- Feeling like being drunk with dizziness, dreaminess, fits of the giggles, and difficulty thinking straight.
- In the case of some glues, gases and aerosols, you can develop a red rash around the mouth.
- Getting a hangover afterwards – such as a severe headache, feeling tired and/or feeling depressed.
- mood swings
- aggressive behaviour
- hallucinations
- vomiting and blackouts
The serious Health risks
How Sniffing Glue Affects Your Health
Sniffing glue is a cheap, but dangerous way people have used to get high for many years. Solvent glue is one of many common substances that fall under the category of “inhalants.” Others include: aerosol sprays cleaners and other household chemicals.
Common forms of solvent glues include model glue and rubber cement.
Inhalants are typically used by adolescents as a cheaper and more easily accessible alternative to marijuana and other drugs. The National Institute on Drug Abuse notes that inhalants are the only class of substances used more by younger teens than older teens.
Dangers of sniffing glue
Sniffing glue can be life-threatening. Even if the result isn’t fatal, the risks associated with glue and other inhalants include possible brain damage and severe breathing problems.
Your experience with sniffing glue may be much different than another person’s. In addition, the effect of one glue-sniffing attempt could be more or less severe than earlier or subsequent experiences.
The following includes some of the more serious risks and dangers of sniffing glue.
Acute respiratory failure
Acute respiratory failure is a potentially fatal condition that can occur when something impairs your ability to breathe or directly affects your lungs. This prevents a sufficient amount of oxygen from reaching the rest of the body.
The use of glue and other inhalants, as well as excessive alcohol consumption, are all possible causes of acute respiratory failure. Ongoing drug and alcohol abuse, as well other lung problems can also lead to chronic respiratory failure, a condition in which the body can’t take in enough oxygen over time. In serious cases, chronic respiratory failure can lead to coma.
Brain damage
Sniffing glue and other inhalants — especially those that include the solvents toluene and naphthalene — can damage the myelin sheath, the thin covering around the nerve fibers in the brain and the rest of your nervous system. This damage can cause long-term harm to brain function, causing neurological problems similar to those seen with multiple sclerosis.
Heart rhythm disturbances
Exposure to the chemicals in glue can lead to an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia). In some cases, the abnormal rhythms can lead to fatal heart failure. This is known as sudden sniffing death syndrome (SSDS), and it can occur from just one attempt.
Other serious health risks associated with sniffing glue include:
seizures, liver damage, kidney damage, choking (often from vomit), injuries resulting from impaired judgment, such as falls or car accidents, hearing impairment, headaches, loss of coordination, abdominal pains etc.
Are there any benefits?
The “high” you can get from sniffing glue or inhaling other chemicals may cause a temporary sense of euphoria or hallucinations. However, these feelings only last a few minutes and aren’t worth the risks to your health.
Inhaling glue and other chemicals is dangerous and should never be attempted.
The long term effects
Long-term abuse can damage the muscles, liver and kidneys. While very long term use, such as 10 years or more, can cause a lasting impairment of brain function (especially affecting how the brain controls body movement).
It can be hard to get the dose right. Just enough will give the desired ‘high’ – a little too much can result in a coma or even death.
Unsteadiness, disorientation/confusion and fainting can all contribute to the risk of accidents which are implicated in a number of the deaths.
Mental health risks
They can seriously affect your judgment and when you’re high there’s a real danger you’ll try something dangerous.
What is glues, gases and aerosols cut with?
Because glues, gases and aerosols are easily available as household products, purity is not normally an issue.
However, different glues, gases and aerosols will contain different ingredients and chemicals, some of which may also be harmful.
Dangers of mixing it with other drugs
Gases, glues and aerosols produce a similar effect to alcohol, so mixing them together can have serious consequences. The effects are increased and can lead to unconsciousness and death.
Addition
Inhaling glues, gases and spray could be very addictive.
Tolerance can build up within a few weeks in regular users, so you might need to use more to achieve the same effects. This reverts back to normal within a few days of stopping.
It may be possible to become psychologically dependent on volatile substances, meaning the users develop an increased desire to keep using despite any harms they experience, but the evidence on this is limited.
Withdrawal symptoms have been reported in regular users. When they stop their use they experience irritability and headaches.
By: Alika Gabriel/ alikagabriel19@gmail.com