‘She always said, “I’m going to be famous, dad”’: Teen dies after viral TikTok ‘dusting’ challenge

The parents of a 19-year-old who dreamed of fame and died after trying the TikTok “dusting” trend are warning others about its deadly risks.

Renna O’Rourke and her boyfriend DoorDashed aerosol keyboard cleaner to her parents’ Tempe, Arizona, home without her mother’s knowledge, Dana O’Rourke told 12 News. After inhaling the keyboard cleaner, Renna went into cardiac arrest, spent a week unconscious in the intensive care unit and then was declared brain-dead.

“She always said, ‘I’m going to be famous, dad. Just you watch. I’m going to be famous,’ and unfortunately, this is not under the most optimal of circumstances,” Aaron O’Rourke, told the outlet..

The dusting trend, also known as chroming or huffing, involves inhaling common household cleaners to get high for views online. The sensation causes brief euphoria but can cause instant, fatal damage, often due to heart failure, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Renna’s parents described their late daughter as “vivacious and caring and loyal.” Her father, Aaron O’Rourke, told 12 News that Renna loved to sing and lit up every room with her smile and laughter.

Despite the less-than-ideal circumstances, the O’Rourke family is now working to honor Renna by spreading the word about the dangers of huffing for teens and parents.

“There’s no ID required. It’s odorless. It’s everything kids look for. They can afford it, they can get it, and it doesn’t show in mom and dad’s drug test,” Dana O’Rourke told AZ Family about access to the trendy chemicals.

She added, “Don’t take your kid’s word for it. Dig deep. Search their rooms. Don’t trust — and that sounds horrible, but it could save their life.”

A GoFundMe started to help the O’Rourke family with hospital bills, burial and therapy costs and to spread awareness about huffing has surpassed its $5,000 goal and sits at over $9,000 at the time of publication.

The trend has been around for years. According to CNN, the number of 12- to 17-year-olds who used went from 684,000 in 2015 to 564,000 in 2022.

“People have been inhaling fumes for centuries,” Dr. Betty Choi told CNN. “According to the 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, inhalant abuse peaked in the 1990s and was downtrending over the last two decades. But in recent years, experimentation rates among teens have risen again.”

Choi noted that many products are cheap and easily found in homes. The short-term effects are similar to being drunk and can also lead to a host of minor and major health problems.

“(Chroming) can become addictive when it’s done over and over again,” Choi said.