Pgge 5
Jan u ary 31, 2 0 0 8
Spiiyay T ym oo, W grm Springs, O regon
An important message from the Community Health Education Team
By Judith Charley
Acting Public Health Educator
As parents, guardians and
trusted adults, we want to pro
vide the safest environment for
our children. We are concerned
about illegal and illhcit drugs
such 'as m arijuana, cocaine,
meth, heroin and LSD, but of
ten ignore the dangers posed to
our children from com m on
household products.
Many of these products can
be used for inhalant abuse.
Many o f the household prod
ucts contain volatile solvents or
chemicals. These products can
be such common items such as
glues, nail polish remover, lighter
fluid, spray paints, deodorant
and hair sprays, whippped cream
canisters, and cleaning fluids,
and are widely available and eas
ily accessible.
Many young people inhale
the vapors from these sources
in order to obtain a quick in
toxication without being aware
o f the serious health conse
quences that can result. |
The most recent name of this
type o f use is called “Huffing,”
but is more commonly known
as “sniffing” to most people in
our community.
Huffing or sniffing is a form
o f inhalant abuse. It was not too
long ago that our community
felt the loss of a young person
due to inhalant use.
The loss of life from doing
this type o f inhaling was
devestating to the community,
family, relatives and friends.
O ne grandm other affected
by this loss expressed her ob
servation that we must continu
ally and consistendy inform and
educate our community of this
type o f activity in an all out ef-
fotfflt& kedp our children safe.
'-»■'The accidental death con
firmed what can occur at any
given time by inhaling to obtain
a “high.” It is a dangerous and
risky.
,
■Everyone m ust know that
experimentation with these sub
stances should n o t be taken
lightly. Even a single session of
repeated inhalant abuse can dis
rupt heart rhythms and cause
death froth scardiac arrest or
lower dxygeii levels enough to
cause suffocation.
Regular abuse of these sub
stances can result in serious
harm to vital organs including
the brain, heart, kidneys and
liver.
N ow that you have a brief
glim pse as to w hat inhalant
abuse is, we hope you will look
forward to reading future ar
ticles on this topic.
The Community Health Edu
cation Team wants to provide a
way for you to become better
informed about the dangers of
inhalant use and abuse.
First question
The first thing most people
want to know is, What are in
halants?
In h ala n ts are volatile
sustances that produce chemi
cal vapors. These vapors can be
inhaled to induce or bring about
a psychoactive, or mind-altering,
effect.
Although other abused sub
stances can be inhaled, the term
“inhalants” is used to describe a
variety o f substances whose
main common characteristic is
that they are rarely, if ever,
taken by any route other than
inhalation.
This definition o f inhalants
involves a b ro ad range o f
chemicals found in hundreds of
differen t products th a t may
have different pharmacological
effects. Because o f this, trying
to attempt a precise category for
inhalants is hard to do.
One classification lists four
general categories, which we
found is the easiest to share and
easiest for people to understand.
They are: Volatile solvents,
aerosols, gases and nitrites. The
difference am ong these sub
stances is based on the form in
which they are often found in
household, industrial and medi
cal products.
Volatile solvents are liquids
that vaporize at room tempera
ture. They are found in such
things as pgint thinners and re
movers,, dry-c*leanfing fluids,
degreasers, gasoline, glues, cor
rection fluids and felt-tip mark
ers. As you can see, these are
com mon household products
that are inexpensive and easily
obtained.
Aerosols are sprays that con
tain propellants and solvents,
such as spray paints, deodorant,
hair sprays, vegetable oil sprays
for cooking, and fabric protec
tor sprays.
As you can see, these are
products that have a “spray”
action from a canister. The spray
is propelled out from the can.
These are very easy products to
get a hold of, as many’are found
in our home.
The key is to be aware, safely
Inhalant abuse is
cheap, it is easy to
get the products
needed fo r a high,
and it is often an
activity we tend to
overlook, until it is
too late.
store your product
or “snappers.”
Amyl nitrite is . used in cer
tain diagnostic procedures and
was prescribed in the past to
treat some patients for heart
pain. Nitrites are now prohib
ited by the Consumer Product
Safety Commission, but can be
still be found, sold in small
bottles, often labeled as “video
head cleaner,” “room odorizer,”
and “leather cleaner,” or “liq
uid aroma.”
We know that the terminol
ogy is a little hard to wade
through, but feel it is important
that you have at least seen the
words on paper, and are basi
cally aware o f what they are.
Gases include medical anes
thetics as well as gases used in
household or commercial prod
ucts. Medical anesthetic gases
include ether, chloroform, hal- Seventh-ninth graders
H uffing, or sniffing have
othane, and nitrous oxide, most
commonly known as “laughing been occurring for many years,
yet no real focus has been taken
gas.”
N itrous oxide is the m ost
abused o f these gases and can
be found in whipped cream dis
pensers and products that boost
octane levels in racing cars.
H ousehold or commercial
products containing gases in
clude butane lighters, propane
tanks, whipped cream dispens
ers, and refrigerants.
In class presentations to com
munity members, most were a
little concerned after learning
that whipped cream dispensers
was on this list.
It is not the whipped cream
that creates a high, it is the pro
pellant or gas inside the con
tain er th a t push es o u t the
whipped cream that is used to
obtain a high.
The whipped cream from a
canister is still safe to use on
your desserts.
Now that you are aware how
this product can be misused, ev
eryone can be extra cautious.
It is o ften the com m on
things that we tend to overlook
and disregard, because we are
not informed. Once you know
how it can be misused, you are
then aware o f the danger o f
product misuse or abuse.
to make community members
better informed about it’s use,
abuse and consequences.
Research on this type o f
abuse indicates that inhalant
abuse reaches its peak at some
point between seventh through
the ninth grades.
Eighth-graders also regularly
report the highest rate of cur
rent, past year, and lifetime in
halant abuse. This research in
formation is based on informa
tion obtained from the National
Institute on Drug Abuse.
While priority efforts con
tinue to address drug usé, pri
marily meth, let us not ignore
the signs o f o th er types o f
abuse.
Inhalant abuse is cheap, it is
easy to get thé products needed
for a highland it is often an ac
tivity we tend to overlook, until
MADRAS
it is too late.
It is the in ten tio n o f the
Community Health Education
Team (CHET) to inform com
munity members, so that indi
viduals are able to make posi
tive choices for a better future
for all.
Please look for future articles
that will cover: Patterns o f in
halant abuse; Recognizing inhal
ant abuse; How are inhalants
used; How do inhalants produce'
their effects; Short and long
term effects of' inhalant abuse;
and What are the medical con
sequences of inhalant abuse.
I f departments, groups, or
even a family would like a pre
sentation by the CHET team,
please feel free to contact:
Carolyn Wewa at 553-3462 at
the Family Resource Center in
Warm Springs.
5
Paint & Glass
Your Local Paint & Glass Experts
_ _ Benjamin
A. „
M ooreAa.
, PAINTS _
xpressions
GALLERY'
Madras Paint & Glass
1076 SW Hwy 97 in Madras, ph. 475-2166
Nitrites often are considered
a special class o f inhalants.
Unlike most other inhalants,
which act directly on the cen
tral nervous system, nitrites act
primarily to dilate blood vessels
and relax the muscles.
While other inhalants are
used to alter mood, nitrites are
used primarily as sexual enhanc
ers. Nitrites include cyclohexyl
nitrite, isoamyl (amyl) nitrite, and
isobutyl (butyl) nitrite, and are
commonly known as “poppers”
O P E N 8-5:30 M-F : 9-4 S at
Need help with a legal problem?
Legal Aid Services of Oregon
provides free assistance to low-
income Oregonians in many civil
cases. Speak with an attorney
during drop-in hours 1 to 4 p.m.
on the first Monday of the month at
the Family Resources Center in
Warm Springs. Or call us at 385-
6944 Monday through Wednesday
between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
IRA’S SALES & SERVICE, INC.
Taco Express
Vending Truck
24-HOUR
TOW
SERVICE
Next to Whitehorse Adventures at Deschutes Crossing
OPEN
10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
or
later depending on
hungry traffic
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Call in order at:
460-3343
or
460-3340
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