Inhalant Abuse Still Very Much a Threat

Posted by azdrugrehabctr on December 6, 2016 under Addiction Trends, AZ Drug Rehab News | Comments are off for this article

Inhalant abuse has been around for many years. Often a way for young teens to get high without going to the inner city to buy street drugs, things like duster or whip cream canisters have long been used to attain a high. Possibly because inhalants are sold in stores, this method of getting high appeals to the younger generation, but as teenagers age they either grow out of that phase in their life or move on to harder drugs. But there is still a portion of the population that are longtime sufferers of inhalant abuse.

These people often go under the radar because inhalant abuse is not often talked about. There are very few public initiatives, very few PSA’s, and not a lot of education in schools. Because of this, inhalant abuse has not lessened in several decades. “It’s the forgotten epidemic. If you look at the data, you can see that there really hasn’t been that many significant changes and decreases in use. It’s just that other things have taken prevalence. It’s really not sexy to talk about inhalants,” explained Harvey Weiss, leader of the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition.

It is important for people to understand that inhalants are not an innocent way to get high. They are, in fact, very deadly. Users who snort cans of duster or whip cream are getting high because of the chemical 1,1-difluoroethane. This chemical gets released from them can and goes straight to the brain. Upon inhaling, users will feel a rush of euphoria, followed by a dizzy, uncoordinated feeling. What they may not feel is the internal effects of 1,1-difluoroethane. Once inhaled, the chemical goes directly to the person’s brain, heart and lungs. So, the person can have trouble breathing, they are likely doing irreversible damage to their brain, but when the chemical gets to their heart, that is where the real danger sets in.

Sometimes, just one sniff of an inhalant can cause an overdose death. This is because 1,1-difluoroethane can cause a fatal cardiac arrhythmia. This potential for death is made even more worrisome because not many people talk about it or are aware of the signs of inhalant abuse. Anyone who is concerned that someone they know may be abusing inhalants they should look for the following signs; dazed or drunk acting, chemical smells or stains on clothing, spots or sores around the mouth, red eyes, nose or mouth, anxiety, excitability or irritability.