Inhalants

Inhalants are common household and workplace substances that are sniffed or huffed to givethe user an immediate head rush or high. Inhalants are "sniffed" from an open container or "huffed" from a rag soaked in the substance and held to the face. A new trend, "dusting," involves inhaling common computer cleaners (One brand is Dust Off), several deaths have occured.

Inhalants include a diverse group of chemicals that are found in consumer products such as aerosols, plastic cement, nail polish remover, lighter fluid, hair spray, insecticides, and cleaning solvents. Their easy accessibility, low cost, and ease of concealment make inhalants, for many, one of the first substances abused. While not regulated under the CSA, a few states place restrictions on the sale of these products to minors. Studies have shown that between 5 and 15 percent of young people in the United States have tried inhalants, although the vast majority of these youngsters do not become chronic abusers.

USING INHALANTS, EVEN JUST ONE TIME, CAN PUT YOU AT RISK FOR:

• sudden death (presumably from cardiac arrest)

• suffocation (typically seen with inhalant users who use bags)

• asphyxia (solvent gases can significantly limit available oxygen in the air, causing breathing to stop)

• visual hallucinations

• severe mood swings

• numbness and tingling of the hands and feet

• loss of muscle control

• slurred speech

• headache

• muscle weakness

• abdominal pain

• decrease or loss of sense of smell

• nausea

• nosebleeds

• hepatitis

• violent behavior

• irregular heartbeat

• liver, lung, and kidney impairment

• brain damage

• nervous system damage

• dangerous chemical imbalances in the body

• involuntary passing of urine and feces.

Entry into the brain is so fast that the effects of inhalation can resemble the intensity of effects produced by intravenous injection or other psychoactive drugs. The effects of inhalant intoxication resemble those of alcohol inebriation, with stimulation and loss of inhibition followed by depression at high doses. Users report distortion in perceptions of time and space. Many users experience headache, nausea or vomiting, slurred speech, loss of motor coordination, and wheezing. A characteristic "glue-sniffer's rash" around the nose and mouth is also common. An odor of paint or solvents on clothes, skin and breath is also a sign of inhalant abuse. The chronic use of inhalants has been associated with a number of serious health problems. Glue and paint thinner sniffing in particular produce kidney abnormalities, while the solvents, toluene and trichloralethylene, cause liver toxicity. Memory impairment, attention deficits, and diminished non-verbal intelligence have been associated with the abuse of inhalants. Death resulting from heart failure, asphyxiation, or aspiration have occurred as well.

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