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| Inhalants |
What Are Inhalants?
Some of the most commonly abused drugs are common household
 products that serve useful purposes. Many of these products can be
purchased at any grocery store. Inhalants are chemicals containing products
that when inhaled, cause feelings of euphoria or disorientation. In fact, you
probably purchased some the last time you went to the grocery store. Their easy
access encourages younger children to obtain and abuse them.
Who
Abuses Inhalants?
Inhalant abuse has been called the cocaine of the
nineties. Studies indicate that one in three children experiment with
inhalants. Abusers are typically between the ages of eight and seventeen. They
come from all racial, social, and economic backgrounds'. Inhalants are inviting
to abusers, especially children, because they are legal substances, readily
available, and inexpensive. In most cases, the adult's unfamiliarity of the
product's potential for inhalation abuse increases the attraction.
Characteristics Of An Inhalant User
An inhalant is often the
first substance a person abuses and a precursor to marijuana and cocaine. In
fact, people abuse inhalants often before trying alcohol and tobacco. Abusers
often suffer from unhappy home life, because of divorce, family violence,
parental alcoholism, or drug abuse. Frequently, abusers have low- self-esteem,
and many abusers have friends or siblings who encourage their use of
inhalants.
Effects Of Inhalants
Even though people abuse
various types of products, the effects are very similar. Nearly all inhalants
are depressants and slow the body's functions. Taken in small amounts,
individuals feel slightly stimulated or excited. In larger amounts, they cause
users to become intoxicated, less inhibited and less controlled - very much
like the effects of alcoholic beverages. As their tolerance for inhalants
develops, users sniff more frequently. Inhalants can cause death the first time
used. Death by suffocation occurs when the inhalant replaces oxygen in the
lungs. Another way inhalants kill is by depressing the central nervous system
until breathing stops.
Long-Term Effects
Long-term use of inhalants causes weight loss, fatigue,
electrolyte (salt) imbalances, short-term memory loss, emotional instability,
slurred speech, hearing loss, limb spasms, loss of sense of smell, and muscle
fatigue. Repeated sniffing may cause leukemia or permanent damage to the
nervous system, liver, lungs, brain, kidneys, blood, and bone marrow, and can
ultimately lead to death.
What To Do When A Person Is Using
Inhalants
If you know someone who is using inhalants, seek medical
help for that person
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- Remain calm. Do not panic
- If you suspect that someone is using inhalants, be
frank but not accusatory while discussing the matter.
- Do not excite or argue with the person if they are
under the influence. Inhalants can cause a person to become aggressive or
violent.
- If the person is unconscious or not breathing, call
911. Administer CPR until help arrives.
- If the person is conscious, keep him or her calm and in
a well- ventilated room. Call for help.
- Talk with other persons present or check the area for
clues to determine what inhalant the person was using.
- Once the person has recovered, seek professional help
for him or her, from a counselor, physician, or other health care provider.
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