Teenage girl suffering from allergies may have been killed by brushing her teeth with Aquafresh

In the days before her death Francesca Sanna, 19, had complained her gums were sore.

She collapsed and died from anaphylactic shock minutes after brushing her teeth while preparing for a night out with friends, an inquest was told.

Francesca - known affectionately as Mim - suffered from asthma and severe allergies which dogged her life.

Her parents believed the newly repackaged Aquafresh toothpaste was the most likely cause of the fatal reaction. But the inquest in Blackburn was inconclusive.

Pathologist Dr Richard Prescott told the hearing toothpaste could cause sever reactions.

Commenting on the post mortem findings, he said: "Both lungs were inflamed and the bronchials were plugged with mucus, but she did not die from an asthma attack.

"It could have been a number of different things. People have suffered severe reactions in the past from toothpaste, mouthwash or even tampons."

Coroner Carolyn Singleton recorded a narrative verdict and concluded Francesca died from an acute anaphylactic reaction and asthma.

She said: "She must have come into contact with or ingested something that caused her death. She was a young lady who was very careful, she knew what she could and could not touch.

"The cause of the reaction might have been new to her. It is possible to develop allergies to stuff that you have never been allergic to."

Francesca, of Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, was in a car with friends heading for a night out in October when she suddenly lurched forward and went white. She was taken home, where she collapsed in the hall.

Her parents raced back from the family's Italian restaurant and a nurse, who happened to be nearby, tried in vain to revive her.

After the inquest Francesca's mother Kim warned allergy sufferers and manufacturers to take care to prevent future tragedies. She said the family believed the toothpaste was linked to her death.

Mrs Sanna said: "I think that further tests have to be done to determine what happened to Francesca, but I am happy with the results from the inquest.

"From the beginning I thought that toothpaste might have contributed to her death. We always used Aquafresh Mild and Minty and then the packaging changed.

"This is when Francesca started to complain of sore teeth and gums a couple of weeks before she died.

"We looked in her mouth but it looked fine, we were used to the classic symptoms of anaphylaxia.

"Her reaction was so severe and so quick the trigger must have been something she did before she left the house, like brushing her teeth.

"I want people to take allergies more seriously, almost from birth she suffered from allergies. But on this occasion she didn't have the usual warning signs."

A spokesman for GlaxoSmithKline, the manufacturers of Aquafresh, said despite the newlook packaging the product had not changed since 2001.

She said: "Although we have not yet had an opportunity to see the coroner's report, we understand that no conclusion was made as to the cause of the anaphylactic shock.

"We receive less than a handful of complaints of allergic reaction to Aquafresh Mild and Minty each year, all of which have been of a mild and localised nature.

"To put this in context, over 1.9million tubes are used by consumers in the UK every year."