Even if you haven’t heard of inhalants, you come across them often in day-to-day life.

Many inhalants have a strong smell. Some people inhale vapors on purpose, that’s why they’re called “inhalants.” They include lots of everyday products such as hair spray, gasoline, spray paint, compressed air and butane gas.
People usually inhale these chemicals because the chemicals in the vapors can change the way the brain works, and those changes can make people feel happy for a very short time. One reason scientists are so interested in inhalants is that these chemicals affect the body in lots of ways.
While some effects are due to changes in the brain, other parts of the body are affected as well, such as the circulatory system. Some inhalants directly increase the size of blood vessels, allowing more blood to flow through, and some can make the heart beat faster. Butane, found in cigarette lighters, makes the heart extra sensitive to a chemical that carries messages from the nervous system to the heart.
This chemical tells the heart to beat faster. If the heart becomes too sensitive to this chemical, a normal jolt — such as someone scaring you — may cause the heart to temporarily lose its rhythm and stop pumping blood through the body.
Inhalant users can die this way. Inhalants also can cause death by suffocation when the inhaled fumes take the place of oxygen in the lungs and brain, known as Sudden Sniffing Death.
Inhalant vapors often contain more than one chemical. Some leave the body quickly, while others are absorbed by fatty tissues in the brain and nervous system. They can stay there for a long time. One of these fatty tissues, myelin, is a protective cover that surrounds many of the body’s nerve cells (neurons). Nerve cells in your brain and spinal cord are sort of like “Command Central” for your body.
They send and receive messages that control almost everything you think and do. If you picture nerve cells as your body’s electrical wiring, then think of myelin as rubber insulation that protects the electrical cord. One problem with long-term inhalant use is that the chemicals can break down myelin.
If myelin breaks down, nerve cells can’t transmit messages.
Damage from long-term use of inhalants can slow or stop nerve cell activity in parts of the brain. This happens in the frontal cortex, the part of the brain that solves complex problems and plans ahead. If inhalants get into the brain’s cerebellum, which controls movement and coordination, they can make someone move slowly and clumsily.
Studies show that neurons in a part of the brain called the hippocampus also can get damaged by inhalants. The damage occurs because the cells don’t get enough oxygen. Since the hippocampus helps control memory, someone who uses inhalants may lose the ability to learn things, recognize familiar things or keep track of simple conversations.
Truth is, there’s still a whole lot that scientists don’t know about the effects of inhalants, but help is available today. If you know someone who may need help with inhalants, call ADAC.
