Inhalant Misuse: From Glue to Galaxy Gas

In this episode of PEM Currents: The Pediatric Emergency Medicine Podcast, we explore the complex and often underrecognized issue of inhalant misuse. From the early days of glue sniffing to the recent rise of nitrous oxide misuse, fueled by brands like Galaxy Gas and viral trends on TikTok and Instagram, inhalant misuse has evolved into a growing concern among adolescents.

We’ll dive into the clinical presentations, including acute and chronic symptoms, the dangers of “sudden sniffing death,” and the specific risks associated with nitrites, hydrocarbons, and nitrous oxide. Learn how to recognize and manage cases in the emergency department, ask the right questions to uncover inhalant use, and provide critical resources for prevention and support. Whether you’re a seasoned pediatrician or new to emergency medicine, this episode offers essential insights into tackling this hidden epidemic.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this episode, listeners will be able to:

• Recognize the clinical signs and symptoms of inhalant misuse, including acute intoxication and long-term complications.
• Differentiate between the risks and toxic effects associated with specific inhalants, such as hydrocarbons, nitrites, and nitrous oxide.
• Formulate effective strategies for identifying, managing, and preventing inhalant misuse in pediatric patients.

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References

Perry H, Burns MM. Inhalant misuse in children and adolescents. UpToDate. Ganetsky M (ed). Updated February 26, 2024. Accessed January 13, 2025. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/inhalant-misuse-in-children-and-adolescents

Hogge RL, Spiller HA, Kistamgari S, et al. Inhalant misuse reported to America’s Poison Centers, 2001-2021. Clin Toxicol (Phila) 2023; 61:453.

Marcus E. The next drug epidemic is blue raspberry flavored: How Galaxy Gas became synonymous with the country’s burgeoning addiction to gas. Intelligencer. Published January 6, 2025. Accessed January 13, 2025. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/galaxy-gas-flavored-nitrous-oxide-drug-epidemic.html

Transcript

Note: This transcript was partially completed with the use of the Descript AI

 Welcome to PEMCurrents, the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Podcast. As always, I’m your host, Brad Sobolewski, and today we’re diving into an important topic, inhalant misuse, with a special focus on nitrous oxide. Welcome Recently, there’s been a concerning rise in recreational use of nitrous oxide, often referred to as Galaxy Gas, which is actually a brand name, which has become synonymous with flavored nitrous oxide products.

Even as that brand, Galaxy Gas, is being phased out of the market, its legacy persists, fueled in part by its viral presence on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram. So, this episode is going to break down the symptoms, clinical presentations, and management of inhalant misuse in children and adolescents with a specific eye on how these trends are shaping a new wave of cases presenting to the ED across the globe.

So, what are inhalants? Well, these are volatile substances that you’re not meant to breathe in. They produce vapors, which, when you inhale them, cause psychoactive effects. They include everyday household items like glue, paint thinner, and gasoline, as well as recreational substances such as nitrous oxide, often referred to as whippets or galaxy gas.

Interestingly, when these are sold, either online or in physical stores, they’re marketed As additives to make your own whipped cream at home. The people that sell them in stores are told to specifically not refer to them as whippets or to refer to them as a drug. Oh no, they’re only for cooking. The customers and the people selling them know otherwise.

Anyway, the recreational use of nitrous or whippets, it’s been around since the late 18th century, uh, when it was used in laughing gas parties among the immigrants. English elite. Fast forward to today, and nitrous remains one of the most commonly misused inhalants. It’s evolved from its medical and industrial applications to a recreational substance with a significant cultural footprint.

And let’s face it, the prevalence of this inhalant misuse is concerning. In the US, about 11 percent of high school students have used inhalants at least once. And what’s striking is that inhalant use peaks in younger adolescents, particularly those in like 7th through 9th grades, middle schoolers. making it one of the earliest substances that are misused among young people.

So, these inhalants are often used through sniffing, huffing, or bagging. Sniffing involves inhaling the fumes directly from the container. Huffing uses a cloth soaked with the substance. And bagging, or perhaps ballooning, involves inhaling fumes from a bag or balloon placed over the nose and mouth. So you decant the substance from the canister into a balloon, and then you inhale that into your mouth.

The latter dramatically increases the risk of asphyxia. The mechanism of action is rapid and profound. These substances are absorbed through the lungs and distributed to the brain, where they act on GABA and glutamate receptors. The primary effects are euphoria, dizziness, and disorientation. They’re felt within seconds and last 15 to 30 minutes or less.

And. Patients that use these will repeatedly use it throughout the day. You can either get one little individual canister of nitrous, or a big canister which costs about 120 to 120. Repeated use can sustain that intoxication. So the symptoms of inhalant misuse are important to recognize. So first and foremost are the neurological symptoms.

Euphoria, ataxia, disorientation, and slurred speech are common in acute intoxication. Chronic misuse can be devastating and unfortunately we don’t know how much, or how long, or how frequent leads to these symptoms. But nevertheless, they’re pretty darn bad. It includes cerebellar dysfunction, peripheral neuropathy, and toxic leukoencephalopathy, which manifests as white matter degeneration visible on MRI.

Basically, misuse of this stuff can paralyze you. The cardiovascular symptoms include sudden sniffing death syndrome, which is the generation of a fatal arrhythmia, which is particularly dangerous with halogenated hydrocarbons. Pulmonary symptoms include hypoxia, reactive airway dysfunction, and in severe cases, pulmonary edema or even a pneumothorax.

Glue sniffer’s rash is a hallmark skin finding. It presents as erythema and inflammation around the mouth and nose. and nose. Chronic users may also see weight loss, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, and metabolic abnormalities like hypokalemia and acidosis, especially if they’re misusing toluene, which is fortunately less common.

Further complicating matters is that each inhalant has its own special risks. Hydrocarbons, again found in solvents and glue, can lead to cranial neuropathy, cerebellar dysfunction, and cardiac arrhythmias. Chronic misuse of these results in profound hypokalemia and metabolic acidosis. Nitrous oxide, so whippets or galaxy gas, interferes with vitamin B12 metabolism, so it can lead to polyneuropathy, myelopathy, and hyperhomocystinemia, which increases the risk of venous thromboembolism.

Nitrites, which are known as poppers, can cause intense vasodilation and methemoglobinemia. with symptoms ranging from headache to cyanosis and seizures. So management, unfortunately, of inhalant intoxication is primarily supportive. Stabilization, you have to ensure that the patient is removed from the exposure source and administer 100 percent oxygen if they’re hypoxic.

If the patient is unconscious and in a tachyarrhythmia, the treatment is electricity! Amiodarone or lidocaine on the palsgar rhythm and avoid catecholamines like epinephrine unless the patient’s in cardiac arrest. For nitrous oxide neurotoxicity, administer high dose vitamin B12 intramuscularly or subcutaneously.

I would consult a toxicologist because I know that this is rare. And if you have a patient with methemoglobinemia, chances are you’re actually taking a board test, but you would treat that with IV methylene blue. In cases of toluene misuse, monitor and correct the electrolyte imbalances carefully, avoid dextrose, which can actually worsen the hypokalemia.

Again, I would call a toxicologist for help from this, because fortunately, it’s very rare. And listen, this problem isn’t going anywhere. So pediatricians, Educators and parents all play a crucial role in prevention. Frankly, these should not be so accessible. They should not be able to be sold easily online or in physical smoke shops.

Also, we need to advocate for federal regulation on these as controlled substances, because currently right now they’re not. Everybody knows the dance that the retailers play in saying, Oh yeah, you can use these to make whipped cream at home, but they are marketed with with flavoring in brightly colored containers and they are very attractive to young children.

They’re piggybacking off the same strategies that made vaping and vape cartridges so popular. Students should be educated about the dangers of inhalants. That means both local advocacy in schools and in medical care settings, but also using some of the same techniques that made getting high off these popular, like social media.

We’ve got to reduce access. and curiosity. Schools should definitely replace solvent based products with safer alternatives and monitor students for signs of misuse. For those already misusing inhalants, referral to a substance use disorder program is essential. Chronic complications often resolve with cessation, but addressing coexisting mental health problems and comorbidities such as depression and suicidality is equally important.

Okay, I know that that was just a whiff of a topic that you may be only a little bit familiar with. But trust me, you’ve probably met a patient That’s huffing or inhaling, and you just haven’t known it. So it starts with asking patients about what they’re doing. A good old heads exam. So when asking patients about inhalant misuse, it’s important to create a non judgmental and supportive environment.

Start with broad, open ended questions, and normalize them. Say that this is something that you ask all patients about. Ask about substance use, like vaping or alcohol, and then introduce inhalants by mentioning specific examples, such as sniffing glue, huffing spray paint, or using nitrous oxides like whippets or galaxy gas.

Again, normalize that conversation by acknowledging curiosity or peer influence, especially on social media. And, if they do disclose use, ask gently about frequency, Context and any symptoms like dizziness, headaches, or worse, emphasize that your goal is to support their health, not to judge or punish and provide reassurance and resources if needed.

Thank you for listening. Inate misuse is often overlooked, especially in pediatric emergency care settings, but if you’re vigilant and you’re informed, you can better serve our patients and manage complications. If you found this episode helpful, well let me know about it. Leave a review on your favorite podcast site that helps people discover the show, or you can reach out and contact me directly via email or social media.

Share it with your colleagues and learners and subscribe for more episodes. For PEMCurrents, the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Podcast, this has been Brad Sobolewski. See you next time.