There are a wide variety of legal and illicit substances that can lead to addiction and life-threatening outcomes. Well-known abused substances like cocaine and heroin are known for the devastation they can have on individuals, families, and entire communities. However, some substances like inhalants behave like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, lurking in plain sight. As a result, huffing or inhalant abuse has been a significant cause of harm among young people.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), approximately 2.2 million (0.8%) people 12 years old and older have used inhalants in a given year. Moreover, 335,000 (0.1%) people 12 years old and older had an inhalant use disorder. Although the numbers for inhalant abuse may seem small compared to other addictions, millions of young lives are still at risk for countless irreversible consequences. No number is too small when young lives with bright futures are at stake. Therefore, unmasking the wolf in inhalant abuse is an important first step in providing services and resources to support well-being.
At Rancho Recovery, we recognize that family and family counseling are foundational parts of the recovery process. Family is often the core of your support network that uplifts and celebrates you in difficult and good times. The thing that often gets people through the challenges life throws at them is those close, supportive connections with loved ones. Thus, as a Christian rehab center, we are committed to providing comprehensive and holistic care to address your or your loved ones’ individual needs. With holistic care, you and your family can take this journey together to learn about and remove inhalant abuse from your lives.
Yet, you likely still have many questions about inhalant abuse. What makes inhalant abuse a wolf in sheep’s clothing substance? Why are so many youth and young adults huffing?
What Is Inhalant Abuse?
As noted by Medline Plus, inhalants are chemicals found in a variety of products that produce chemical vapors. Inhalant abuse happens when people purposely inhale those chemical vapors to experience their intoxicating or mind-altering effects. Most often, inhalant abuse is associated with certain household and work products. Although alcohol can be inhaled, it is not considered an inhalant because it can be used in another way. In comparison, inhalants can only be misused by inhaling them through the nose or mouth.
Since the 1960s, inhalant abuse has been popular among young people when teens sniffed glue. In particular, huffing has been popular among children and young teens as an easily accessible substance. As the Cleveland Clinic states in “Inhalant Abuse,” the peak age for huffing is between 14 and 15, but it can happen as early as five to six years old. In addition, while huffing for some youth tapers off between 17 and 19 years old, challenges with inhalant abuse and other substances can persist into adulthood. Since inhalants are typically easily accessible, they are often legal products that can be found in homes.
Listed below are some of the products that are often used in inhalant abuse:
- Solvents
- Liquids that vaporize at room temperature
- Paint thinner
- Nail polish remover
- Glue
- Gasoline
- Correction fuel or Wite-Out
- Degreaser
- Felt-tip marker
- Rubber cement
- Lighter fluid
- Paint removers
- Dry cleaning fluids
- Liquids that vaporize at room temperature
- Aerosol sprays
- Spray paint
- Deodorant spray
- Vegetable oil sprays and other aerosol cook products
- Air freshener
- Hair spray and other aerosol hair products
- Fabric protector
- Gases
- Whipped cream dispensers
- Propellant canisters, also known as whippets
- Gas from lighters
- Propane
- Butane
- The gas is given off by lighter fluid
- Laughing gas
- Computer cleaning spray
- Freon
- Air conditioners
- Refrigerators
- Freezers
- Helium
- Ether
- Perfumes
- Dyes
- Paints
- Insecticides
- Chloroform
- Floor polishes
- Adhesives
- Lacquers
- Waxes
- Resins
- Nitrites, also known as poppers
- Room deodorizers
- When purchased illegally, they are labeled as an air freshener, leather cleaner, or liquid aroma
The wide variety of products that can be used for inhalant abuse can result in different altering effects. Inhalants are fast-acting substances that take effect in seconds after inhaling. Once the vaporized chemical gets absorbed into your lungs, the chemicals go to your brain. Many inhalants can make you feel like you are intoxicated with alcohol.
In addition, some inhalants can cause the brain to release dopamine, which can leave you feeling happy and excited. However, the effects are short-lived, so you will find yourself huffing repeatedly to reenter that altered state. Further, unlike most inhalants, nitrites make your blood vessels larger, and your heart beats faster. Although poppers can also make you feel excited, they are more used to improve sexual performance than to enter an altered state.
Now, you may wonder how you know if your loved one is misusing inhalants. Are there obvious signs that they are huffing? Although most inhalants seem innocuous and difficult to spot as regular everyday household items, there are some common signs. Some of the signs and symptoms of inhalant abuse include:
- Unusual chemical odors on the breath and or clothing
- Paint and or other stains on the face, hands, and clothing
- Hiding empty spray paint containers, solvent containers, and chemical-soaked rags or clothing
- Frequent coughing and red, runny nose or nosebleeds
- Red or watery eyes
- Dilated pupils
- Rash or blisters on the face
- Irritation around the nose and mouth
- Appearing drunk or disoriented
- Lack of coordination
- Slurred speech
- Seems to feel tired all the time
- Unusual mood swings
- Feeling angry and irritable with no known cause
- Depressive symptoms
- Paranoia
- Unusual changes in behavior
- Lack of interest in activities
- Inattentiveness
- Poor hygiene and grooming habits
- Loss of appetite
- Nausea and vomiting
- Significant weight loss
- Rapid decline in school and or work performance
While the signs and effects of inhalant abuse can be scary, knowledge is power. With more awareness of huffing, you can recognize signs of misuse and or addiction in your loved one. Yet, you may question how things got to this point. How does inhalant abuse end up as a part of your life? Could the challenges and consequences of huffing have been avoided? There are a wide range of reasons why people seek out substances. However, understanding the risk factors of inhalant abuse can help you better support your loved one’s needs for recovery.
Risk Factors for Inhalant Abuse
For many young people, inhalants can be described as a gateway substance. However, adolescents and young adults are not the only groups vulnerable to developing substance use disorder (SUD) at the gates of inhalants. Some of the groups and factors that people at risk for inhalant abuse include:
- Children
- Young and older teens
- Individuals with low-income
- Unemployed individuals
- Poverty
- Communities living in isolation
- Rural communities
- Reservations
Inhalants are often vulnerable populations first encounter with substance use because of their ease of access and affordability. In addition, inhalants are often everyday items that can be found at home, work, and school. Thus, their seeming ordinariness makes inhalant abuse less likely to be noticed by loved ones, employers, teachers, or healthcare professionals.
Besides the low barrier to entry, what leads young people to use inhalants or to misuse substances in general? As the CDC points out, many adults who face challenges with SUD started using substances like inhalants during their teen and young adult years. Understanding the risk factors for substance use among youth can give you insight into how to reduce the risk of use in your family’s life.
Listed below are some of the factors that contribute to high-risk substance use for young people:
- History of family challenges with substance use
- Exposure to parental substance misuse
- Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)
- Sexual abuse
- Physical Abuse
- Emotional Abuse
- Physical neglect
- Emotional neglect
- Poverty
- Community violence
- Disadvantaged neighborhood
- Rejection of identity from loved ones
- LGBTQIA+
- Encouragement from trusted adults and or peers to use substances
- Socialization with peers who actively misuse substances
- Lack of adequate parental or caregiver monitoring
- Unaddressed challenges with mental health disorders
- Lack of school and social connectedness
- Low academic performance
Exposure to unhealthy behaviors and or the distress that comes with negative and traumatic life experiences can be overwhelming. When you feel overwhelmed by negative thoughts and feelings, you are more likely to engage in avoidance behaviors to escape your distress. Self-medicating with substances is one of the ways that you may attempt to avoid addressing the pain of your experiences.
Now, you cannot turn back the clock and prevent all potential risk factors for substance use from happening. However, you can work in collaboration with your loved ones and clinicians to reduce the harm of risk factors in your life. Although it may feel daunting, putting in the work to increase awareness and understanding are important steps for recovery to be possible.
Compared to other substances, inhalant abuse may seem insignificant or even harmless. Most people can recall a time in their childhood when they smelled glue or fruit-scented markers in art class. However, risk factors increase the likelihood that early curiosity in childhood can turn into inhalant abuse. Therefore, understanding the consequences of inhalant abuse can support you in engaging in prevention strategies.
Addressing the Consequences of Huffing
Huffing is an incredibly dangerous practice that can result in permanent injury, overdose, and death. As noted by NIDA, inhalant abuse comes with an array of medical consequences, including sudden sniffing death, in which an otherwise healthy young person can die from a single and or first-time session of inhalant use. Listed below are some of the other devastating consequences that can result from inhalant misuse and inhalant use disorder:
- Ventricular arrhythmias or sudden sniffing death
- Irregular and rapid heart rhythms
- This leads to fatal heart failure within minutes of use
- Irregular and rapid heart rhythms
- Asphyxiation
- Repeated inhalations lead to high concentrations of inhaled fumes in the lungs
- Displaces oxygen in the lungs
- Repeated inhalations lead to high concentrations of inhaled fumes in the lungs
- Suffocation
- Inhaling fumes from a plastic bag placed over the head
- Blocks air from entering the lungs
- Inhaling fumes from a plastic bag placed over the head
- Convulsions or seizures
- Huffing fumes cause abnormal electrical discharges in the brain
- Choking
- Swallowing vomit from inhalant use
- Coma
- Other related fatal injury
- Accidents
- Motor vehicle fatalities
- Accidents
- Chronic abuse of volatile solvents
- Damages the protective sheath around certain nerve fibers in the brain and peripheral nervous system
- Brain damage
- Bone marrow damage
- Hearing loss
- Vision issues
- Liver damage
- Kidney damage
- Lung damage
- Loss of bowel and urinary control
- Heart attack
- Irregular heartbeat and rhythm
- Nerve damage
- Numbness
- Tingling in the hands and feet
- Weakness
- Tremors
- Related health risk
- Inhaling nitrites to improve sexual performance can lead to unsafe sex practices
- HIV/AIDS
- Hepatitis B and C
- Increased risk for birth defects during pregnancy
- Inhaling nitrites to improve sexual performance can lead to unsafe sex practices
- Muscle weakness
- Speaking issues
- Memory impairments
- Personality changes
- Learning disabilities
- Processing speed impairments
- Difficulty with problem-solving, planning, and organization problems
- Movement issues
- Difficulty walking
- Muscle spasms and tremors
- Slow or clumsy movement
- Weakened immune system
It is often easy for individuals with SUD to convince themselves that the consequences of substance misuse will not happen to them. However, the consequences of inhalant abuse are a stark reminder that it only takes one huff to shatter a bright future. Now, you may wonder what you can do to support yourself and your loved ones. How can you support healing for your whole family?
Ways to Support Your Loved One’s Recovery
According to the Indian Journal of Psychiatry, late childhood and adolescence are synonymous with experimentation and exploration. In the time between childhood and adulthood, young people are often in search of their identity as individuals. Moreover, the search for your identity often comes with an overwhelming desire for independence from your family.
The search for and desire to assert your sense of self and independence often comes with an interest in different ways of life outside of the one you have grown up in. Thus, young people often experiment with different subcultures in their clothing, makeup, and music choices, to name a few. However, the exploration of self in adolescence can also come with risk factors like experimentation with substances. Although knowing your loved one may be or is huffing can be scary, with the knowledge, you can support them in getting the help they need.
Listed below are some of the ways you can help prevent or start early intervention from inhalant abuse in your family:
- Empower with knowledge
- Help educate your loved ones on the dangers of huffing
- Decrease access
- Limit the availability of inhalant substances
- Build tools to support healthy monitoring
- Setup the opportunity for an open and non-judgemental conversation
- Give your loved one the space to talk to you about their challenges with substances
- Listen to why your loved one feels like they need to use substances
- Be a source of support
- Help your loved one find resources to address their challenges
- Reach out to knowledgeable people and organizations for insight
- Research treatment options that match your loved one and family’s needs
- Advocate for increased awareness
- Find support in the dissemination of information and knowledge in educational settings
- Engage in family-focused treatment services to support educating yourself and other loved ones
- Family skills building
- Improve interpersonal communication
- Family therapy
Addiction does not have to be the end for you and your family. With support, you and your loved one can address the challenges of addiction and heal together.
Empowering Families to Heal From Inhalant Abuse at Rancho Recovery
At Rancho Recovery, we recognize the importance of involving family members in recovery for lasting healing. Connection and support are vital to fostering hope when life throws challenges at you. Thus, your family is often a source of support, guidance, companionship, and accountability to carry you through life together. Through our person-centered approach to care, you can build a treatment plan that supports healing for the whole family. Our commitment to family-focused care allows you to all work in collaboration to strengthen your voices, set goals, and build resiliency to thrive in life.
Within our Christian residential treatment centers for youth, there are a variety of therapeutic tools available to meet your family where you are on your journey. You have access to therapies and modalities like family therapy and psychoeducational groups to empower you and your loved ones in treatment and beyond. With the support of a luxury rehab, you can find the support tools to help you rebuild and establish strong, healthy relationships with each other.
The easy availability of inhalant products like nail polish remover, Wite-Out, and hair spray, among other risk factors, makes young people vulnerable to inhalant use disorder. Moreover, inhalant abuse increases your risk for poor health outcomes, including early death, cognitive impairments, physical impairments, mental health conditions, and challenges with substance use in adulthood. However, with education and support, you and your loved ones can address the roots of huffing to support recovery. At Rancho Recovery, we know family can be vital to recovery as a source of support, guidance, and accountability in treatment, recovery, and life. Therefore, we provide a range of holistic tools to support healing for the family as a whole. Call us at (877) 484-1447 today.