Inhalants

Types of Inhalants

Inhalants contain dangerous toxic substances. You feel their effects right away –excitement, light-headedness, feeling spaced out, confident and high. The fumes can be inhaled by sniffing or snorting, bagging from a plastic bag, or huffing from a soaked rag put in the mouth or inhaled through the nose.

There are four main types of inhalants:

• Solvents, liquids such as paint thinner, nail polish remover, magic markers and felt-tip markers, gasoline, and glue
• Aerosol sprays, such as spray paint, deodorant spray, and vegetable oil sprays
• Gases, including gas from lighters, whipped cream dispensers, and laughing gas
• Nitrites, prescription medicines for chest pain

Why are they addictive?

All inhalants can lead to dependence. Using them often has a strong effect on the brain - and can rewire it for addiction.

Short term effects

Most inhalants produce a quick high, like drinking alcohol. This is followed by a slowing down of brain activity, sleepiness, slurred speech, lightheadedness, and anxiety. If enough is inhaled, nearly all inhalants produce numbness, anger, hallucinations, and nausea and vomiting. High doses can cause sudden severe confusion.

LONG TERM EFFECTS

When you breathe in inhalants you are taking in the chemical vapors of these products which are very toxic. Using them for a long time damages the nerve fibers in the brain and body.

Inhalants can cause muscle spasms, shaking or even permanent problems moving. And they can also harm brain cells by robbing them of oxygen – damaging your memory and your ability to focus, think, read and learn.

Inhalants are toxic to other organs too. They can damage the heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys. Some of this damage may be partly reversible when you stop using, but some are not.

There are also rarer but very serious risks. Inhalants can cause irregular and rapid heart rate that can lead to heart failure within minutes of a long sniffing session. This is called "sudden sniffing death" and can happen after only one session even in a healthy young person. It is most often connected with abuse of butane, propane, and chemicals in aerosols.

It is also possible to overdose from inhalants because they can cause seizures, convulsions, coma, and death.

For more information see the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition website. It is available in English and Spanish and has a good blog section.

There are signs you can watch out for to see if you are dependent on or addicted to inhalants:

• Spending more and more time sniffing/huffing
• Having strong cravings and urges to sniff/huff
• Wanting to cut down or stop but not being able to
• Ignoring what you should be doing at school, home, or work
• Continuing to use, even when it causes problems
• Needing to inhale more to get the effect you want
• Having withdrawal symptoms, which can be relieved by sniffing more
• Using inhalants to cope with painful feelings like fear, worry, sadness or loneliness

These screening tools can help you look at your inhalant use to see if it’s harming your health and causing problems in your life. You can take them in the privacy of your home or wherever you feel comfortable. The results are private.

CRAFFT Questionnaire

https://crafft.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CRAFFT-2.0_Selfadministered_2018-01-16.pdf
A short assessment tool designed to screen for substance-related risks and problems in teens.

Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST) – Adult, 10 question version

https://cde.drugabuse.gov/sites/nida_cde/files/DrugAbuseScreeningTest_2014Mar24.pdf
A score between 3 and 10 indicates a moderate to severe level of drug abuse.

Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST) – Adolescent version

https://www.nams.sg/helpseekers/drug-use/Documents/DAST-A.pdf
A score of 6 or more out of 28 questions score indicates a substance use problem, either abuse or dependence.

There are many stages of the recovery process. The first steps are admitting that you have a problem and are ready and willing to change. Learning about the different ways to treat inhalant use can help you stop and stay drug-free.

There are a variety of treatments for inhalant abuse:

• Detox can be a good starting point for some people who use inhalants. This is usually a medically supervised detox of four weeks or more.
• Individual Therapy, most often short term cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), teaches you how to handle stress without using inhalants and how to cope with cravings.
• Counseling with Motivational Therapy helps you get ready for change and commit to it.
• Family Therapy focuses on better communication and relationships within your family
• Building New Social Networks helps you stay in recovery by having friends who do not use drugs
• 12-step and other Group Support Programs offer understanding and encouragement from others in recovery who know what you are going through and can help you learn how to live drug-free
• Residential Treatment in a live-in health care setting may help if you have a serious inhalant abuse problem.

Our TREATMENT section describes the types of help you can get so you can find the ones that are best for you.

Also see PROGRAMS & SUPPORT to learn about the many things you can do to help your recovery.

At this time there are no medications targeted for treating inhalant abuse.

12-Step Programs

Twelve-step programs are an important part of the recovery process. They are based on a set of guiding principles and the support of other people in recovery who share their experiences of stopping drug use and staying drug-free. People recovering from many types of addiction can join a 12-step program.

NON 12-STEP GROUP PROGRAMS

These self-help support groups give you tools to change the negative and harmful thoughts that can cause addiction and keep you using drugs. Unlike 12-step programs, they do not rely on a higher power, sponsors, or steps for sobriety. The focus is on finding strength and self-control within yourself. There are in-person meetings with peers as well as daily online meetings, chat rooms and message boards.

FAITH-BASED PROGRAMS

These programs approach recovery through various religious traditions including Christian, Jewish, Islamic and Buddhist.

A faith-based recovery program understands that addiction and substance use is not just a physical problem – it reflects the spiritual and emotional suffering of an individual. These recovery programs seek to restore each person’s well-being through guidance and spiritual support, and encourages them to transform their lives totally.

To learn more about the different religious-based programs see our PROGRAMS & SUPPORT section

Apps

Mobile apps give you another tool for recovery. They offer practical support that is low cost, private and always available.

Apps can track sober time, help you manage triggers and emotions, find and share meetings, contact your sponsor discretely, keep you motivated, connect you with a recovery community, and more.

Many good apps are available for both the iPhone/iPad and Google Android phones. Of note, it is estimated that 7 out of 10 free apps use ads. This can be distracting and because ads use data they can cost you money in the long run. Many apps offer a premium version as an in-app purchase which has extra useful features and usually no ads. You can try out the free version of the app and upgrade to premium if it is helping you.

Build a Sober Network

Connect with people socially who are also working on being drug-free for support, sharing and encouragement.

Chat rooms and online meetings

A chat room lets you communicate in real time on the Internet. Everyone who is logged in sees what you are typing, but two people can still have a private chat on the side. People from any location can join in, making them an ideal format for groups of people.

Chat meetings are chat rooms with a chairperson who introduces topics for people to address. Chat meetings are scheduled in advance for a specific period of time.

NA Online meetings usually use Zoom. The group sets them up, gets a meeting code and password and sends the information to all members of the group. Or the group sends the information to Central Office, who post the info online.

Holistic Approaches

Using inhalants may make you feel good for a while – you feel like you fit in with your friends and can escape problems at home, school or work. You may like the instant effects of feeling spaced out, confident and high. You may think it helps you cope with the hard parts of life. But there are other ways to cope that make you stronger and happier.

For those in recovery, holistic approaches work best when they are part of professional treatment and they are often part of addiction recovery programs. Studies show that success rates improve strongly when holistic approaches are included in treatment.

Holistic therapies open new ways of appreciating who you are and seeing how you fit in to the world.

Examples include wilderness adventures, yoga, meditation, drumming, art therapy, animal therapy, guided imagery, writing in a journal, hypnosis, acupuncture, massage and many more.

Part of a holistic approach also includes being in nature. Finding a safe, quiet and natural place to be is soothing and can help you feel calm, safe, more peaceful, and connected to the natural world.

If you are in recovery, holistic therapies work best as part of professional treatment. They are often used in addiction programs and are helpful through all stages of recovery. Scientific studies show that success rates improve strongly when holistic approaches are included in treatment.

To learn more about specific holistic therapies and their place in recovery visit our Holistic Support section.

SOBER LIVING HOMES

Sober homes are designed to provide safe and supportive group living for people recovering from addiction. They are based on peer support, structure and learning new life skills in a setting that is free of alcohol or drugs. They serve as a transition between treatment and return to normal life.

Thousands of sober homes exist in the United States and there are many different types. At a minimum, they offer peer-to-peer recovery support while others have professional clinical services to promote long-term recovery. There are residences for specific populations such as language spoken, male or female, women with children, by age, co-occurring problems, medication status, and prison re-entry.

See our SOBER HOUSING section for help in finding sober living homes near you and across the country.