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░ Definition
Inhaling chemicals is a problem for many people, including youngsters. There are many inhalants, they are cheap and easy to access:
Hair sprays, nail polish remover, deodorizers, room deodorizers, glue, rubber cement, paint, paint thinner, gasoline, cleaning fluids…
░ Effects of inhalants
Inhalant is absorbed through the lungs and enters the bloodstream. Once in the bloodstream, the chemicals travel throughout the body, including the brain. Most inhalants are depressants of the nervous system. However, the effects of each inhalant are difficult to determine: it depends on its chemical composition and on the amount taken.
In the short term :
Relaxation, slurred speech, euphoria, hallucinations, drowsiness, dizziness, nausea, vomiting and even death from heart failure or suffocating on plastic bags or vomit.
In the long term :
Memory loss, concentration problems, visual disturbances, blindness, motor problems, peripheral nerve damages.
░ The brain
Inhalants may affect different parts of the nervous system and the brain, causing a variety of psychological, sensory, emotional and motor problems. One major effect of inhalants is the destruction of the myelin sheath that surrounds neurons. This can result in problems in the normal transmission of impulses through neurons and cell death.
Specific areas of the brain targeted by inhalants include:
- Cerebral Cortex: causing changes in personality, memory loss, hallucinations and learning problems.
- Cerebellum: damage can cause problems in balance and movement.
- Hippocampus: resulting in the memory problems.
- Visual System: damage to the peripheral nerves may cause visual disturbances.
░ Important: "Out of the reach of children "
Inhalants highly toxic are at any home, this is something you can see just opening a drawer in the kitchen or the bathroom. We learnt before the great variety of common products that content toxic chemicals. Warning labels on product´s cases point these fatal dangers out. Among the indications, you can find one important: “keep out of the reach of children”. Terrible situations happened in the past over a household atmosphere apparently safe, which must serve us to be careful about the danger of having a paint or spray in the reach of children.
More information (University of Washington) >>
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░ Alcohol
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░ Mushrooms
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