Inhalants are a type of drugs that are sniffed, huffed, or inhaled. They include chemicals found in common household cleaning and freshening products, like aerosol sprays, cleaning sprays, glue, paint and paint thinner, nail polish remover, and lighter fuel. Most teens have little to no knowledge of inhalants. So when they’re asked to “sniff” a common household product, they don’t automatically associate it with the danger of drugs. We’re going to present 10 things everyone needs to know about the dangers of inhalants.
#1: Household Products Can be Dangerous
We use household products every day, which makes it easy to forget how dangerous they really are to our health. Breathable chemical vapors from some of the most used household items – like cleaning supplies and air fresheners – can have mind-altering effects.
The toxic chemicals contained in standard household products like glues and paint were never meant to be inside the body. When inhaled, they can be just as dangerous and deadly as street drugs.
#2: A Single Sniff Can Kill
Did you know using inhalants just once can kill? According to KidsHealth.org, there are four different types of inhalants: volatile solvents, gases, aerosol sprays, and nitrites. Sniffing, huffing, or otherwise inhaling these chemicals just once can have harmful effects on the body, including:
- Increased heart rate
- Onset of delusions or hallucinations
- Loss of consciousness or feeling
- Nausea and vomiting
- A loss of coordination
- Slurred speech
- Death
#3: They’re Always Dangerous
An inhalant can be breathed in through the mouth or nose in several ways. You might hear the act referred to as bagging, huffing, sniffing, or snorting. It doesn’t matter how these chemicals come into contact with your body – internally or externally – because they are always dangerous.
Inhalants are also incredibly addictive. Those who use them are far more likely to be long-term users, which puts them at a high risk of developing:
- Brain damage
- Muscle weakness
- Headaches
- Nosebleeds
- Depression
- A loss of sense, such as smell or hearing
#4: Your Brain Can Change Forever
Dabbling with inhalants is as dangerous as trying illicit street drugs, like cocaine, heroin, or marijuana. The poisons contained in these products can kill so many brain cells that the brain tissue shrinks. As a result, people using this form of drug rapidly develop memory, learning, and thinking problems.
#5: A Damaged Brain is a Damaged Body
The chemicals found in inhalants have been found to dissolve the protective coating on neurons called myelin, or the brain cells. This protective coating is assisting in sending messages to nerve cells, and once it is damaged, messages begin to move too slowly. As a result, uncontrollable tremors and muscle spasms develop. It can become difficult – even impossible – to do simple tasks like walking and talking.
Once the brain has been damaged, the body itself is injured. In most cases, brain damage caused by inhalant use is irreversible.
#6: Inhalants Increase the Risk of Depression
Most of us have felt sad. Sometimes life’s struggles or sudden events make us feel down, especially if they are out of our control. Depression occurs when a person feels intense sadness that lasts for many days to many weeks, even months. It can include feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, and worthlessness. It can stop a person from doing anything that they enjoy.
People who use inhalants increase their risk of developing depression. The changes that occur in the brain cause emotional instability. Soon, a user can feel uncontrollable depression in bursts or all of the time.
#7: You Can Lose Your Major Senses
Different household products contain different chemicals. When inhaled, these chemicals can cause different reactions. For example, Toluene is a chemical found in glues and spray paints. Trichloroethylene is a chemical found in correction and cleaning fluids. When inhaled, both can cause hearing loss.
Other chemicals can be responsible for damage to or loss of the other senses. Inhalant use can lead to loss of hearing, vision, taste, smell, and even how we perceive touch.
#8: Inhalants Can Damage Your Bones
Believe it or not, the chemicals in inhalants can damage your body as deep as your bones. Benzene, or gasoline, has been shown to damage bone marrow. And the damage is permanent.
#9: Chronic Health Issues Can Manifest
If the idea of damaging your very bones isn’t enough to make you rethink inhaling, what about the damage going beyond them? Long-term, or chronic, exposure to inhalants has been scientifically and medically proven to damage major organs in the body, including the:
- Heart
- Lungs
- Liver
- Kidneys
Chronic health issues can change your entire way of living, making it impossible to do the activities you enjoy. Imagine giving up basketball, football, music, or art all because you tried an inhalant.
#10: Fewer Teens are Trying Inhalants
There is good news! According to Scholastic.com, a recent NIDA-funded study showed that fewer teens are dabbling with inhalants. A survey of 8th graders in 2001 showed only 17.1 percent tried inhalants, and in 2002 the percentage dropped to 15.2.
If your friends ask you to try breathing in a household product, saying it will give you a high or make you feel awesome, stop! They’re not asking you to try something silly or harmless. You can liken their request to a friend handing you marijuana, heroin, or cocaine and telling you to take a hit; it’s so dangerous, it’s deadly.
Saying no isn’t easy, but you can do it. Take a minute to read our brief article on what to do when friends off drugs. It will give you some helpful suggestions for how to say no and standing your ground. And don’t forget that there are more people willing to help you say no than those who want you to say yes! Talk to your parents or an adult you trust. Ask for their advice. And if you have tried an inhalant, be sure to tell someone so you can be checked out a medical professional as soon as possible.