Esra's parents want to warn others about the dangers of "chroming" after she passed away from inhaling harmful chemicals. They hope to prevent other families from going through the same heartbreaking experience.
Heartbroken Family Issue Warning About Chroming Trend After 13-Year-Old Daughter Dies
The parents of a 13-year-old girl who passed away following "chroming" have stated that they wish to spread knowledge of the risks in order to spare other families from suffering the same loss.
Esra Haynes, a Melbourne child, passed away earlier this year after going into cardiac arrest and breathing in hazardous chemicals, according to 7News.
Her relatives reported that after participating in "chroming" at a friend's house, she passed away after spending a week and a half in the hospital.
A phenomenon known as "chroming" occurs when someone breathes in harmful vapors, including those from paint cans or aerosol cans.
Since then, posting films to TikTok and tagging them with the name "WhipTok," an informal abbreviation for nitrous oxide, has become popular.
The phrase originally referred to people inhaling paint containing chromium to get high, but it has subsequently spread to include inhaling a greater variety of toxic substances.
As inhaling the poisonous compounds might slow down messages between the body and brain, chroming is thought to provide a brief high.
Long-term misuse, however, can result in organ damage and also induce chest discomfort and irregular heartbeats.
Chroming can be deadly in certain circumstances, as it was for Esra Haynes.
Her family sought to draw attention to the risks after her passing, hoping that it would spare other families from suffering as much as they had.
"We definitely have a mission to raise awareness for kids and anyone that does it,” Esra's sister Imogen said.
"We don’t want that to happen to anyone else. We don’t want another family to go through this, it’s absolutely horrible."
Brother Seth Haynes added: "I just want to put awareness out there that it can happen very quickly, and we don’t want to lose any more amazing people."
According to her family, Esra was 'the most beautiful spirit' and her passing was 'one of the hardest weeks and a half of our life'.
Imogen said: "[Esra] was just at her friend’s house, it was a normal night.”
"She became unconscious after inhaling the aerosol can and went into cardiac arrest.”
"She then spent about 1.5 weeks in hospital fighting for her life, her lungs and her heart were strong but her brain just didn’t recover. We unfortunately had to say goodbye to her."
TikTok responded to the news that 14-year-old Sarah Mescall may have died as a result of chroming, saying: "Content of this nature is prohibited on our platform and would be removed if found.”
"We will continue to prioritize protecting and supporting our community, working with expert partners, and providing safety resources to those who need them."
Her family's impassioned plea for awareness stands as a crucial call to address and prevent the tragic consequences of this hazardous behavior.