Inhalant Abuse Symptoms And Warning Signs

These include things like air fresheners, household cleaners, cooking sprays, and spray paint. While these products are used safely in most homes, they can be misused by inhaling the vapors, leading to short-term and long-term effects on health. If you or a loved one is struggling with inhalant abuse, seeking professional treatment is crucial.

Inhalant Abuse: The Basics

• Therefore, it is advisable to seek medical detox facilities or speak to your doctor about options for assisted withdrawal.
• Don’t let the fears of the detox process prevent you from taking control of your life.
• Family, peers, teachers, counselors, and others should be made aware of the signs and symptoms of inhalant abuse and how to refer children and youth who may be at risk.
• Ease of use can contribute to a product being known for being a possible inhalant, which can make that particular inhalant a drug of choice in an area.
• Unfortunately, because of the age of the people most likely to huff, and because of the nature of the damage caused by huffing, it can be difficult for people who huff to recognize that they are addicted to huffing.
• Her diverse roles as a case manager, discharge coordinator, behavioral health technician, group facilitator, and clinician have provided her with invaluable insights into the complexities of addiction and mental health recovery.
• Inhalant use disorder (inhalant abuse) is a type of substance use disorder in which people use common household and workplace items to get high.

Additionally, our addiction treatment center offers a safe and supportive environment to help individuals address underlying issues that may contribute to their substance use. While inhalant abuse may seem like a low-risk form of substance use, it can have serious and even life-threatening consequences. In addition to the health risks mentioned above, huffing inhalants can also lead to accidental injury or death due to impaired judgment and coordination. Throughout that process, he learned the importance of helping others and living by spiritual principles. Throughout his recovery, James has used his personal story to help make a difference in the lives of others.

According to a 2020 survey, 2.4 million people in the U.S. ages 12 and older had used an inhalant in the past year. If you or a loved one are in need of help with addiction, contact us today. Our professional and friendly addiction specialists are able to answer your questions and get things moving in the right direction.

• I now enjoy working with others and helping them get through the hard times of early recovery.
• Liver toxicity, kidney damage, and heart failure are also often found in people who have engaged in long-term, chronic paint huffing.
• Effective and caring substance abuse treatment is available if you are struggling with inhalant addiction and seeking treatment.
• Since the inhalant “high” tends to last a few minutes at most, some people may repeatedly huff within short periods, increasing the chances of an overdose.
• Mary is an experienced Client Care Manager with 20+ years in customer service.
• Being born and raised in Gaithersburg, Maryland, it was always a dream for James to start a program where he began his own recovery journey.

Death from huffing can occur upon the first time of use or after prolonged inhalant abuse. Other causes of death related to huffing include asphyxiation, aspiration, or suffocation. While people of any age may turn to huffing, certain groups are at higher risk. Many people don’t realize there are substances virtually everywhere that can be abused, from paint thinner to keyboard air duster. There is also a smaller chance of being caught while intoxicated because the effects of inhalants are so brief.

Clinical Supervisor – Primary Therapist

Outside of The Freedom Center, Corey enjoys playing golf, hiking and most of all being the best father to his three young boys. Client wellness, especially when dealing with the delicacy of addictions, remains a priority that drives his full engagement and committed nature. By fully engaging in these therapies and treatments, the individual can break the cycle of addiction to inhaling paint and avoid relapse to continued use of this dangerous illicit substance.

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With this knowledge in hand, health professionals need to build community connections and play a guiding signs of huffing role in creating a network of community care for inhalant abusers. Everyone plays a role in the prevention, signs, and symptoms of inhalant use/abuse. If you have a loved one who is abusing inhalants it’s important to reach out for help and learn what treatment options are available.

Inhalant Addiction Treatment and Aftercare

Her primary focus is to provide all clients with a safe, structured environment while coordinating their care. Alexandra understands addiction from both familial and personal standpoints, as she is active in her own recovery. Through her own hard-won experience and deep desire to help others, Alexandra became a certified Peer Support Recovery Coach, Life Coach and actively practices principals learned through the recovery process in her daily life. Alexandra is a mother, a daughter, a sister, a friend and has learned the value of recovery and succeeding in whatever she sets her mind to. Her innovative approach as Director of Operations gives her clients a safe and compassionate place at The Freedom Center to begin their recovery journey. Her experience in behavioral health training, program development, and organizational leadership lead her to pursue a certification as a Project Management Professional in 2018.

Huffing has pleasurable effects because it depresses your central nervous system while dilating your blood vessels, but these feelings are short-lived. Most inhalants produce a fast high with similar effects to alcohol intoxication, initial excitement followed by impaired functioning. Inhalants are volatile products that produce toxic fumes that can be inhaled for psychoactive and euphoric feelings. These substances are called inhalants because they are almost always used through inhalation. When a person inhales harmful chemicals, they may disrupt the oxygen supply in the lungs, leading to a lack of oxygen in the bloodstream, and ultimately, damage to vital organs.

Health risks of inhalant abuse

“Physicians should also be aware of ‘sudden sniffing death syndrome,’” Dr. Johnson-Arbor adds. This syndrome can lead to irregular and rapid heart rhythms as well as heart failure.Carter’s secondary cause of death was due, in part, to abuse of difluoroethane (DFE). While inhalant dependence is not common, it can occur when people use inhalants heavily or frequently. People who develop physical dependence on inhalants may experience severe withdrawal symptoms that can make it difficult for them to stop using these dangerous substances when they choose. Since many people who abuse inhalants are children or adolescents, family counseling can be another effective treatment. This type of therapy focuses on support, improving communication, and healing relationships between family members.