A case of cold injury caused by a gas duster (Air Duster®)

An approximately 40-year-old man with erythema and blisters of the lips and the anterior region of the neck presented at our hospital in May 2013. The blisters were epithelialized by topical medication. About five months later, he also suffered from ulcer and erythema of the lips, a perioral lesion, and a lesion on the right hand. He was unable to eat due to intense pain. By a medical examination including an interview, we diagnosed his condition as cold injury caused by the inhalation of gas from a gas duster. The ulcer was epithelialized by topical medication, as on the previous occasion. The main ingredient of gas dusters is fluorocarbon. Although it was not the patient's original intention, he found that he could obtain a feeling of euphoria after the inhalation of gas from the gas duster. The patient had identical symptoms, so he seemed to have a habit of inhaling gas from a gas duster. We considered that he had also been injured by the inhalation of gas from a gas duster in his first medical examination.