Inhalant Abuse

Inhalants are perfectly legal substances, with the exception being that they were not meant to be used as a means to an immediate head rush or high. They consist mainly of aerosols, lighter fuel, glues, cleaning fluids, chemical solvents, paints stripper, petrol, marker pen, deodorant, correction fluid, and dry cleaning fluids.

Misuse is most common among adolescents between the ages of 12 and 16, although younger children have been known to experiment also. A survey conducted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse in 1993 shows that one in every five 8th graders used an inhalant in his or her lifetime. According to Dr. Fred Beauvais, a NIDA-funded researcher, "Children as young as 4th graders who begin to use volatile solvents also will start experimenting with other drugs, usually alcohol and marijuana. Adolescent solvent abusers are typically polydrug users and are prone to use whatever is available, although they do show a preference for solvents."

There are generally three categories of inhalants: volatile solvents, anesthetics, and nitrites. Vapors are inhaled with the intention of producing an effect similar to alcohol. Some individuals have been known to increase this effect by inhaling from a plastic bag, breathing through both the mouth and nose. Aerosols are typically ejected straight down the throat. These substances cause drunken behavior and hallucinations, stomach cramps, rashes around the nose and mouth and inflamed eyes, light-headedness, dizziness and, in some cases, nausea and drowsiness.

Fatty tissues in the brain and nervous system, such as myelin, absorb some of the chemicals contained in the vapors from inhalants. After an extended period of inhalant use, the chemicals can break down myelin, which is the protective cover that surrounds many of the body's nerve cells. If this occurs, nerve cells may not be able to transmit messages throughout the body. Some inhalants increase the size of blood vessels, allowing more blood to flow through. If the heart becomes too sensitive to non-adrenalin, a normal jolt of it may cause the heart to temporarily lose its rhythm and stop pumping blood throughout the body, in some cases causing death.

One time use of inhalants can put you at risk for death, suffocation, hallucinations and severe mood swings, and numbness and tingling of the hands and feet. Prolonged usage results in several symptoms. They include: headache, muscle weakness, abdominal pain, decrease or loss of sense of smell, hepatitis, nose bleeds, violent behaviors, irregular heartbeat, liver, lung and kidney impairment, involuntary passing of urine and feces, irreversible brain damage, nervous system damage, and dangerous chemical imbalances in the body.

The scope of inhalant abuse is largely unrecognizable, as the products are readily available and relatively cheap. Another obstacle is the fact that these products can be purchased legally in stores by persons of any age. It is only through education on the dangers of these products that we will be able to make any impact on the scope of this form of abuse.