AAP Urges Greater Awareness of Inhalant Abuse Among Pediatricians

National figures show that approximately one in six students in the United States has used an inhalant to get high by the time he or she reaches the 8th grade. To help combat this trend, in a new report the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends greater awareness and screening in pediatric care, urging pediatricians to help educate the community about the dangers of inhalant abuse.

“Similar to the approach to other substance abuse, providing appropriate medical care for any child or adolescent using inhalants results from a keen diagnostic awareness leading to detection, intervention, and treatment. Regular office screening for inhalant abuse, as well as other substance abuse and health risk behaviors, must be part of standard pediatric care,” the AAP says in its new clinical report, “Inhalant Abuse.”

Inhalants are everyday household products, such as spray paint, glue, felt-tip markers, nail polish remover, aerosol sprays, gasoline or computer dust remover. Because inhalants are easy to obtain, young children and adolescents are among those most likely to abuse these extremely toxic substances, with little knowledge of their potentially dangerous impact. Indeed, a single episode of inhalant use can cause serious health problems, such as cardiac arrest and even death.

While the signs and symptoms of inhalant abuse are often hard to detect, the AAP urges pediatricians to familiarize themselves with the epidemiology of inhalant abuse and its key warning sings.

Signs of inhalant use can include changes in adolescent behavior, including apathy, listlessness, poor appetite; a significant shift in friends or activities; disinterest in school; poor hygiene; fatigue; sinus or nasal problems; and depression and/or paranoia. However, the report notes that there are also some more visible signs, such as Inhalant abusers may present with obvious intoxication and evidence of use, such as a strong odor of the inhalant from the patient’s breath or their clothes. “Paint or glitter may also be seen on the abuser's face or hands, or there may be a ‘huffer's rash.’ Contact with inhalants dries the skin and leads to small cracks, which allow bacteria to enter. The dermatitis may look like a nonspecific contact hypersensitivity reaction or…may have a yellow crust attributed to nitric acid,” the group notes.

The AAP also recommends that pediatricians know what resources are available so that children and families can get appropriate treatment and/or therapy to curtail inhalant abuse as soon as possible.

To view the AAP’s full report, visit: www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/may07inhalantabuse.htm.