Kids & Teens
Maybe you haven't heard of inhalants, but you probably come across them pretty often. Hair sprays, gasoline, spray paint -- they are all inhalants, and so are lots of other everyday products. Many inhalants have a strong smell. That's why they're called inhalants: Some people inhale the vapors on purpose.
Why would anyone do this? Because the chemicals in these vapors can change the way the brain works, and those changes can make people feel very happy for a short time. But inhalants also cause harm.
Inhalant vapors often contain more than one chemical. Some leave the body quickly, but others are absorbed by fatty tissues in the brain and nervous system. They can stay there for a long time.
Did you know that some inhalants directly increase the size of blood vessels, allowing more blood to flow through? And some inhalants can make the heart beat faster. This can be a serious problem, especially if someone inhales butane gas.
Butane, found in cigarette lighters and refills, makes the heart extra sensitive to a chemical that carries messages from the nervous system to the heart. This chemical, noradrenalin, tells the heart to beat faster when you're in a stressful situation - like if something suddenly scares you.
If the heart becomes too sensitive to noradrenalin, a normal jolt of it may cause the heart to temporarily lose its rhythm and stop pumping blood through the body. Some inhalant users die this way.
Damage from long term use of inhalants can slow or stop nerve cell activity in some parts of the brain. This might happen in the frontal cortex, the part of the brain that solves complex problems and plans ahead. Or if inhalants get into the brain's cerebellum, which controls movement and coordination, they can make someone move slowly or clumsily.
Studies show that neurons in a part of the brain called the hippocampus can also be damaged by inhalants. The damage occurs because the cells don't get enough oxygen.
Since the hippocampus helps control memory, someone who repeatedly uses inhalants may lose the ability to learn new things, may not recognize familiar things, or may have a hard time keeping track of simple conversations.
The truth is, there's still a whole lot that scientists do not know about the effects of inhalants on the brain.