Huffing: The Dangerous Trend of Computer Duster Drug Abuse – Psychology Today
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Posted November 10, 2022 Reviewed by Vanessa Lancaster
Computer duster is a product that is generally used to clean computers or other products that cannot be cleaned using water. Typically, computer duster is packed in a spray can with a long plastic tube attached to the trigger. When the trigger is pressed, a gas is blasted through the tube. When used over a computer mainboard or something similar, the gas would blow away dust and lint from the mainboard without damaging it.
Despite the fact that computer duster is sometimes called “compressed air,” it does not contain any air but a variety of gases such as 1,1-difluoroethane. This is the reason why computer duster can be abused as a drug. As 1,1-difluoroethane has psychoactive properties, some people inhale computer duster to feel a high, a sense of euphoria, or to experience hallucinations.
The practice of inhaling computer duster is called huffing, a slang term that can also be used to describe other forms of drug abuse focused on inhaling, such as inhaling spray paint. People that are huffing often behave similarly to drunk people as they experience lightheadedness, euphoria, and loss of inhibition.
A recent study has shown that huffing is on the rise (Forrester, 2020). In the study, the author analyzed cases of patients that were admitted to hospitals after injuries due computer duster inhalation between 2001 and 2017. Overall, 320 computer duster inhalation-related injuries were investigated, leading the author of the study to estimate the number of 14,715 cases on the national level, with a sharp increase from 2001 to 2017.
Huffing is extremely dangerous. While the term “compressed air” that is sometimes used for computer duster may invoke the impression that it is rather harmless, huffing can potentially be deadly. For example, a 2006 study published in The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology found that repeatedly inhaling computer duster can lead to death by heart failure as it disrupts normal heart rhythm (Avella et al., 2006). Aside from this, several serious side effects have been reported, including loss of consciousness or coma due to lack of oxygen, seizures, nausea, and vomiting.
What makes huffing also very problematic is its easy availability. Many households have computer duster spray, which can be bought at many regular stores. This makes it easier to access for both children and adults than most other drugs. In the abovementioned study by Forrester (2020), it was mentioned that children as young as six years were admitted to hospitals due to huffing-associated injuries. Therefore, parents should be extra careful when having computer duster around the house and better keep it locked away for safety reasons.
References
Avella J, Wilson JC, Lehrer M. (2006). Fatal cardiac arrhythmia after repeated exposure to 1,1-difluoroethane (DFE). Am J Forensic Med Pathol, 27, 58-60
Forrester MB. (2020) Computer and electronic duster spray inhalation (huffing) injuries managed at emergency departments. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse, 46(2):180-183.
Sebastian Ocklenburg, Ph.D., is a professor for research methods in psychology at the Department of Psychology at MSH Medical School
Hamburg, Germany. His research focuses on left-handedness and brain asymmetries.
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Our conversations are sprinkled with slips, pauses, lies, and clues to our inner world. Here’s what we reveal when we speak, whether we mean to or not.