11-Year-Old Girl Dies After Inhaling Deodorant for Viral Challenge

An 11-year-old girl in Brazil has tragically died after inhaling deodorant, reportedly as part of a viral internet challenge.

Brenda Sophia Melo de Santana passed out at home while her father was visiting a friend and her mother was at a relative’s house.

Her grandmother, who was in the house at the time, did not realize anything was wrong.

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When her father, José Ailton, returned home, he found Brenda unconscious on the bed with a white substance in her mouth.

Desperate to save her, he checked for a pulse but felt nothing.

Panicked, he ran to alert Brenda’s mother and their neighbors.

A neighbor helped Letícia, Brenda’s mother, rush her to a local hospital, while José stayed behind to look after their other three children.

By the time he arrived at the hospital, doctors had already spent 40 minutes trying to resuscitate her but were unable to revive her.

Brenda Sophia Melo de Santana. (Picture: Jam Press)

Brenda had suffered a cardiac arrest on the way to the facility, and her death was confirmed in Bom Jardim, northwest of Recife.

Authorities are treating the case as an accidental death, though an investigation is ongoing.

Brenda’s parents and grandmother have already been interviewed by police.

José explained that his mother, who has difficulty hearing and speaking, entered Brenda’s room and called out to her but assumed she was sleeping when she didn’t respond.

The family fears Brenda may have been influenced by a dangerous online trend.

Similar incidents have been reported worldwide, including in the UK, where a 12-year-old boy from Doncaster suffered cardiac arrest in August last year after participating in a comparable challenge.

Social media post about the wake of Brenda Sophia Melo de Santana. (Picture: Jam Press)

Other cases in Brazil include a seven-year-old girl from São Bernardo do Campo in 2018 and a 10-year-old boy from Belo Horizonte in 2022, both of whom died after inhaling aerosol spray.

One version of the so-called “deodorant challenge” involves inhaling aerosol fumes for as long as possible, while another, known as “chroming,” refers to inhaling chemical vapors to achieve a brief high.

Brenda’s mother admitted she had caught her inhaling deodorant on two previous occasions and had warned her about the dangers.

In response to the tragedy, the Municipality of Bom Jardim expressed its “deep sorrow” and confirmed that Brenda’s parents had repeatedly tried to stop her from inhaling the product.

However, it remains unclear how she accessed the deodorant this time.

Brenda was laid to rest in Bom Jardim on March 10.

Experts warn that inhaling deodorant spray can rapidly affect the respiratory system, restricting oxygen flow and leading to fatal consequences.

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Source: Girl, 11, dies after inhaling deodorant ‘for viral challenge’