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Household Highs
by Jon Platner, 10.08.02
"I figured, how bad could something be if it's sold over-the-counter?" |
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Death by whipped cream? Sounds like the premise for an Adam Sandler movie. But people in search of an inexpensive high have been known to get "creative" with common household items like whipped cream, cough syrup, and glue. And when used recreationally, these "harmless" household products can be just as dangerous as drugs you'd buy on the street.
We talked to a few real-life teens (creatively renamed for this article) who've dabbled in these drugs. Do they know the dangers behind their so-called harmless habits?
Huffin' Henry
Henry is into "huffing," which means he gets high by sniffing household items like glue, spray paint, and paint thinner. According to the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition, huffing is as popular as smoking marijuana among middle-school students, with one in five having huffed by the eighth grade.
"The high is real," says Henry, a teen from Minnesota, who huffed for the first time with rubber cement. "It doesn't last as long as other drugs, but inhalants are cheap and easy to find," he explains. "That's the big appeal."
Consider This ...
Henry needs to know that:
- Huffing is the ultimate game of Russian roulette — inhalants can cause a sudden, often deadly, disturbance in the heart's rhythm, even the first time they're used.
- Inhalants can do serious damage to the heart, kidneys, brain, and liver.
- They can cause hearing loss and limb spasms.
- Huffers can suffocate from direct inhalation or by choking on their own vomit. Some huffers use plastic bags to get high, which is even more dangerous because if they pass out they will die of suffocation.
- Because inhalants cause dizziness, there is a potential hazard from falling if someone huffs in a dangerous spot, like on a roof, poolside, balcony, or hayloft.
Wendy Whippets
Wendy gets high from "whippets," a type of inhalant known scientifically as nitrous oxide, that's used in whipped cream dispensers as a propellant. People who use whippets "pop" the nitrous canisters, and release the gas into a balloon. Whereas most other inhalants are inhaled through the nose, people inhale nitrous oxide through the mouth by sucking on the balloon.
"It's kind of a social thing," says Wendy, a teen from New Jersey who admits to doing whippets on occasion. "My friends and I do it together to end a night after going out. We just watch each other and laugh."
Consider This ...
Wendy needs to know that:
- In addition to the dangerous effects of other inhalants — death, hearing loss, and spasms — doing whippets can cause frostbite of the nose, lips, or vocal cords.
- Although dentists sometimes use nitrous oxide as a mild anesthetic, doing whippets for fun is dangerous because users can't control their oxygen intake — a major potential for suffocation.
Robo Rob
Rob "robotrips," which means he gets high from chugging dextromethorphan (DXM) — a cough suppressant found in many over-the-counter cough medicines, such as Robitussin (hence "robotripping").
"A friend told me about it once, and I was really intrigued," says Rob, a college student from New York who admits to having used DXM in high school. "I figured, how bad could something be if it's sold over-the-counter?"
Consider this ...
Rob needs to realize:
- Some DXM products contain acetaminophen, a pain reliever that can be fatal in high doses.
- DXM can be very dangerous when mixed with certain other medications or alcohol.
- DXM can cause nausea, loss of coordination, panic attacks, and seizures lasting anywhere from a few hours to several years, depending on how often a person uses the drug.
A final note: All of these household substances can be addictive, and if an addicted user tries to stop, she or he can experience withdrawal symptoms like intense vomiting, muscle aches, and insomnia. Bottom line: Save the whipped cream for the sundaes and the cough syrup for the flu. |
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