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Parents, the scary thing about inhalants is that they can be easily found around the house and abused by your teenagers without difficulty. It can be harder to catch them abusing such substances because of the fact that inhalants that may be abused by your teen are actually everyday things. In fact the correction liquid that your teen uses to blot out mistakes of a ballpoint pen at school can be an inhalant. Aside from this, other possible inhalants which can be found just lying around the house are spray paint, paint thinner, oven cleaner, and polyurethane.

Now you may be thinking, how exactly could my teen abuse such a substance? In fact, there are several ways an inhalant can be abused:

  • Snorting—the teen can simply inhale the vapors of the substance straight from the bottle.
  • Bagging—the teen can dispense the substance inside a plastic bag and breathe in the vapors through the bag.
  • Huffing—the teen could also take a piece of cloth and immerse it in the substance, then place it near their nose as they breathe in the vapor.
It is sad to realize that an inhalant is actually a substance which is most commonly abused by teens from the ages of twelve to fifteen. This may be attributed to the fact that they are easily accessible to teenagers this young and are actually legal, even often inexpensive substances. Because of these facts, inhalants may be the stepping stone substance a teen may try before he/she may go on to nicotine, alcohol, or marijuana.


What are the signs of a teenager who’s abusing inhalants?

The signs of abuse of this particular substance may be difficult to catch. You may notice that your teen’s lips are dry, cracking, or chapped, while his/her nose may be runny, as a strange smell may be emanating from his/her breath. As evident in the effects of other drugs, your teen’s eyes may also be bloodshot.


What kind of aches and pains may your teenager have?

Your troubled teen can suffer from severe headaches, as well as vertigo. Their memory may suffer and they can experience difficulty sleeping. Your teenager’s vision can also be affected.


What are the dangers of abusing inhalants?
  • Immediate death is a possible reaction due to a complete halt in the heart’s pulse.
  • Solvents can often set off fires, and once a teenager is high on the inhalant he/she can easily die from drowning, a fall, or an automobile crash.
  • An inhalant actually stops the flow of oxygen to the parts of the body, even the brain. Deterioration of the organs of the body can be the result of inhalant abuse and ultimately result in death.
  • After inhalants, a teenager may easily go on to abuse other substances like alcohol or marijuana.

 
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