While you’re busy safeguarding your prescription medications and liquor cabinet from your children, you might not have considered the dangers some everyday items can pose. Inhalants – anything that can be sniffed or inhaled in order to get high – are easily accessible and generally not suspicious to find around the house. According to one survey by the American Academy of Pediatrics, nearly one in ten eighth graders have tried some form of inhalant. There are three general kinds: solvents (cleaning products, paint, glue, fuel), nitrous oxide (laughing gas, which might come from a medical professional but can also be found in spray cans of whipped cream), and volatile nitrites (found in air fresheners). You’ve probably heard the most about solvents –people have tried sniffing everything from hairspray to felt-tip markers – but one substance that it might not have occurred to you to worry about is gasoline.
It’s easy enough for anyone to get their hands on gasoline. If they drive, they can simply pump it into a container while they’re filling up. Otherwise, most people have a can sitting around for use in a lawnmower or generator. It might make a person feel relaxed or euphoric after inhaling, but it has some serious side effects. The following are all signs that someone has inhaled gasoline: hallucinations, aggression, increased libido, hunger, lack of coordination, staggering, disorientation, slurred speech, coughing, wheezing, vomiting, and slow reflexes. You also might notice the persistent odor of gasoline clinging to the person.
The effects hit pretty quickly, because when you inhale something it goes from the lungs right into the bloodstream and then to the brain. Intoxication only lasts for a few minutes, however, which leads to people inhaling again and again to prolong the high.
If done long term, inhaling gasoline can damage the brain, heart, lungs, immune system, liver, and kidneys. There may also be problems with attention, memory, and problem-solving, muscle weakness, tremors, balance problems, mood changes such as irritability and depression, dementia, nephritis (inflammation of the kidneys that can lead to kidney failure) and tubular necrosis (another disorder that can lead to kidney failure), and certain cancers.
It’s also possible to die from the very first hit. Sudden Sniffing Death Syndrome, which can occur with many types of inhalants, usually occurs when the inhalant causes the heart to beat erratically or rapidly, leading to cardiac arrest. Furthermore, inhaling any gas that can displace oxygen from the lungs, particularly gases heavier than oxygen (which gasoline vapors are) can cause hypoxia, meaning the body is deprived of an oxygen supply. What’s most dangerous is that there are often no outward signs of suffocation, and by the time the full symptoms appear it might be too late.
If you or a loved one need help with quitting drugs or alcohol, consider Asana Recovery. We offer medical detox, along with both residential and outpatient programs, and you’ll be supervised by a highly trained staff of medical professionals, counselors, and therapists. Call us any time at (949) 438-4504 to get started.
