Schoolgirl dies after being overcome by deodorant fumes

Getty Images/iStockphoto
Getty Images/iStockphoto

A 12-year-old schoolgirl died after being overcome by fumes from her aerosol deodorant in her family's holiday caravan.

Paige Daughtry was so worried about her personal hygiene she used body spray "as it if was going out of fashion," an inquest heard, according to the Manchester Evening News.

It is thought "volatile substances" in the aerosol affected her heart rhythm.

She was found lying face down on a bed by her mother in a caravan they were renting at a holiday park in Fleetwood, near Blackpool, Lancashire.

Despite being rushed to hospital, she died two hours later.

Police investigating the tragedy found a can of Right Guard deodorant lying close to where the schoolgirl was found.

Doctors said she had inhaled butane and isobutane, but there was no evidence of "chronic use".

Ms Daughtry told the hearing: "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."

Forensic pathologist Dr Jonathan Metcalfe said the cause of death was "inhalation of volatile substances" which are "known to be present in Right Guard deodorant."