Children and the Growing Use of Inhalants

As parents, we know that there are many dangerous things our children can and do come in contact with. We worry about addiction to drugs and alcohol constantly. But what about sniffing addictions to everyday household items?

Did it ever cross your mind that your teenage daughter might use her nail polish remover for something other than what it was intended for? Have you suddenly walked into your twelve year old son's room and smelled the fresh scent of air freshener and wondered if it was masking cigarette smoke? Unfortunately, these are only two examples of the many household products that kids have experimented with to get a quick and cheap high from sniffing.

Other household products used to achieve a quick and sometimes deadly high are felt tip markers, spray paint, paint thinner, keyboard cleaner, glue, hair spray, and even cooking spray. In fact, according to the National Inhalants Prevention Coalition or NIPC, "There are over one thousand products on the market today that are dangerous when inhaled." The NIPC also states: "By the time a child reaches eighth grade, one in five will have used inhalants." Now that's truly frightening.

How can an everyday product be used to create a high? It's so simply, it's scary. The person sniffs the product and the chemical inhalants pass through the lungs and into the bloodstream. They travel to the brain within seconds. There, according to an article by William Betz, D.O., MBA, FACOFP, Senior Associate Dean for osteopathic medical education at the Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine, "the vapors then react with fatty tissue in the brain, literally dissolving it." This produces a quick high like alcohol or marijuana.

This sniffing is dangerous to the point of being deadly. It has even created a new syndrome called the Sudden Sniffing Death Syndrome. Sudden Sniffing Death Syndrome can occur any time a person sniffs a product not intended for sniffing. It does not have to be the first time sniffer.

So, as a parent, what can you do to warn your children about this new and dangerous addiction?

Get yourself educated on the subject. For a lot of information on the subject, go to www.inhalants.org which is the NIPC's website. Read up on the subject so that you know more about it before you try to explain it to your kids. Then talk to your children. Take the time to actually sit down and discuss the effects that sniffing can have on their bodies and their lives. Let them know that if it doesn't kill them, it is still causing serious damage to their major organs, such as their brain, heart, kidneys, and liver. Sniffing is every bit as dangerous and deadly as alcohol and drugs. Maybe even more so due to the fact that inhalants are so easy to get. Just look in your own home at the many sources available.

Even if you trust your child to not use inhalants, be on the lookout for any signs of sniffing. Parents are often the last to see the most obvious signs. One example would be the one I gave above about walking into your son's room and smelling air freshener. Kids don't normally worry about smells in their room. So smelling any unusual odor should trigger you to start paying more attention. Do you often find markers left lying open on your child's desk or bed? Have you ever found a can of some aerosol spray in your child's bedroom and wondered what it was doing there? Do you seem to run out of cooking spray a lot?

Don't be naive enough to believe, "Not my child." It can happen in your family. And if it does, get help for your child immediately.

Credits: National Inhalants Prevention Coalition (NIPC); Parents Can Prevent Inhalant Use in Children by William Betz, D.O., M.B.A. FACOFP