I have talked about common illegal drugs before so I thought I would tell you some things about the legal ones there is also the obvious ones like alcohol and cigarettes but these seem to be covered from other wondeful advice here on Minti so here is some information about another one for you......

You and your younger family go out...... Your teenager doesn't want to go as you are going somewhere too young for them.... They ask to have a few friends over to watch movies.... You let them and pack your other children in the car knowing you are just a phone call away....... What trouble can they get up to right?....... They don't drink, smoke or do any sort of drugs as far as you know....... They are responsible enough  to stay home during the day..... But what is in your shed or kitchen cupboard that can harm them if not used for the intended purpose?.........

I wanted to write about something that  a few teens I know have used and is probably not something I would have thought about..... Using inhalents..... Commonly known as Chroming....

Chroming is the inhalation of the vapours from alot of household products that you might have in you cleaning cupboards even your shed or garage......

According to www.kidshealth.org there are 4 types of inhalents....

• Volatile solvent  These are liquids Like Paint thinners and removers, petrol glues and texta marker fluids..... All things I know I have in my home

• Gases  These include medical gases like ether, or butane lighters, Gas cylinders, whipped cream and containers that contain nitrous oxide...... Some things that I also have in my home

• Aerosol sprays  We all have them in our home or most of us anyway... deodorants, hairspray, oven cleaner, polishing spray and the list goes on even spray pain and liquid paper..... I have some of these to here

The last group is one I myself had never heard of but wanted you to be as informed as you could..... I will cut and paste this from the page I found it on www.kidshealth.org

• Nitrites include cyclohexyl nitrite, amyl nitrite, and butyl nitrite. On the street, they're called "poppers" or "snappers." They're found in some room deodorizers and capsules that release vapors when opened.

Go on count them up how many do you have in your home, garage or shed????

There are immediate effects when chroming like a high and there are many different ways to do it some use a bag to inhale from some even inhale from a rag...... Others just sparay a can directly into their noses and mouths..... The effects of it also last for a short period of time so the user does it again to keep that feeling they get from it...

Some of the street names for Inhalents are Glue, gas, sniff, huff, chroming, poppers

The effects this will have on the user really depends on alot of things like height weight etc..... but the common things are Less inhibitated, Excitement, drowsiness, sickness, Reckless behaviour, disorrientation and a lack of co ordination.

I have told you the short term affects well these are the long term affects  Permanent brain damage, muscle weakness, Depression, headaches and nose bleeds, Loss of smell and hearing.

Inhalents can cause death like all illegal drugs these ones are just as dangerous.... The most common cause of death is cardiac arrest becaue the heart will beat quickly and irregular and then just suddenly stops....... They can also suffocate the user as the toxic fumes can replace the oxygen in the lungs or if chroming from a plastic bag the obvious dangers especially while under the influence of anything..... and lastly suicide as the wearing off happens then alot of people can feel depressed.....

Why would a child or teen do this well its free isn't it, one of their mates might tell them that its fun PEER PRESSURE to deal with other issues in their lives and lastly it is legal yes its legal

There are many signs to show if your child is Chroming but alot of them can be confused with other drugs and conditions also some are moodiness and extreme anger agitation exhaustion and frequent nose bleeds also extremely bad breath.

Once again I can not stress it enough Communication and a good relationship with your kids is the key to try to help them not to experiement with drugs it is not a sure safe method but it is one step closer.....

I found an excellent link for any one who might be interested and reading about this with statistics which will shock you for sure so please if you have time do so........