back], but you just can’t. Every day is a nightmare."
The coroner's report has not been released yet but Ryan believes her daughter died from sudden sniffing death syndrome, a well-known potential side effect of using inhalants. The teenager's body was covered in bruises, suggesting she had a heart attack, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Clinical toxicologist Dr Ingrid Berling said there is an upswing in young people and children using inhalants.
Dr Berling said the number of calls to the New South Wales Poisons Information Centre related to inhalants was 50 to 60 a year from 2010 to 2017. In 2018 it increased to 75 before jumping to 96 in 2019 and 107 in 2020.
Around half the calls involved children younger than 11 years and 20 percent were under the age of 19.
Brooke Ryan was set to start Year 11 the week after she died.
