Inhalants

I've heard about people inhaling a wide variety of chemicals and substances in order to get high, and some of them can definitely be addictive, one a person can be addicted to getting high. What kind of chemicals are people most frequently using and how do you spot the signs of inhalant usage if you do not actually see them using?

In our country, street kids and beggars use rugby. This is a kind of sealant for houses which has a distinct smell. This is the only one I know of. It is quite affordable especially for people below the poverty line. They use this to mask hunger and problems away.

They look really confused and high as from what I have seen. Their eyes are reddish and scary looking. I try to stay away from people like these to be out of trouble.

I know some people who used to inhale petrol or diesel and that would make them get high or in a state where they did not know what is going on anymore and would have mood swings and a sore head. I reckon the eyes could be a start or the face as it may look tired or like the person has been having drugs when they have not been taking them. Some people do inhale household cleaning detergents and this get's them high or in a state where they are not sure what is going on.

Never heard of this before. You said that they are very addictive too? Usually after how many puffs or how many attempts before you would get addicted to it?

Over here there were a lot people who liked to do that, specially when I was little. I guess they liked it because it was cheap, now it's less common. It seems the prices of others drugs are doing down here, or maybe most of those people who got high that way back then are all dead. Inhalants are rarely used here nowadays, only really poor people use it or underage kids.

I haven't seen this in YEARS. When I was a teenager though, I found a friend outside with a can of air freshener "huffing" it. I thought he was insane and he very much did act like he was for an hour or so after that. I quit hanging around him at that point because he'd just gotten so far lost and down and I couldn't handle it.

The long term consequences can be so devastating. The potential for brain damage that leaves you completely helpless is terrifying.

It is quite sad to see little children inhaling these stuff in the streets. They are such young people to have to resort to drugs to forget their problems. I hate the fact that their parents brought them into this world and just let their kids ruin their future.

Only thing I ever saw or did was whippets, and that’s pretty G-rated (unless overdone, of course) compared to some of the stuff I’ve heard of people inhaling. Some of those ingredients can be super damaging in the long term, and the scary thing is, such things are readily available. Which is why young people are so drawn to them.

Yes I actually inhaled a bit myself, mostly glue (the yellow one that has a super strong smell). I was rather young, it was easy because my grandpa always had some of it at home, since he used it to ''fix'' a lot things around the house. I did it several times, I'm glad I stopped on time.

What in the world is a whippet? Is that like sucking out the air in a whip cream can?

Yep, it’s inhaling the nitrous oxide in the nozzle of a whipped cream can, or other similar cans. I’m pretty sure more than one can is needed to feel any sort of high, and I only used one, so the only thing that really happened was the voice change like when you inhale helium.

Good thing you stopped inhaling it! Children are very curious beings and without proper guidance, they will never know that what they are doing is wrong. An adult like the parent is needed to instill some guide to a young child.

I remember smelling rugby whenever I pass by this newly built house when I was little. I quite liked the smell of it. Good thing my older sister lectured me that it is bad to inhale such stuff.

I was very innocent as well and I did like the smell, I had no idea there was something wrong about that (amazing how innocent kids can be, huh!) . One day I told my mom I liked the smell f that and then she told me it wasn't ok to inhale that kind of things, because they affected your brain and so on. Being the kid I was I got scared right away.

Glad you had your big sister to guide you I also have an older sister, but I think I have already mentioned she is just like my aunt.

Maybe the only way you can tell is a change in there behavior. If a person is acting stranger than usual, getting sick often or smells funny you might be able to tell. It's really hard to tell if someone is inhaling stuff to get high other than more known drugs like cocaine. This is a dangerous way to get high and it's pretty much undetectable. You just have to hope someone you know isn't sniffing glue or something.

I inhaled correction fluid when I was at school once. never again. I was weirdly high for around a minute and suddenly developed a splitting headache that refused to shift. I never touched the stuff again.

Well inhaling different chemicals that get you high creates addictions without doubt. Every substance that creates you a little high gets you addicted to it simply because it force your brain to make more dopamine. I have a friend who was in a hospital, he kinda got addicted to the oxygen tubes, the doctors had to put him on hold after 3 days of oxygen because they said it could really turn into an ugly addiction.

@Coolkidhere, Over here rugby is also popular, but you are from the US right? I never knew that it's popular among the street kids over there. Over here in the Philippines, it's also quite popular, but it's been quite a while that I saw someone sniffing it in the streets. I guess most kids are now preoccupied with gaming, since I see a lot of street kids playing in the internet cafe, and you can tell they are street kids, lol.

@serenity
Hi, I'm from the Philippines too! I still see kids sniffing rugby here and even homeless people too. It is truly a sad state actually. Well, that makes me wonder how are they able to afford money for playing? Lol. If I were them I would just spend my extra money on food.:/

@Coolkidhere, The rates of internet use in the cheapest internet cafes are P10 to P15 only so they can easily get that money somewhere right, like by stealing or begging, perhaps? I blame the parents of those wayward kids though. Why are they even allowing that to happen right?