Inhalants & Addiction

Inhalant misuse can be very dangerous, leading to a range of negative health effects.

Although actual inhalant addiction is relatively uncommon, it does still occur. Inhalants have been known to cause physical dependence and cravings.

What Are Inhalants?

An inhalant is a chemical that primarily acts on the body by being inhaled. When discussing inhalants related to drug use, these are typically substances that produce chemical vapors that, when inhaled, result in a mind-altering effect. 

Many inhalants aren’t designed to be inhalants. For example, the fumes from markers and certain paint products can be used as inhalants, even though the intended purpose of these products is very different.

Importantly, inhalant is a very broad category of drug. Which inhalants people misuse often comes down to cost and availability. There are hundreds of different products people might misuse as inhalants, and these products might contain one of several types of psychoactive inhalants.

Different Types of Inhalants

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) categorizes inhalants into four different types.

1. Volatile Solvents

These are liquids that vaporize at room temperature. They are often widely available and fairly inexpensive. This type of inhalant includes paint thinners, various cleaning fluids, some glues, and felt-tip markers. 

Many of the products people imagine when they think of “inhalant” come from this category.

2. Aerosols

Aerosolized products contain propellants and solvents that work together to achieve the spray effect of a product. There many different aerosol products available for a wide variety of purposes, including paints, deodorants, hair sprays, cooking oils, and more.

3. Gases

This is a class of inhalants that includes a variety of common commercial and household products as well as several medical-grade ones. Various medical anesthetics fall under the type of inhalant, including nitrous oxide. 

Nitrous oxide is one of the most commonly misused gases, as it is also available in whipped cream dispensers (“whippets”) and certain car products. 

4. Nitrates

Nitrates are a unique type of inhalant in that they work on by dilating blood vessels and relaxing muscles rather than acting directly on the central nervous system (CNS). They are also used differently than the other types of inhalants listed, generally being misused as sexual enhancers rather than to alter mood. 

Nitrates used to be more widely available, but the Consumer Product Safety Commission has now prohibited them for most use cases. 

Causes of Inhalant Addiction

Inhalant addiction isn’t well documented, so there are some unknowns associated with it. This is made more complex by the wide variety of substances that fall under this category of drug misuse. 

What is known is that, while not common, repeated inhalant use can cause a person to develop a substance use disorder (SUD). SUDs range in severity, and they are commonly referred to as addictions.

One thing that can reinforce addiction is the development of physical dependence, which some inhalant use can cause. Physical dependence occurs when repeated drug use essentially rewires your brain, causing it to treat the state your body is in while high on a substance as normal and your natural, sober state as abnormal. 

When you develop this type of dependence, you will go through withdrawal when your body processes the drugs already in its system and develop uncomfortable symptoms along with drug cravings. This dependence is temporary, but it requires a prolonged period of sobriety for the brain to readjust to its natural state.

Signs & Symptoms of Inhalant Addiction

Inhalant use can look different for different individuals, and it’s important not to overgeneralize. If you’re unsure whether your drug use would qualify as an addiction, you should likely seek help from an addiction treatment professional.

With that said, people who develop a SUD will typically show symptoms from some mix of four categories:

1. Impaired control over their use of a substance
2. Social problems resulting from their substance use
3. Substance use in risky settings or continued substance use despite known health problems that were caused by substance use
4. The development of a tolerance for the drug being misused or the development of physical dependence on the drug

These symptoms will range in severity, and not everyone will necessarily exhibit symptoms from every category. 

How Inhalants Affect the Body & Mind

Inhalant use can be fairly dangerous to the body and brain. Unlike many other recreational drugs, many inhalants aren’t designed for the purpose of being inhaled. While most recreational drugs still carry various health risks, most are at least made for the purpose of at least being used by humans. 

Short-Term Effects

In the short term, most inhalants act on the central nervous system. They often cause effects superficially similar to alcohol, including slurred speech, reduced coordination, a sense of euphoria, and dizziness. They can also cause hallucinations or delusions.

Inhalant use can sometimes cause a person to vomit, feel very drowsy, or have a long-lasting headache. In some cases, they can cause a serious toxic reaction, discussed more in the section on overdose below.

Long-Term Effects

Long-term inhalant use is associated with a variety of health problems, including these:

• Liver, kidney, and brain damage
• Hearing loss
• Bone marrow damage
• Reduced coordination and limb spasms as the result of nerve damage
• Behavioral developmental issues due to brain damage

The use of nitrates as sexual enhancers is also associated with unsafe sexual practices, which can result in getting or spreading sexually transmitted infections (STIs), such as hepatitis or HIV/AIDS.

The Dangers of Using Inhalants

The discussion around drug abuse is often complicated by the fact that basically all recreational drug use is unhealthy to some degree, which can sometimes cause a particular type of drug use’s dangers to unintentionally be downplayed. 

Inhalant misuse is particularly dangerous. First-time inhalant abusers can and have died. Meanwhile, long-time users can develop serious health problems, including damage to their brain and other organs.

Inhalant Withdrawal

While inhalant cravings are more common than full-blown withdrawal, those who do experience withdrawal from inhalants report symptoms such as these:

• Loss of appetite
• Nausea
• Sweating
• Mood changes
• Problems sleeping

Can You Overdose on Inhalants?

It is very possible to overdose on inhalants. In fact, it is a major concern associated with any inhalant use. Many of the products people use as inhalants, especially solvents and aerosols, are essentially chemical cocktails that can expose people to many different substances, some in very high concentrations. 

Inhalant use, especially heavy use in one sitting, can cause seizures, coma, and death, sometimes stopping the heart in only a few minutes. Inhalants are associated with sudden sniffing death syndrome, which occurs when people die abruptly after using inhalants. People may die from sudden sniffing death syndrome their first time using inhalants.

It’s also possible to suffocate when engaging in inhalant use, such as if you use inhalants in a closed space and collapse without enough clean, breathable air in the area around you to support your brain’s needs. 

Overdose Symptoms to Watch Out For

Call 911 immediately if you or someone else experiences the following symptoms after engaging in inhalant use, as it may signal an overdose:

• Coma, blackout, or seizure
• Disorientation or severe confusion
• Chest pain or irregular heartbeat
• Delusions or hallucinations
• Nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea

Addiction Treatment Options

While inhalant misuse is relatively common, inhalant addiction isn’t very common. As a result, there isn’t a huge body of research on the best way to treat it. 

However, NIDA notes that cognitive behavioral therapy, a common therapy used in addiction treatment that focuses on identifying why a person uses drugs and helping them to channel their thoughts in healthier ways, can help. Motivational incentives, where rewards are earned for staying sober, have also been shown to help.

Overall, behavioral therapies tend to focus on three things:

• Modifying patient behaviors and attitudes toward drug use
• Developing and improving a patient’s healthy life skills
• Helping a patient persist with other forms of treatment, such as medications (although there aren’t any medications approved for the purpose of treating inhalant misuse directly)

In addiction treatment, you’ll learn to build a healthy life that doesn’t involve substance misuse. You’ll develop positive coping mechanisms, so you can better cope with triggers without relapsing. And you’ll form a support system that can make it easier to sustain recovery for the long term.

References

What Are Inhalants? (February 2011). National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Inhalants. (April 2020). National Institute on Drug Abuse.

What Is a Substance Use Disorder? (December 2020). American Psychiatric Association.

Inhalant Abuse. (April 2008). Indian Journal of Psychiatry.

Inhalants. (June 2020). HealthDirect.

Treatment Approaches for Drug Addiction. (January 2019). National Institute on Drug Abuse.