Take a Deep Breath, Inhale

Easy Access Makes Youngsters Vulnerable to Inhalant Use

Evergreen memories of physics and chemistry labs from our school or college days are etched in our minds. Our experiments rarely included the ‘laughing gas’ or nitrous oxide, but I am sure most of us giggled about this ‘inhalant’ almost during every lab session.

Inhalants Around Us
Never once do parents talk about drugs while their kids hang around them, but don’t realize the dangers of substances found in their own households. Inhalants are chemicals that people inhale deliberately to get ‘high.’ People don’t think about them from the perspective of drugs as they are also not meant to be used that way, although inhaling their chemical vapors can cause mind-altering effects.
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Inhalants generally fall into one of these four major categories:

Category	Property	Found In
Volatile solvents	​These are liquids that become gas at room temperature.	Paint thinners, nail polish remover, gasoline, art office supplies such as correction fluid & felt-tip marker fluid.
​Aerosols	​These are sprays that contain propellants and solvents	Spray paint, hair spray, deodorant spray, vegetable oil sprays and fabric protector spray
Gases	Found in household or commercial products. Can be used for medicinal purpose also.	​Butane lighters, propane tanks, whipped cream dispenser, refrigerant gases, anesthesia such as nitrous oxide, ether & chloroform, halothane
Nitrites	​Mainly used to enhance sexual experience. Amyl nitrite is sometimes used by doctors to relieve chest pain or diagnose heart problems.	​Though banned, they are manufactured under the name of video head cleaner, room odorizer, leather cleaner or liquid aroma.

​Sniff or Snort
People use inhalants by breathing the fumes through their nose or mouth, either by sniffing, snorting or huffing. Within seconds of inhaling, the person feels intoxicated and experiences similar symptoms as that of alcohol, such as slurred speech, euphoria, dizziness or lack of concentration. Some people also experience hallucinations and delusions. In rare cases, inhalants can also cause unconsciousness as they produce anesthesia.

The above-said effects are only short-term ones and long-term effects include serious problems such as damage to nerve fibers or damage to brain cells. Damage to vital organs and systems such as the heart, liver, muscles, blood cell production and nerves, apart from the brain, are caused with regular use of inhalants.
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This is different from smoking in that, damage to the organs is not reversible even if the person stops using inhalants. If you are addicted to smoking and looking for ways to stop it, www.firsteatright.com is the best place to find solutions to quit smoking once and for all.

Using an Inhalant or Not?
You can tell that a person is using inhalants when you notice these symptoms:

1. Slurred speech, red eyes or drunken appearance
2. Nausea, loss of appetite and weight loss
3. Drunk or disoriented action
4. Stashed away empty spray containers or rags soaked in chemicals
5. Lack of attention, inability to focus, depression or irritability
6. Excessively purchasing products that are used as inhalants
   
   

Inhalants are hazardous to health, sometimes even one use of them can result in death. Using inhalants can cause accidents while driving, coma if the brain shuts down, convulsions or seizures, suffocation or sudden sniffing death (heart beats rapidly and irregularly and stops suddenly thereafter due to cardiac arrest).
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Addiction is not common as in the case of other drugs or alcohol but rarely addiction to inhalants too occurs. It is mostly young adolescents who use inhalants profusely compared to other groups of people. These individuals continue usage well into adulthood.