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Inhalant use: Is your child at risk?

What are the risks of inhalant abuse? What are the warning signs of inhalant abuse? What's the best way to prevent inhalant abuse? Content What are inhalants? What does it mean to huff an inhalant? What are the risks of using inhalants? What are the warning signs of inhalant use? What's the best way to prevent inhalant use? What if I find my child huffing?

What are the risks of using inhalants?

In addition to the initial euphoria, inhaling household products might also cause:

  • Dizziness
  • Headache
  • Slurred speech
  • Painful skin rash
  • Loss of coordination, inhibition and control
  • Belligerence
  • Apathy
  • Hallucinations and delusions
  • Suffocation
  • Seizures
  • Loss of consciousness
  • A rapid, irregular heartbeat that can trigger lethal heart failure — even for first-time inhalers
  • Death

Chronic inhalant use can cause:

  • Liver damage
  • Kidney damage
  • Nerve damage
  • Permanent brain damage
  • Hearing loss
  • Coordination problems

Some damage may be irreversible.

People who use inhalants are also at greater risk of depression, suicidal thoughts, conduct disorders and future drug use.

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