Inhalants Withdrawal Symptoms

Inhalants abuse may not be widely known compared to opioid or alcohol addiction, but it is an underlying vice that commonly occurs in society. It is something that should not be overlooked despite the lack of people’s awareness. Read all about Withdrawal Symptoms Of Inhalants & Inhalants Addiction on our website and how harmful it is to indulge.
Inhalants are not some illicit or synthetic drugs that people manufacture illegally or buy on the streets from spurious dealers. They are present in everyday household products like cleaning solutions or glue, which is why they are even more hazardous than many other substances or prescription pills.
Continued abuse of inhalants can lead to dangerous circumstances or even death in worse cases. Sudden sniffing death is one of the major consequences that any first-time inhalants user can have. Unfortunately, inhalants are physically addictive and lead to permanent physical or psychological damage.

Inhalants Addiction Potential And Withdrawal

Although addictive, inhalants possess a lower risk of physical dependence; yet, many develop psychological tolerance for these drugs. Like any other drug withdrawal phase, suddenly stopping inhalants use can make your body go into denial, and you start showing withdrawal symptoms of inhalants.

Withdrawal side effects of inhalants, as usual, vary with the individual, usage level, dosage, severity of the addiction, etc. They are displayed as the body’s response to not having inhalants in the system. Since using inhalants suppresses the central nervous system (CNS), physiological functions get slowed down. But with the lack of inhalants in the body, these functions become overactive. You start to show uncomfortable inhalants drug withdrawal symptoms like anxiety, nausea, and others.
It is difficult to say which symptoms of inhalant withdrawal are mild because it varies with users, but the process can be equally difficult for all addicted users. That is the reason you are advised to seek consultation from a doctor before quitting the use of inhalants. Or, you may undergo a complete withdrawal at an inpatient drug treatment center.
Even a tiny gap in the user’s daily schedule will increase the urges in them to make inhalations. When they cannot do so, they may face inhalant withdrawal symptoms. However, inhalants are a mixture of various chemicals, some of which may leave the body sooner than others.

Long-term use may affect the brain and body in more ways than one:

Brain Cells

As the fatty tissues in the brain and nerves absorb the chemicals, they may get damaged. Brain complications, either temporary or permanent, like loss of memory and coordination can be seen.

Nerve Fibers

The protection around nerve fibers gets broken down and the nerves will not be able to transmit messages to the organs of the body. This condition may lead to muscle spasms, seizures, difficulty in making basic body movements, and tremors.
Inhalant withdrawal is a condition that can also develop when the user acknowledges their problem and decides to quit the addiction suddenly.

Inhalant Withdrawal Timeline

Withdrawal symptoms of inhalants abuse usually appear within one to two days after your last use, and may typically persist for a week or so. This for physical signs of withdrawal, but or the psychological withdrawal effects of inhalants, , like carvings and depression, you may suffer for many weeks or months after quitting. You will show delayed signs, called post-acute withdrawal symptoms, or PAWS, the standard for this phase being 18-24 months.
Hence, it is difficult to pinpoint a precise timeline for inhalants withdrawal, also since it depends on a wide range of factors that influence each individual’s condition, including:

However, here is a general inhalant withdrawal timeline for most users:/span>

Days 1-2:

Days 3-7:

After 1 week:

The above symptoms are why you should allow the body some time to adjust. Even if you know that a loved one has an addiction to inhalants, instead of letting them stop on their own, it is best to find the right medical professionals to help them heal.

Some Shocking Statistics

• Every year, about 21.6 million Americans between 12-17 years use inhalants to get high.
• 22% of abusers who died of inhalant “sudden sniffing death” were first-time users.
• Over 140,000 inhalant dependencies were reported in 2011, which is still one-hundredth of that of alcohol
• Inhalants are also considered by some as “gateway” drugs, as the abusers start with these and then move on to other drugs.
• Almost 840 adolescents start using inhalants each day.

Inhalant Detox

As mentioned above, inhalants withdrawal symptoms can be agonizing, especially if you go at it alone, without medical supervision. Professionals can prescribe medication to help you overcome the pain and prevent relapse. For this reason, you may admit yourself to a detox facility where you will receive all the needed care that can help you block access to inhalants and keep a close monitor on you 24/7.

Getting rid of your inhalant withdrawal symptoms can be extremely taxing, both physically and mentally as you cleanse your body of these harmful substances. Although the effects last only for a few minutes, their impact is so great that they can cause permanent damage. Particularly when users inhale fumes from toluene or naphthalene (present in mothballs), it can lead to nerve damage and multiple sclerosis with repeated abuse.

Your recovery starts with an inhalant detox program that addresses your addiction to these chemicals, from biological and emotional angles. This step is necessary to keep you from going back to the habit of abusing inhalants. The initial phase includes treatment for your withdrawal symptoms, developing a concrete plan to help your recovery, and detecting if there are any underlying health issues. By determining if you have any comorbid disorders, doctors can motivate you to make some lifestyle changes to improve your health.

Children as young as 12 can abuse inhalants that are lying around at home, without the knowledge of their parents. There are several youth-based rehab programs to keep children and adolescents out of their addiction to inhalants. Actually, inhalants abuse may have some other grave reasons behind it, such as domestic abuse, parental neglect, bullying, traumatic experiences, loss of a pet or loved one, etc.

One of the long-term inhalant abuse withdrawal symptoms may include psychosis. People with a psychological inclination toward addiction or have family members that developed psychiatric problems may show this symptom. So, it is equally vital that professionals address these areas as well. There will be a team of psychologists or psychiatrists to counsel the addicts and help them recover sooner by following cognitive behavioral therapy and other treatment methods during the detox phase.

Inhalant addiction is not like abusing pills where you can follow a tapering method and reduce the dosage gradually to achieve the results. Doctors won’t allow you to further damage your system by giving you even a small dose. So, you should always have a medical team to assist you at all times, in case things go awry. They can help you with your current needs with constant monitoring and adequate medical attention. For instance, you may experience nausea or sleeplessness, which makes your step toward sobriety more difficult.

There is absolutely no medication designated to help you lower the effects of symptoms of inhalant withdrawal, but you will be given recommend medications for issues like depression, anxiety, nausea, sleeplessness, and others. Other side effects of inhalants withdrawal are seizures, muscle cramps, and chronic pain, for which doctors may prescribe mild pain relievers or anti-seizure medication.