Inhalant Abuse

www.inhalant.org/inhalant-abuse/

So What is Inhalant Abuse?

Inhalant abuse refers to the deliberate inhalation or sniffing of common products found in homes and communities with the purpose of "getting high."

Inhalants are easily accessible, legal, everyday products.

When used as intended, these products have a useful purpose in our lives and enhance the quality of life, but when intentionally misused, they can be deadly.

Inhalant Abuse is a lesser recognized form of substance abuse, but it is no less dangerous. Inhalants are addictive and are considered to be "gateway" drugs because children often progress from inhalants to illegal drug and alcohol abuse.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that one in five American teens have used Inhalants to get high.

What Products Can be Abused?

There are more than a 1,400 products which are potentially dangerous when inhaled, such as typewriter correction fluid, air conditioning coolant, gasoline, propane, felt tip markers, spray paint, air freshener, butane, cooking spray, paint, and glue.

Most are common products that can be found in the home, garage, office, school or as close as the local convenience store.

Dangers & Effects

Inhaled chemicals are rapidly absorbed through the lungs into the bloodstream and quickly distributed to the brain and other organs. Within minutes, the user experiences intoxication, with symptoms similar to those produced by drinking alcohol.

With Inhalants, however, intoxication lasts only a few minutes, so some users prolong the "high" by continuing to inhale repeatedly.

Long-term Inhalant users generally suffer from:

weight loss, muscle weakness, disorientation, inattentiveness, lack of coordination, irritability and depression.

Different Inhalants produce different harmful effects, and regular abuse of these substances can result in serious harm to vital organs. Serious, but potentially reversible, effects include liver and kidney damage.

Harmful irreversible effects include: hearing loss, limb spasms, bone marrow and central nervous system (including brain) damage.



This article talks more about the dangers of huffing chemicals as related to children and teens who practice this type of junkie high.

But what about educated and intelligent adults? Do smart people ever feel the need to inhale the fumes off their felt tip markers as they're working?

I also wonder if healthcare providers can adequately diagnose someone's ailments and complaints if they aren't honest with their doctors about this harmful practice?

Or if insurance carriers will cover the ailments created by this type of self abuse?

Huffing is simply another form of substance abuse.
Self medicating , to feel different than a person is presently feeling.
No different than abusing alcohol or drugs.
So, undoubtedly, smart people are doing it.

Not so smart then are they

Smart people are very capable of making bad choices
if they have emotional or mental upset in their lives.

I thought everyone huffed household cleaning supplies while stalking people on Mingle in between posting in religious forums???

Despite there being adult huffers all the research I've found online thus far is geared toward middle and high school kids. Apparently, young kids who aren't old or connected enough to buy alcohol or weed are dying from inhalant abuse, and those in authority are going around to schools warning them about the dangers.

Which is probably just inspiring more kids to try it after hearing about other kids doing it, because most kids think their invincible and the bad shiiit won't happen to them.

As for not finding out any data on adults, maybe not enough of them come forward to admit their sniffing everything from magic markers to gasoline. I would imagine it's a bit embarrassing to tell your doctor that you're there to see him because you think you may have OD'd on your computer Dust Off spray.

I proffer that psychiatry would probably be the referral of choice in diagnosing why an adult would prefer paint thinner to Jack Daniels black.

i have a confession......





i used to eat Elmer's Glue when i was a kid

Aaaaahhh yeah, I'm almost there...

Now this is gonna smart... or this is smart... or how smart is this?

Yeah, I can see how Dust Off might affect your brain and lead you to want to dust off somebody else too.

They've even done studies on it so its more widespread than we would imagine.

This is just INSANE!

Why would anybody inhale paint directly into their bodies?

To hell with jail, don't the police know a junkie will find anything, even on the inside, to get high? They need to get this guy into a straight jacket if that's the only way to keep him off the fumes!

...

There's NO telling what kind of ADVERSE LONG TERM AFFECTS huffing has on your internal organs and your brain. And this kind of easy access high seeking behavior doesn't look like self medication to me, especially when young kids are doing it with their friends just to get a buzz. Or is this their form of group therapy?

You know what, Athena? If they could feel the lung damage before they do it, they might think twice. I feel bad enough with this wheezing cough. So hell knows how they'll cope if they end up not being able to breathe, every time they say a sentence, or laugh. I don't think that just because someone is smart, that they probably don't abuse substances. As smart is all about using your brain. Some people get addicted to certain smells in household products, and that doesn't help. Sometimes I'll be pouring some laundry powder into my washer, and think it smells heavenly, yet I know not to start sniffing it like crazy. But the way companies make their stuff smell, can lure you in. I think it's partly their fault for making a product smell so lovely.

I never thought of it like that before. Being allergic to most airborne substances most of the time I have to hold my breath or breathe real shallow until I get back to fresh air that it never occurred to me people who can handle it would actually enjoy soaking in it.

I've noticed you've mentioned your cough before, are you okay? Is it something transient?

It's Brohnchitis. I've never tried inhaling anything. And wouldn't bother. It looks dangerous.

We have something in common there

I'm glad it's not TOO serious...

Thankyou . I wasn't trying to look for sympathy, but seeing as we were talking about breathing, I thought I'd put that as an example of how bad it can feel, to lose your breath, almost every hour.

Let's face it, once you start wheezing every hour, you're gonna wish you had an inhaler with you.

The people who will end up with things like Emphysema, from inhaling stuff, I could cry for them in a way, as I know how bad that can get. It's quite a shame. I don't think anything I say about this will make a difference. I just want to get the message across that it's way worse ending up with damaged lungs, than looking uncool. But don't take MY word for it. I'd rather look like a whimp, than lose the ability to breathe properly.