Arizona family warns against dangerous TikTok trend after death of teen daughter

An Arizona teen died last week after participating in a social media challenge called “dusting,” according to her family.

NBC affiliate KPNX reports that 19-year-old Renna O’Rourke, of Tempe, died on June 1 of sudden sniffing death syndrome after inhaling a computer dusting spray to get high, a viral trend on TikTok.

Her family is hoping to raise awareness of the trend to spare others their heartache.

Aaron and Dana O'Rourke said their daughter was "vibrant and vivacious," and loved to sing.

“She was just the most caring, beautiful soul I've ever, ever known," her mother, Dana O'Rourke said.

After participating in the social media trend, Renna went into cardiac arrest and spent several days in the ICU before being declared brain dead, her mother said.

Dusting, also known as "chroming" or "huffing," makes the user feel drunk and euphoric for a couple of minutes, and in that short amount of time, the damage done to the liver and lungs after just one huff can be irreversible and, potentially, deadly, said Dr. Randy Weisman, who leads the intensive care unit at HonorHealth Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center.

“When they inhale these chemicals in the gas, it will actually replace the oxygen within their lungs and within the rest of their body,” Weisman told AZFamily.com in an interview.

According to Weisman, several other teens have succumbed to this same disorder.

Dana O'Rourke is sounding the alarm at the ease in which teens can access this deadly product. She said Renna and her boyfriend purchased the keyboard cleaner online and had it delivered via Door Dash. "I didn’t know what they were doing with it," Dana O'Rourke said.

“We want to make sure that we use our tragedy so that no other parent has to experience looking at their child on life support and a ventilator and not breathing on her own all because she huffed out of a can," Dana O'Rourke said.

The O’Rourke family is finding some comfort in knowing Renna O’Rourke was able to help others by donating her organs.

“Through that we’re finding strength and purpose," Dana O'Rourke said. “We’ve been told that her heart is going to a recipient in California, which is kind of beautiful, because she was ultimately wanting to move to California. So, in a way her heart is taking her there."