Inhalant Abuse

You know what you or your brother used to do to pass the time when you were younger and bored, but your child is honest with you and is against drugs. This is not so true if you consider that the reason they like to spend so much of their time in the garage is that they like the feeling they get when they sniff the rubber cement. If they do not lose interest soon and stopping inhaling random products they are finding around the house, they will need the expert assistance of an inhalant abuse and treatment center soon. Even as an adult, you may not consider that they are at risk of having a substance use disorder (SUD) if they are only sniffing inhalants, but these chemicals are just as dangerous as most illicit street drugs. It can not only lead to the use of more addictive drugs, but inhalants also cause longstanding health issues, in addition to the possibility of coma and death. Getting your son or daughter treatment before their inhalant abuse causes chronic illness or even the loss of their life can be found at an inhalant abuse and treatment center.  

What are inhalants?

Inhalants are unpredictable and easily evaporated chemical substances whose vapors are inhaled to produce a euphoric effect. Classifying inhalants is difficult because many chemical substances can be inhaled; however, inhalants describe those that are rarely taken by any other method than inhalation. This group is comprised of hundreds of different products and is listed in four different general categories:

• Volatile solvents
  • These are liquids that form a vapor at room temperature. They are easily accessible and found in common household and industrial products, such as paint thinners and removers, degreasers, gasoline, glues, correction fluids, and felt tip pens.
• Aerosols
  • Sprays that contain solvents and propellants, such as deodorant, hair spray, spray paint, and cooking oil sprays.
• Gases
  • Includes not just medical anesthetics, like chloroform and nitrous oxide, but are also found in household and commercial products, such as butane lighters, propane tanks, and refrigerants. The most common abuse is with whipped cream dispensers and race cars that use nitrous oxide to boost speed.
• Nitrites
  • Only inhalant that does not work directly on the nervous system, but instead dilates blood vessels and relaxes muscles. These are typically used as sexual enhancers and are commonly known as “poppers” or “snappers”.

Inhalants are extremely unstable and can lead to SSDS (Sudden Sniffing Death Syndrome) with even just one use. This occurs when the chemical causes unusual cardiac activity and they have a sudden increase in their heart rate, such as when they are suddenly caught by their parents. This combination causes them to collapse and die. Proving their status as a dangerous drug, the most damaging side effects of using inhalants include:

• Permanent brain damage
• Death
• Addiction
• Hearing loss
• Bone marrow loss
• Liver and kidney damage
• Permanent loss of coordination

Who abuses inhalants?

Research indicates that 68.4% of people aged 12 or older who had used inhalants were under 18. Inhalants are generally the easiest and first substances that can be abused by young children. It is most seen being used by 12 to 17-year-olds, with a peak at age 14 but can extend into adulthood. Lungs are one of the quickest ways to have the body absorb anything, and inhaled chemicals rapidly enter the bloodstream. They are then distributed to the brain and other organs. This is called huffing. It activates the brain to release dopamine, which is part of the reward system. It takes effect within seconds, causing alcohol-like effects — including slurred speech, uncoordinated movements, dizziness, and euphoria, as well as the possibility of lightheadedness, delusions, and hallucinations. This fast-acting, short-lasting form of intoxication only lasts a few minutes, so individuals who abuse it repeatedly inhale over the course of a few hours to keep getting high. This is a dangerous behavior which can result in loss of consciousness and even death.

What are the signs that someone is abusing inhalants and needs treatment?

With the majority of users being children and adolescents, it is important to teach them the dangers of all drugs and not just the ones commonly found in the media, like alcohol, marijuana, and heroin. So, what signs should you be alert to, indicating that your child may be using inhalants and need the intervention of an abuse and addiction treatment facility?

• Clothes or breath smelling like chemicals
• Slurred speech
• Loss of appetite or nausea
• Looking disoriented or drunk
• Paint or other stains on hands, face, and/or clothes
• Chemical-soaked rags or clothes and empty spray pain or solvent containers being hidden
• Negative change in behavior, like irritability and depression.
• Lack of coordination
• Inattentiveness

How do I choose an inhalant abuse and treatment facility?

With teens being the biggest group that abuses inhalants, or has a huffing addiction, there are a variety of teen-specific programs. Teens often abuse drugs to deal with anxiety and other emotional pain, fit in with a group of peers, and to let go of their inhibitions and have fun. They may simply need to learn coping mechanisms to help deal with their raging hormones and pain or they may have the involvement of a mental issue, which is called a dual diagnosis. Choosing the program that fits best with either your loved one is essential to their path of recovery. If they do not feel comfortable in the setting that is chosen, they will not progress well and end up relapsing. They may relapse anyway in the long run, because it takes practice to relearn how to live without the stimulation that was given to their brain whenever they huffed. The following questions should be asked to determine what the facility’s process includes:

• What is involved in the inpatient, residential substance abuse treatment program or is living at home and attending as an outpatient an option?
  • Outpatient drug rehab programs generally cost less than inpatient.
  • Non-profit centers, like Salvation Army, offer treatment as long as the patient works in the donation centers for room and board. Teen challenge is also a non-profit program that offers therapy at a lower cost.
• What kinds of treatment will my teen go through?
  • A good program employs the use of a combination of therapies, since not all people respond the same to any given regimen.
    • CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) - learning how to change negative thoughts to useful ones, allowing them to handle stress and anxiety better. These coping skills benefit them long after they leave rehab and are especially helpful when dealing with a mental health issues, such as in dual diagnosis treatments.
    • DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) - The patient will discover their triggers and learn how to avoid them or deal with them when they occur.
    • REBT (Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy) - Overcoming self-defeating emotions like guilt, anger, and anxiety, while changing how they react to problems that arise in their life.
    • MM (Matrix Model) Considerably helped those with a stimulant addiction.  Therapists form positive, non-confrontational, and encouraging relationships with the patient, improving their feelings of self-worth.
    • MI (Motivational Interviewing) – Useful for addicts who were unwillingly admitted to rehab, which is about 60% of the facility’s population. MI motivates them to learn to appreciate their treatment.
    • CM (Contingency Management) - Uses incentives to help patients stay sober and in substance abuse treatment.
    • MAT (medication-assisted treatment) – Uses drugs created specifically to ease the discomfort from withdrawal symptoms, as well as easing intense cravings.
    • Family therapy so that parents and relatives can learn how to accommodate the emotional needs of the previous inhalant user. 
    • Alternate therapies used can vary according to likes and dislikes and can also include massage, equine, art, music, drama, pets, acupuncture, and others that help to heal the person as a whole.  It reminds them of what they used to love before drugs took over.
• What are the financial options?
  • Health insurance is the most popular way to pay for inhalant abuse treatment; however, there are other methods if not is not possible, including:
    • Fundraising, like GoFundMe
    • 401k, IRA, and other savings accounts that are meant to help with the future
    • Sliding scale payments made according to income level
    • Affordable monthly payments
    • SAMHSA grants and scholarships
• Do they have experience treating specifically inhalants and teens, if applicable?
• Do they help create a flexible aftercare plan that involves the following?
  • 12-step programs
  • Sober living homes and halfway houses, if necessary
  • Follow-up group and individual therapies that gradually decrease in frequency as someone progresses.
  • Legal advice
  • Life coaching and setting goals
  • Financial planning
  • Academic support

The way that an abused chemical substance changes the brain can be immediate and life threatening. It can result in an addict thinking that they cannot feel pleasure or even function normally without the use of their drug of choice. Those who choose to face their problems in an unhealthy manner with the use of inhalants can grab back the reins of their future with a treatment center geared toward huffing addictions. The right program is accustomed to having teens admitted by their parents and not of their own volition. They know how to handle these volatile situations, which represents approximately 60% of patients found in the typical facility. Inpatient programs may be the best option in these situation so as to keep teens away from the peer group that could trigger them to use. It also provides them with the intense therapy they may need to push themselves and their actions in a direction that benefits their future and their life. Whether it is you, a friend, or a loved one who is finding that they fit the signs of inhalant abuse, and you know that there must be a way to intervene, inhalant treatment programs are the perfect way to help them return to the happy, fun-loving person that they used to be.