Deodorant can fumes kill girl, 12 obsessed by hygiene
A GIRL who was obsessed with hygiene died dousing herself with deodorant.
Paige Daughtry, 12, used Right Guard as though ‘it was going out of fashion’, her mother told an inquest yesterday.
And she was found unconscious after inhaling too many aerosol fumes. Paige was rushed to hospital but died two hours later.
Her mother Ann, 36, told the hearing she had warned Paige to stop overusing the deodorant but had no idea she might be inhaling it.
The tragedy took place during a holiday at a caravan park in Fleetwood, Lancashire. After a trip to nearby Blackpool, Paige retreated to her bedroom, apparently in a strop, to listen to music.
Fifteen minutes later her mother found her lying face down on the bed and screamed for help.
Holidaymakers from neighbouring caravans gave first aid until paramedics arrived to take Paige to hospital.
Police investigating Paige’s death on July 18 last year found her can of Right Guard lying outside the caravan.
Doctors said she had inhaled butane and isobutane but there was no evidence of chronic use.
Mrs Daughtry said: ‘She would spend hours in the bedroom and would spray and spray as she didn’t want to smell.
‘She used to spray it in small rooms and I used to tell her off. I suppose that’s something every 12-year-old girl would do, spraying deodorant. But she was overusing deodorant.
‘It was more than we would have expected any girl to put on. But there was never a point we started to think there was an issue – not in the way we would have thought she was doing any sniffing or anything like that.
‘There were no indications whatsoever, I would have noticed. She was a strong character. My feeling is she was the way she was. There was no changing her no matter what we did – she marched to her own beat, that was Paige.’
Recording a verdict of death by misadventure, coroner Alan Wilson said the schoolgirl had suffered the ‘unintentional consequences of a deliberate act’.
‘Paige was inhaling the fumes from the deodorant but what she didn’t intend is the consequences,’ he added.
‘It’s most likely that inhaling those fumes has most probably led to her heart rhythm being affected and led to her death. It may have been in recent times she got into the habit of inhaling some fumes. She was probably inhaling deodorant fumes for whatever reason during that day.’
Paige’s family released a statement following the inquest in Heywood, Greater Manchester.
It said: ‘Paige was a bright and talented girl who still had her whole life ahead of her, she dreamed one day to do something with her singing or art.
‘Paige is sadly missed by friends and family. We are all still in shock and grieving for a loving, loyal friend, daughter, sister and granddaughter.’ Dr Jonathan Metcalfe, a forensic pathologist, said the cause of Paige’s death was inhalation of volatile substances.
He added: ‘Analysis of brain samples revealed two substances present in aerosols – they are known as volatile substances. They are known to be present in Right Guard deodorant which was present at the scene.
‘Their presence is consistent with inhalation. Death may result from the toxicological effects. The substances are butane and isobutane.
‘There was no natural disease that has contributed to her death. There was no evidence of heavy use and no direct evidence that there was chronic use.’
Found her lying face down