Inhalant Abuse

(Source: Barbara Insley Crouch, Poison Control Center)

• Trends in Use

  • Ever used, all ages, all ethnicity
    Total: 5.7%/ Males: 8.0%/ Females: 3.5%
  • Highest rates among white males in the Western U.S. ages 18-34
  • Highest rates for recent use were in ages 12-17

    (National Household Survey on Drug Abuse: Population Estimates 1995. SAMHSA, Health and Human Services)

• Risk Factors associated with abuse

  • Male
  • 13-15 years
  • Low income family
  • "Broken" family

• Features of acute intoxication
  • All are central nervous system drepressants
    • Stage 1- Excitation-- Euphoria, sneezing, coughing, salivation
    • Stage 2- CNS Depression-- Confused, disoriented, sense of invulnerability
    • Stage 3- Marked CNS Depression-- ataxia, depressed reflexes
    • Stage 4- Stupor-- Cardio respiratory arrest, seizures

  • May mimic alcohol intoxication (slurred speech, diplopia, ataxia, blurred vision), but often patient is disoriented to place and time (unlike alcohol) and may be hallucinating.

  • Sudden Sniffing Death Syndrome: Sudden and unexpected death may occur at any time (first time use or the 100th time use). Exact mechanism unclear.

• Chronic Abuse
  • Encephalopathy-- seen with repeated high level exposure over years. Characterized by personality change, memory loss, fatigue, depression, loss of interest in daily activities, headache, insomnia, loss of initiative, depression.

  • Gait disturbances, loss of coordination.

  • Affects hearing, smell.

  • Parkinsonism

  • Visual loss- optic neuropathy

• Addictive Properties

  Volatile substances of abuse rarely produce physical manifestations of withdrawal. Psychological dependence occurs with chronic use. Tolerance has been noted in many sniffers and may occur as rapidly as three months of weekly usage.