The Revenge of the Spray Paint: Inhalant Drug Addiction
Drug addiction has always been connected to the abuse of substances like heroin, cocaine, marijuana and others. Not many even know that swallowing prescription medicines is also considered drug addiction. People have always thought that the phrase only refers to illicit materials that mean years in jail or expensive fines. But, like so many things on this planet, drug addiction has started to include those which used to be purely utilitarian and totally wholesome.
Inhalant drug abuse refers to the improper ingestion of seemingly innocent chemicals called inhalants and poppers for the purposes of getting highs that come from huffing or bagging. Inhalants are products that are most commonly found in households. Right now, they’re also part of the parameters of substance abuse. Things that no one sees as dangerous or debilitating like glue, paint thinner, aerosol sprays, felt-tip markers and others are becoming new sources of addiction. Poppers, on the other hand, refer to substances that are chemically produced to deliver mind-altering rewards. Huffing is the process of inhaling a chemical straight from the container, bagging involves putting the product in a paper bag so it can be inhaled.
Though the idea of sniffing nail polish remover is almost funny, there’s nothing to be laughed at in the case of dangers that come from this type of abuse. Huffing and bagging can cause loss of coordination which can lead a person to go slipping and sliding in places where doing so would prove hazardous. Confusion also characterizes inhalant abuse. That being said, the ability to make decisions that one won’t regret later may be lost. That would put the person in severe danger when good judgment becomes a necessity for survival. Other adverse outcomes from getting too close to solvents and butane lighter fluids include rashes around the nose or mouth area, nosebleeds, dizziness and fainting, coughing fits, blindness, heart palpitations, hallucinations and paranoia. To think that all of those can come from being mesmerized with typewriter correction fluids and air conditioning coolants is certainly not a nice thought.
Another serious complication from inhalant drug abuse is the condition known as Sudden Sniffing Death. The heart gets too affected with the effects of the inhalants that it can beat erratically and unevenly to the point of cardiac arrest. Even first-time sniffers have been documented to die from this dreaded condition.
There are things that exist that should be simply left alone. They were invented to fulfill safe functions that help make the lives of humans better and easier. Taking advantage of their accessibility and availability and using them for reasons that didn’t come with their manuals will only create disaster.
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