Author: Alex Thompson

Inhalants National Institute on Drug Abuse NIDA

In addition to SSDS, use of inhalants can cause a number of other dangerous complications. Complications of the effects themselves of inhalants can be very dangerous, such as asphyxiation, convulsions, and coma. Inhalants that you may know of are felt-tip markers, gasoline, glue and spray paint, but there are much more.

Long-Term Effects

  1. You can look for small metal cylinders that recharge whip cream dispensers, also known as whippits which are easy to obtain and popular among young people.
  2. Nitrous oxide is the most misused of these gases and can be found in whipped cream dispensers and propellant canisters (often referred to as “whippets”).
  3. Introduced as an anesthetic in the 1850’s, this compound of nitrogen and oxygen is still used medicinally, particularly by dentists.
  4. Chronic exposure to chemicals can lead to widespread and long-lasting damage to the brain.

The resulting respiratory depression may cause unconsciousness, coma, or even death. The danger is especially great if inhalants are taken along with other nervous-system depressants, such as alcohol or barbiturates (sleeping pills). The capsules containing amyl nitrite are crushed and held beneath the nose. Butyl nitrite may be inhaled in its container, or, like organic solvents, applied to absorbent cloth or paper.

Nitrites are more exclusively their own category, primarily used for sexual enhancement.

Abusers often try to concentrate the fumes by putting the solvent in a paper or plastic bag or a rubber balloon, and then holding the open end over the mouth and nose. Nitrous oxide, commonly called laughing gas, was the first inhalant used for recreational purposes. Introduced as an anesthetic in the 1850’s, this compound of nitrogen and oxygen is still used medicinally, particularly by dentists. It doesn’t completely block pain, but it does alter the perception of pain, so that there is no distress.

Inhalants Abuse & Addiction Signs & Symptoms

They are used medically to relieve attacks of angina chest pain caused by insufficient blood flow in the vessels serving the heart. They also tend to depress the activity of the central nervous system, producing the giddiness and euphoria of a high. All treatment calls are accepted by drug and alcohol centers advertising with the Call Affiliate LLC network. Abuse of inhalants in the United States increased in the 1950s and is now widespread among adolescents. In the 1940s, recreational use of solvents, primarily gasoline, became popular.

Volatile Solvent Inhalants are liquids that evaporate at room temperature.

The nozzle of a whipped-cream container can also be depressed in such a way that only the nitrous oxide is discharged. The fumes from organic solvents may simply be inhaled from their containers. A liquid solvent may also be poured or sprayed on an absorbent material, such as a balled up sock or rag, or a roll of toilet paper, to increase the release of fumes.

Consumer Substances Commonly Abused as Inhalants2

According to the NIDA-funded Monitoring the Future survey, around 4% of 8th graders (around 14 years old) had used inhalants in the last year. This site is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. It should not be used in place of the advice of your physician or other qualified health providers. Always seek your physician’s advice with any questions or concerns regarding a medical condition. Most inhalants interact with your central nervous system, except nitrates, which dilate and relax blood vessels.

Treatment for inhalant abuse starts with a 100% confidential phone call. Many chronic inhalant users who want to quit have difficulty because their body and mind have become used to the drug and will crave it. Withdrawal symptoms vary because each product has more than one ingredient. Withdrawal symptoms to inhalants have been known to include hand tremors, chills, excessing sweating or anxiety. Some people experience headaches and abdominal cramps or muscle cramps. Some inhalant users have been known to hallucinate while using (or coming off the high of) inhalants.

The effects and dangers vary greatly depending on the kind of inhalant abused as well as how it is used. Intoxication on inhalants only lasts for a few minutes, so people who use these drugs often try to prolong their “high” by repeatedly inhaling over the course of several hours. The most potent inhalant intoxication is achieved through “bagging” and “huffing,” thus making these forms the most common and preferred. The effects of inhalants only last a few minutes; therefore, users often try to lengthen the high by inhaling continually over several hours. Even first-time users run the risk of sudden sniffing death (SSD). The mechanics are not well understood, but abusers may suffer fatal irregularity of heartbeat (arrhythmia) or complete heart arrest.

The chemicals are found in common household and workplace products that produce fumes (vapors). Inhalants are made from dangerous chemicals that no one should be exposed to over a period time. When people use inhalants, they risk heart attacks, painful nerve damage, and irreversible brain damage. This is known as “sudden sniffing death,” which can happen from a single use by a healthy person. Almost all solvents and gases produce a loss of sensation, and if enough is inhaled, inhalant abusers may experience memory loss that can lead to unconsciousness.

Nitrite inhalants tend to raise the pressure of the fluid within the eyes. The raised pressure may eventually lead to glaucoma and blindness. By depressing the central nervous system, inhalants may dangerously hinder the activity of the nerves that control breathing.