When you think about the term inhalant abuse (such as sniffing glue, turpentine, gasoline, etc., etc.) you usually start to picture the homeless, or pour lost souls that are already lost of hope. But the actuality of it all is that it is far different than what many people picture, and far much scarier. Around 17 million American's have stated they have used inhalants at least one time the most common age of this experiment is during later childhood and early teens, around the pre-teen ages.
What exactly is inhalant abuse?
Kids partake in activities such as sniffing glue, or other volatile chemicals like gasoline. They experience an intense high like a feeling of intoxication, which resembles being drunk. While they may appear to be drunk on the outside the intensity of the high or intoxication from inhalant abuse is much more high and stronger, which puts kids at more of a risk for impaired judgment and accidents occurring because of this. This makes it much more troubling that the risks are increased for acute danger and accidents and chronic health damages.
What does inhalant abuse cause?
Inhalant abuse can cause many major health issues such as deadly heart failure, there have been some reports of kids dying from their first experiment with inhalants. Constant or chronic use of inhalants can lead to brain damage, and damage to virtually all of the organs in the human body, which puts them at an increase for cancers. Much of the damage when it is caused is always irreversible.
The solvents used in inhalants are also very addicting, and kids that are trying out glue sniffing put themselves at risk for dependency and an increase of abuse with many additional health risks.
Because younger aged kids have a tough time getting other types of drugs inhalants is much easier for them to get their hands on as they are readily available at home or easily purchased in stores. Parents need to be aware of the signs of inhalant abuse and never ignore any of them, because the risks of this type of abuse are so extreme, it is important to get professional help immediately if you suspect any signs of abuse.
The five warning signs to watch out for.
- Inhalant items in their room, school bags, or other items they own such as old spray cans, or tubes of glue. Another sign is their bags smelling like glue or other solvents.
- A chemical type smell on your child or in their clothes. Unless your kid is working late night hours in a factory there shouldn't be a reason for their close to smell of chemical smells.
- Different stains on their faces that look unusual. Kids that abuse inhalants will usually spill small parts of those substances on their clothes and may even have small traces on their face from inhaling from bags.
- Loss of appetite: Those that abuse inhalants regularly will have negative effects on their hunger. It is unusual for healthy kids that are growing to be lacking in the hunger department.
- The appearance of intoxication. You should never ignore such an obvious sign of intoxication thinking that your kids are too young to be experimenting with any substances.
If you suspect that your child is a victim of teenage drug abuse you may consider enlisting the services of a private detective. Private detective services can help find useful information and clues as to what exactly is happening in your child's life.
