SNIFFING AND HUFFING

There are several methods by which inhalants are abused.  "Sniffing" involves inhaling fumes from an open container, a rag or tissue.  "Huffing" involves placing the inhalant in a paper or plastic bag, placing the bag against the face and inhaling through both the nose and mouth.  The most dangerous way of sniffing is with the face or head completely covered.  This method limits the amount of fresh air and results in re-breathing the inhalant fumes and the oxygen-depleted air.

The young woman in this case was sitting in a car parked beside a canal watching her boyfriend fish.  While in the car, she saturated several tissues with spot remover, placed the tissues in her bathing cap and put the cap over her face.

Her boyfriend said, after a few minutes she ran screaming from the car.  She went into the water, swam to the middle of the canal, then disappeared under the water.  When she failed to surface, the boyfriend went in after her.  About five minutes later, he found her and brought her to shore, but she could not be revived.

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