Heads Up: Real News About Drugs and Your Body - Scholastic

STEPHEN KRONINGER(ILLUSTRATIONS 2); 5W INFOGRAPHICS(DIAGRAM)to the family.That struck a chord withMegan. “I knew it was true, butI didn’t want to hear it,”she says.She was so upset that sheattempted suicide. Luckily,she was rushed to the hospitalin time.After her trip to the ER,Megan finally got intotreatment at a facility calledOur Home, Inc., in Heron,South Dakota. Today, she’s 16,and she’s been inhalant free foralmost two years.A NEW LIFEOn the day we spoke to her,Megan had plans to make“play-doh” with her friends.Why would a teenager want todo something so childish?Because for Megan, smilingover something silly is what hernew life is all about.But things are not as simpleas they once were. Megan stillsuffers from some of the effectsof her inhalant abuse. “I can’treally remember a lot ofthings,” she told us. “When I’mtalking I’ll forget what I justsaid two seconds ago. Itfrustrates me a lot.”Whether or not her memoryis restored, Megan will neverbe the same. She says she nowappreciates every day becauseshe knows that she is one of thelucky ones. She survived, andshe easily could have died.INHALANTS CAN KILLYou can die the first time you try inhalants.There are a number of ways huffing can kill. Themost common is called Sudden Sniffing Deathsyndrome. “The chemicals are acting neurologically tocause irregular heart rhythms that can lead to heartfailure and then death,” says Dr. Shurtleff.You can also die by asphyxiation (lack of oxygen).When you breathe in the fumes, you fill up the cells inyour lungs with poisonous chemicals, leaving no room forthe oxygen we all need to breathe and live. Lack ofoxygen can lead to respiratory failure and death.In this country, approximately 100 teens die eachyear from inhalant abuse. Last year, Johnson BryantWHO NEEDS MYELIN?Inhalants can damage or destroymyelin. But who needs myelin? You do.Messages travel along the axons ofyour brain cells (or neurons) in the formof electricity. Think of myelin as theinsulation around these electrical“wires.” It’s a fatty coating, or sheath,that protects the axons and helpsconduct messages smoothly and speedily,ensuring that your muscles easily carryout your brain’s orders.When myelin deteriorates, this smoothflow of signals is disrupted. The result?Muscle spasms and tremors, or evenpermanent difficulty with basic actionslike walking, bending, and talking.TransmittingneuronSignalDamaged myelinOver-the-Counter HorrorFbecame one of those teens. Still in shock, his parentstalked to us about their tremendous loss.Chris Bryant, father: “Johnson and I had anunusually close relationship. . . .This was a child who wentto a private school, had an A-/B+ average, playedvarsity sports, and made a very bad decision.”Toy Bryant, mother: “It’s frightening to see your sonin a body bag. . . .When the coroner said it looked likehe’d inhaled butane, I thought, ‘This is something I seeon 20/20.’ . . .There is no pain like losing a child. . . .Somemornings I can’t get out of bed. . . .I talk to Johnsonsometimes. Sometimes I yell at him. Sometimes I say ‘Imiss you, baby.’”Healthy myelin helps speed messagessmoothly from cell to cell in your brain. Themessages cannot flow freely when myelinis damaged. This means that your muscleswon’t be able to obey your brain.AxonMyelin shheathAREAOF DETAILHealthymyelinorget the idea that if you can buy it at the grocery store it’s harmless. Inhalants can do serious and sometimespermanent damage to your brain, nerves, and body. Here’s just some of what research tells us.SignalDirectionof impulseInhalants can. . .• disrupt the flow of messages between brain cells by destroying myelin [see above].• actually shrink parts of the brain. Where brain tissuedisappears, brain cells have died. Effects may includedifficulties with learning, thinking, and remembering.• damage the lungs, kidneys, and liver.• damage bone marrow.• cause hearing loss.• impair vision.• cause limb spasms.• cause muscle weakness.• cause tremors and uncontrollable shaking.ReceivingneuronDendritesFROM SCHOLASTIC AND THE SCIENTISTS OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 11