Do inhalants ACTUALLY cause brain damage?

Well you've probably heard from people that 'inhalants will fry your brain'. Even on erowid it has a warning of that on every inhalants experience report. But do they actually do that? I've never seen any legit studies on erowid that proved that, sounds like a myth to me.

Not that I'm planning on huffing some pain thinner anytime soon, but it's something I've always wondered about.

 

It depends on what it is, the size of the person, and the amount inhaled.

 

I know that nitrous oxide is completely safe, but I'm talking about common inhalants-

Spray paint, glue, paint thinner etc.

 

well they work by starving your brain of oxygen, so it definitely seems possible that, if you use them enough, you could permanently damage brain cells due to lack of oxygen.

it is a good question though, i've never seen anything definitive on this either. i have heard stories of peoples voices becoming slower and that sort of thing, but i've never seen anything scientific on the subjet.

 

I find it unlikely something as common as glue can cause damage from huffing it, but some of the other less common chemicals probably do.

 

I schnotred glue all thea tyme and have absulutely nooo drain bramage!!

 

yes it is very bad for you, it will cause literal brain damage. Would you shoot paint? Would you snort dry glue? Would you drink gasoline? Well guess what, their fumes are just as toxic.

 

certain inhalants such as nitrous oxide, amyl nitrate or ether (NOT petroleum ether!) ARE able to be used safely under certain circumstances, but they are in NO way shape or form "completely safe."

most inhalants (petroleum distillates, freon, air freshener, duster, glue, etc.) are extremely dangerous and can cause significant damage to the brain. actual, structural damage. they work very strongly through asphyxiation, and significant oxygen deprivation WILL cause brain damage on it's own, but further they are full of poisonous, toxic fumes (which is why people die from these things - if you were simply asphyxiating yourself you'd pass out and stop inhaling from the bag or whatever long before you died - this is why you can't kill yourself by holding your breath. if the only damage were done via asphyxiation, the only way you could die from it would be if you were forced to keep inhaling it after passing out)

huffing is very dangerous and can cause permanent brain damage as well as death. you've never seen any legit studies on erowid? erowid almost never posts studies, only evidence and ideas taken from studies. the academic, scientific papers are copyrighted and cost money to get. they are printed in scholarly journals to which you usually need a subscription to access, unless you can get it through your school or business. what is published on erowid is virtually always popular materials, not scholarly.

one reason for a lack of such information may be due to the fact that huffers will inhale just about anything and everything with toxic fumes until they find what they like best and/or is cheapest. the wide array of substances abused and the wildly variable toxic constituents of these materials would make it hard to study. brain imaging is very tricky and what most scientists will not readily admit to is that much of it is rather suspect and potentially flawed. that said, in addition to limited scientific studies regarding past or current users of general inhalants there is massive anecdotal evidence for brain damage as well as verifiable reports of death due to use of inhalants. as no scientist will be allowed to get human subjects to sniff glue to study progressive brain degradation, and as animal literature is extremely limited in its ability to tell us how things work in human beings, science's ability to study the subject is very limited.

 

Allright, I guess this is the one 'rumour' about drugs which is actually true lol. Thanks nesta for the generous reply.

 

Oh yes, I can tell

 

Mindful people that huff, or use inhalants dont go around sniffing just anything to get high ..
Some have knowledge of the chemicals due to the occupation they may obtain the chemicals at..
There are more adults that use inhalants than reported because the taboo nature of using them..

Occupations like HVAC, painters, electricians, plumbers, for example can get a wider range of inhalants. Not like teenages going to the parts store. A parts store for automobile might have a "Do not sell" list to teens..

Flammable chemicals dont just endanger the user, they also endanger people nearby, spills or flash fires..
When I was teenager,I did try many .. gasoline, testors model glue, rubber cement, white out, parts cleaner..

While in the army as a, combat electrician, I probable inhaled chloroform parts cleaner a million time. Inhalant use is pretty high in the service.. And the use of some inhalants goes back to Civil war..

Queen Victoria was given chloroform and I think she was addicted to it for cronic pain. And many other scientist and professional in that era used that extensively for recreational use. When movies portray inhalants like in batman where they are sniffing a flower, Its a reference to chloroform.
And its also the inhalant Ive used more of than any other.. its right up there with dmt. Its may sound crazy to say that, but it takes you to the same place and beyond. But it also requires the same level of respect if not more. Its a solvent of course best for preparing fine metals for solder, plating, heavy duty grease cutter, glass cleaner.

Sodium hypochlorite solution (chlorine bleach) mixed with common household liquids such as acetone, butanone, ethanol, or isopropyl alcohol may produce some chloroform, in addition to other compounds such as chloroacetone, or dichloroacetone.
.. There is nothing to making it, and it smells like the cleanest aroma flower or just clean like alcohol, bleach, asetone.
I used chloroform a week ago to make hash oil, didnt inhale any of it to get high..
It does not put you to sleep just by smelling it, takes alot of deep inhalations to go down. But quick breaths of it and rapid exasperation will make just get you high, brighten your vision, make you feel wide awake more awake than you could ever be, but its just a dream. Thats when things get weird. You know how not to deprive yourself of oxygen and it makes it seem like the air on the earth is filthy and the shit your smelling is fixing it, taking out the crap and making you pure.. get this feeling like "oh thats better" sometimes like other hallucinogens the first time you inhale it, you purge and then theres no more need to do it. Feeling of being refreshed or reset. Its wonderful for curing migraines.. Imho I believe its the second least harmful., but I do not recommend you do it without thorough research, as its a carcinogen. you dont have to huff this just breath naturally on cotton..

Paints and glues are extremely bad cause the vapors contain residue of the product. so your putting glue and paint into your lungs.. Please dont do this.

Inhaling chemicals in a bag or repeatedly breathing them over and over for the purpose of getting high, is really bad for you. It will cause brain damage, the bag takes away all chances that you will get oxygen should you pass out.. Also increasing the risk of brain damage and death..
Duster canned air thats on the market now is pretty bad for you too..

 

oh, i see what you did there :frown:

you forgot to say "The haloform reaction can also occur inadvertently in domestic settings.":cheers2:

anyway, yeah, i forgot about chloroform. also has a long history of use which, when taken care of properly, can be relatively safe. in this way it is similar to laughing gas and ether.

still, it is not completely safe, as you mentioned

 

Whoa, thats alot of information thanks! Are there any safe guides on how to make chloroform gas safely, it sounds extremely interesting.

 

i've got absolutely no interest in chloroform whatever, but curiosity got the best of me. there's plenty of info online as to how to do it. if you want to, you ought to get a seperatory funnel

http://www.howtodothings.com/health-fitness/how-to-make-chloroform

i've also seen on multiple sites some serious warnings about the risk of chloroform turning into phosgene gas when in contact with oxygen or if stored improperly for a long time. phosgene gas was used as a chemical weapon in WWI and can cause very serious damage to the body. it was used widely

basically i wouldn't trust myself to make the stuff

if i were you i'd drop 20 bucks on a whipped cream cannister and get some nitrous oxide chargers. laughing gas is quite safe, stores well, cannot become a lethal chemical weapon, and is short lived but very pleasant. remember to take breaths of fresh air when using it or the asphyxiation could potentially be harmful to you. also remember that heavy use of nitrous oxide could deplete vitamin B-12 from your body, and remember that as a NMDA receptor antagonist it may cause similar neurotoxicity as such drugs as ketamine, dextromethorphan or PCP with chronic, heavy use. the risk of NMDA antagonist neurotoxicity with nitrous oxide is significantly lower than that of other dissociatives, but that doesn't mean it's perfectly safe, so use it cautiously and sparingly

as long as its only an occasional thing and you remember to get plenty of oxygen along with it, it is a pretty safe drug.

 

But arent whipped cream chargers only accessible only online, and don't you need to buy a 50 dollar charger? Are there any other ways to get it besides online. I've searched the internet for info but its kind of confusing.

 

tons of headshops and even some sex shops sell the cartridges. beyond that there are kitchen stores, restaurant supply stores, specialty baking shops, things like that

and you can get cheaper crackers. i got one at linens and things for like 30 bucks to make coconut whipped cream to top pina coladas for a welcome home party when my roommates went to spain for half a year. the girls loved it, and i had a canister for nitrous lol

the cartridges really aren't all that uncommon, but you may have to look around a little.

here you go:
http://www.creamright.com/Merchant2...-MO-25L-RED&Category_Code=NOD&Product_Count=0

http://www.creamright.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT&Store_Code=C#nitrous

 

NO2 is really easy to get ahold of, plus you can get the cheap bag thingys to inhale out of.


You can also mix bleach and ammonia and huff that too..

 

i believe there's much more to it than that...if you inhale a solvent through a rag you're still getting about as much oxygen.

 

nitrogen dioxide is poisonous, don't EVER inhale it.

i hope you mean n2o, nitrous oxide. HUGE difference.

 

I was joking. Mixing those under any circumstance can be lethal.