Solvent abuse: the unknown killer

Please note this article was written as a class exercise. All characters are fictitious, although the figures quoted and details of Re-Solv are genuine. The piece was written for a magazine aimed at women between 30-50 years of age.

Hear the phrase ‘drug overdose’ and images of junkies in squats, ravers in clubs or Leah Betts on her death bed probably spring to mind. But there is a much deadlier killer on the loose; one which is immediately accessible in your home and which is as likely to be fatal on the first try as the 100th.

Solvent abuse, the most common form of which is ‘huffing’ (ie substance-sniffing), was responsible for 45 UK deaths in 2005 and it can unexpectedly strike in any family. Re-Solv, a charity which aims to prevent solvent and volatile substance abuse (VSA), says, “The one thing that must be clear is that there is no stereotypical child who sniffs volatile substances.”

Children can be tempted to try huffing by any number of things – experimentation, peer pressure, medical or psychological factors, accessibility, boredom, or social activity to name but a few.

Sylvia Derrick, 53, is the mother of a boy who is currently withdrawing from a solvents dependency. Her son Karl, 18, is the absolute antithesis of the type of person you might expect to become involved in drugs. In an interview with (imaginary magazine) Sylvia says, “He was a very happy-go-lucky child. He was good academically, always laughing and fooling around.” But one day what started out as some fun in the playground changed all that.

Karl and his friends were at school when they got hold of some glue and tried sniffing it, “just for a lark.” For his pals, it began and ended that day, but Karl soon began inhaling butane gas, which was kept in the garage, on a regular basis. This substance can be found in aerosol propellants, and accounts for 80% of all VSA-related deaths.

Sylvia explains, “Karl got used to popping in and having a few quick sniffs before coming into the house.” This quickly became a dependency and Karl has now been hooked on solvents for two years.

Shortly after Karl first experienced VSA, his father suddenly died of a heart attack. Many children use solvent abuse as a means of escape and this could have been a contributory factor to his dependence.

The first Sylvia knew of her son’s problems was about two months ago, when a neighbour told her that she had seen him with his face in a paper bag in the back garden.

Although it might seem surprising that it took so long for Karl’s dependency to become apparent, Sylvia says that she simply did not know anything was wrong. She had noticed changes in her son’s behaviour, but put it down to typical teenage angst: “Like most mothers I looked back with nostalgia to the years when he was ‘my boy’; when he’d come home and give me a hug and be laughing all the time. But I just put it down to growing up.” Karl’s mood swings and butane-induced spotty chin seemed to be signs of adolescence more than anything else.

And this is the problem: solvents are not as well known as other, more publicised drugs such as ecstasy and marijuana. Sylvia herself had only vaguely heard about VSA and she didn’t take it very seriously – she thought it was a drug of the ‘60s. If people aren’t warned of the dangers of solvent dependency, then how can they spot the symptoms?

Amazingly, Karl’s headmaster had deliberately not informed pupils about the dangers of huffing – he felt it would do more harm than good and if anything would increase the frequency of VSA by alerting the children to its existence and accessibility.

But Sylvia strongly disagrees: “I think it’s very important that parents and children should be educated; they should know that this isn’t something that’s completely harmless because it’s a first time killer.”

Indeed, a 17-year-old boy named Martin Kane recently died from asphyxia, triggered by sniffing butane. This came as a massive shock to Sylvia, who says that when she heard about it, “It was like a little explosion happening in the house. I was completely shocked and shaken and distressed.”

As soon as her neighbour told her about what she had witnessed in Sylvia’s garden, she confronted Karl, and after some initial denial and a very tearful conversation, they agreed to tackle the problem together.

They got in touch with Re-Solv, who immediately assigned Karl a mentor of a similar age who had recently withdrawn from a solvent dependency. Sylvia herself found the group to be a huge help as she could meet and talk with other parents who were facing the same problems.

Because of his dependency, Karl dropped out of school after failing his GCSEs and has since worked in a factory. He is now in the difficult process of withdrawal, which usually takes around two months. Sylvia says, “It’s like going cold turkey. He feels sick and has stomach cramps, he’s irritable, he’s depressed. He’s quite tempted to give himself a high again but when he gets like that he rings his mentor.”

Karl has begun to look to the future and is thinking about returning to 6th form college to complete his A-levels. Eventually he hopes to go to university and become a structural engineer.
But he is one of the lucky ones – one third of VSA-related deaths occur on first use, so it is vital that we warn children of the huge risk they are taking when they experiment with huffing.

The Re-Solv website recommends that you should make sure that your children understand the dangers of solvent abuse without telling them exactly what they can use to try it.

If you are concerned that your child may be involved with VSA, Sylvia advises that tell-tale signs to look out for are dramatic changes in behaviour and spots on the lower half of the face. Check the house for empty gas canisters and be alert to household products running out quickly or going missing.

For more information, visit http://www.re-solv.org/ or call the Re-Solv helpline on 01785 810762.