Intervention tonight...computer duster?????
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: on top of the hill
Posts: 197
Intervention tonight...computer duster?????
Ok, so I guess I'm out of it, I've never heard of this one!!! This was a very powerful show tonight, I do so hope for a happy ending!!!
Nature Girl
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: By The Lake
Posts: 60,328
I have, they huff it. Often the stores that sell it keep it out of reach, so kids can't grab it and run.
I work at a Recovery House and when I started there were two cans in my supply cabinet, innocent enough in a normal office, just keyboard cleaner compressed air. None of the counsellors there knew about it either.
It's quite deadly and kills when they huff it so much it freezes their lungs.
I'd like to know who discovers these things? Who thought "maybe if I huff that stuff I will get high?" Sheesh.
Hugs
I work at a Recovery House and when I started there were two cans in my supply cabinet, innocent enough in a normal office, just keyboard cleaner compressed air. None of the counsellors there knew about it either.
It's quite deadly and kills when they huff it so much it freezes their lungs.
I'd like to know who discovers these things? Who thought "maybe if I huff that stuff I will get high?" Sheesh.
Hugs
Black and Yellow
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Colorado
Posts: 1,359
I know a teenage boy who inhales that stuff. He went into a Rite-Aid store here and huffed it in the store and as he was heading for the door he slammed into the glass window breaking through it in convulsions. That stuff does not give any warning of death. As someone said above, it freezes your lungs.
*~10 YEARS BABY~*
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Hollywood
Posts: 9,369
Dust off? It does have a warning now, they had to put it after so many had died from it, it say something about permanent damage or lethal and how it is illegal to inhale it.
Crazy stuff..
Crazy stuff..
Member
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 472
Wal-Mart put a limit of one can per customer. A teenager had bought some, tried it for the first time and died. Father went crazy at the store and was arrested. Strange, you can only purchase it at one register and the addicts are lined up-guess $5.00 is a cheap high? I use a lot of it for the electronics and to clean antiques=AH used to tell me he needed a can to clean the speakers in the truck. That took about 5 cans for me to figure that one out. He is safely tucked away in prison for a couple more months.
We have magic mushrooms growing under cow manure-YUCK-how could anyone do that?
We have magic mushrooms growing under cow manure-YUCK-how could anyone do that?
Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: in my own world~
Posts: 1,237
I, also saw the show and was wondering at first what she has inhaling.....we learn something new every day. AND~~I'm not quite sure I need to know all this stuff....what's happened to the 60's????? I miss the old days.
*~10 YEARS BABY~*
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Hollywood
Posts: 9,369
It does suck to know what goes on out there, but it is good to know to pass the word on to Parents with kids, or kids in general.
Here is the true story of a Police Officer who lost his child and started this forward to get the word out a few years ago.
Latest Drug in Middle School - 'Dusting'
First, I'm going to tell you that my name is Jeff. I am a Police Officer for a city known nationwide for it's crime rate. We have a lot of gangs and drugs. At one point we were # 2 in the nation in homicides per capita. I also have a police K9 named
Thor. He was certified in drugs and general duty. He retired at 3 years old because he was shot in the line of duty. He lives with us now and I still train with him because he likes it. I always liked the fact that there was no way to bring drugs
into my house. Thor wouldn't allow it. He would tell on you. The reason I say this is so you understand that I know about drugs.
I have taught in schools about drugs. My wife asks all our kids at least once a week if they used any drugs and makes them promise they won't. I like building computers occasionally and started building a new one in February 2005.
I also was working on some of my older computers. They were full of dust so on one of my trips to the computer store I bought a 3-pack of DUST OFF. Dust Off is a can of compressed air to blow dust off a computer. A few weeks later when I went to
use one of them, they were all used. I talked to my kids and my two sons both said they had used them on their computer and messing around with them. I yelled at them for wasting the 10 dollars I paid for them.
On February 28 I went back to the computer store. They didn't have the 3 pack which I had bought on sale so I bought a single jumbo can of Dust Off. I went home and set it down beside my computer.
On March 1st, I left for work at 10 PM. Just before midnight my wife went down and kissed Kyle goodnight. At 5:30 am the next morning Kathy went downstairs to wake Kyle up for school before she left for work. He was propped up in bed with his legs
crossed and his head leaning over. She called to him a few times to get up. He didn't move. He would sometimes tease her like this and pretend he fell back asleep. He was never easy to get up. She went in and shook his arm. He fell over. He was pale
white and had the straw from the Dust Off can coming out of his mouth. He had the new can of Dust Off in his hands. Kyle was dead.
I am a police officer and I had never heard of this. My wife is a nurse and she had never heard of this. We later found out from the coroner, after the autopsy, that only the propellant from the can of Dust off was in his system. No other drugs.
Kyle had died between midnight and 1 AM.
I found out that using Dust Off is being done mostly by kids between the ages of 9 through 15. They even have a name for it. It's called "dusting". A take off from the Dust Off name. It gives them a slight high for about 10 seconds. It makes them
dizzy.
A boy who lives down the street from us showed Kyle how to do this about a month before. Kyle showed his best friend. Told him it was cool and it couldn't hurt you. It's just compressed air. It can't hurt you. His best friend said "no".
Kyle was wrong. It's not just compressed air. It also contains a propellant called R2. R2 is a refrigerant like what is used in your refrigerator. It is a heavy gas, heavier than air. When you inhale it, it fills your lungs with chemicals and keeps
the good air, with oxygen, out. That's why you feel dizzy, buzzed. It decreases the oxygen to your brain and to your heart. Kyle was right. It can't hurt you. IT KILLS YOU. Kids should know that inhaling anything from an aerosol can can be
dangerous because of the chemical product used as the propellant.
The horrible part about this is there is no warning. There is no level that kills you. It's not cumulative or an overdose; it can just go randomly, terribly wrong. Roll the dice and if your number comes up you die. IT'S NOT AN OVERDOSE. It's
Russian Roulette. Instant death. You don't die later. Or you don't have the chance to feel different and say "I've had too much". You usually die as you're breathing it in. If not, you die within 2 seconds of finishing "the hit."
That's why the straw was still in Kyle's mouth when he died. Why his eyes were still open. The experts want to call this huffing. The kids don't believe its huffing. As adults we tend to lump many things together. But "dusting" doesn't fit here.
That's why it's more accepted. There is no chemical reaction, no strong odor. It doesn't follow the huffing signals. Kyle complained a few days before he died of his tongue hurting. It probably did. The propellant causes frostbite. If I had only
known.
It's easy to say hey, it's my life and I'll do what I want. But it isn't. Others are always affected. This has forever changed our family's life. I have a hole in my heart and soul that can never be fixed. The pain is so immense I can't describe it.
There's nowhere to run from it. I cry all the time and I don't ever cry. I do what I'm supposed to do but I don't really care. My other two kids are messed up. One won't talk about it. The other will only sleep in our room at night. And my wife, I
can't even describe how bad she is taking this. I thought we were safe because of Thor. I thought we were safe because we knew about drugs and talked to our kids about them.
After Kyle died another story came out. A probation Officer went to the school system next to ours to speak with a student. While there he found a student using Dust Off in the bathroom. This student told him about another student who also had some
in his locker. This is a rather affluent school system. They will tell you they don't have a drug problem there. They don't even have a D.A.R.E or plus program there.
So rather than tell everyone about this "new" way of getting high that they found, they hid it. The probation officer told the media after Kyle's death and then the school admitted to it. I know that if they would have told the media and I had
heard, it wouldn't have been in my house.
We need to get this product out of our homes and school computer labs. Using Dust Off isn't new and some "professionals" know about. It just isn't talked about much, except by the kids. They all seem to know about it. April 2nd was 1 month since
Kyle died. April 5th would have been his15th birthday. And every weekday I catch myself sitting on the living room couch at 2:30 pm in the afternoon and waiting to see him get off the bus. I know Kyle is in heaven but I can't help but wonder If I
died and went to hell.
This Police Officer is asking for everyone who receives this email to forward it to everyone you know.
Whole Story is here,
http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/dustoff.asp
Here is the true story of a Police Officer who lost his child and started this forward to get the word out a few years ago.
Latest Drug in Middle School - 'Dusting'
First, I'm going to tell you that my name is Jeff. I am a Police Officer for a city known nationwide for it's crime rate. We have a lot of gangs and drugs. At one point we were # 2 in the nation in homicides per capita. I also have a police K9 named
Thor. He was certified in drugs and general duty. He retired at 3 years old because he was shot in the line of duty. He lives with us now and I still train with him because he likes it. I always liked the fact that there was no way to bring drugs
into my house. Thor wouldn't allow it. He would tell on you. The reason I say this is so you understand that I know about drugs.
I have taught in schools about drugs. My wife asks all our kids at least once a week if they used any drugs and makes them promise they won't. I like building computers occasionally and started building a new one in February 2005.
I also was working on some of my older computers. They were full of dust so on one of my trips to the computer store I bought a 3-pack of DUST OFF. Dust Off is a can of compressed air to blow dust off a computer. A few weeks later when I went to
use one of them, they were all used. I talked to my kids and my two sons both said they had used them on their computer and messing around with them. I yelled at them for wasting the 10 dollars I paid for them.
On February 28 I went back to the computer store. They didn't have the 3 pack which I had bought on sale so I bought a single jumbo can of Dust Off. I went home and set it down beside my computer.
On March 1st, I left for work at 10 PM. Just before midnight my wife went down and kissed Kyle goodnight. At 5:30 am the next morning Kathy went downstairs to wake Kyle up for school before she left for work. He was propped up in bed with his legs
crossed and his head leaning over. She called to him a few times to get up. He didn't move. He would sometimes tease her like this and pretend he fell back asleep. He was never easy to get up. She went in and shook his arm. He fell over. He was pale
white and had the straw from the Dust Off can coming out of his mouth. He had the new can of Dust Off in his hands. Kyle was dead.
I am a police officer and I had never heard of this. My wife is a nurse and she had never heard of this. We later found out from the coroner, after the autopsy, that only the propellant from the can of Dust off was in his system. No other drugs.
Kyle had died between midnight and 1 AM.
I found out that using Dust Off is being done mostly by kids between the ages of 9 through 15. They even have a name for it. It's called "dusting". A take off from the Dust Off name. It gives them a slight high for about 10 seconds. It makes them
dizzy.
A boy who lives down the street from us showed Kyle how to do this about a month before. Kyle showed his best friend. Told him it was cool and it couldn't hurt you. It's just compressed air. It can't hurt you. His best friend said "no".
Kyle was wrong. It's not just compressed air. It also contains a propellant called R2. R2 is a refrigerant like what is used in your refrigerator. It is a heavy gas, heavier than air. When you inhale it, it fills your lungs with chemicals and keeps
the good air, with oxygen, out. That's why you feel dizzy, buzzed. It decreases the oxygen to your brain and to your heart. Kyle was right. It can't hurt you. IT KILLS YOU. Kids should know that inhaling anything from an aerosol can can be
dangerous because of the chemical product used as the propellant.
The horrible part about this is there is no warning. There is no level that kills you. It's not cumulative or an overdose; it can just go randomly, terribly wrong. Roll the dice and if your number comes up you die. IT'S NOT AN OVERDOSE. It's
Russian Roulette. Instant death. You don't die later. Or you don't have the chance to feel different and say "I've had too much". You usually die as you're breathing it in. If not, you die within 2 seconds of finishing "the hit."
That's why the straw was still in Kyle's mouth when he died. Why his eyes were still open. The experts want to call this huffing. The kids don't believe its huffing. As adults we tend to lump many things together. But "dusting" doesn't fit here.
That's why it's more accepted. There is no chemical reaction, no strong odor. It doesn't follow the huffing signals. Kyle complained a few days before he died of his tongue hurting. It probably did. The propellant causes frostbite. If I had only
known.
It's easy to say hey, it's my life and I'll do what I want. But it isn't. Others are always affected. This has forever changed our family's life. I have a hole in my heart and soul that can never be fixed. The pain is so immense I can't describe it.
There's nowhere to run from it. I cry all the time and I don't ever cry. I do what I'm supposed to do but I don't really care. My other two kids are messed up. One won't talk about it. The other will only sleep in our room at night. And my wife, I
can't even describe how bad she is taking this. I thought we were safe because of Thor. I thought we were safe because we knew about drugs and talked to our kids about them.
After Kyle died another story came out. A probation Officer went to the school system next to ours to speak with a student. While there he found a student using Dust Off in the bathroom. This student told him about another student who also had some
in his locker. This is a rather affluent school system. They will tell you they don't have a drug problem there. They don't even have a D.A.R.E or plus program there.
So rather than tell everyone about this "new" way of getting high that they found, they hid it. The probation officer told the media after Kyle's death and then the school admitted to it. I know that if they would have told the media and I had
heard, it wouldn't have been in my house.
We need to get this product out of our homes and school computer labs. Using Dust Off isn't new and some "professionals" know about. It just isn't talked about much, except by the kids. They all seem to know about it. April 2nd was 1 month since
Kyle died. April 5th would have been his15th birthday. And every weekday I catch myself sitting on the living room couch at 2:30 pm in the afternoon and waiting to see him get off the bus. I know Kyle is in heaven but I can't help but wonder If I
died and went to hell.
This Police Officer is asking for everyone who receives this email to forward it to everyone you know.
Whole Story is here,
http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/dustoff.asp
Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: San Diego, California
Posts: 1
Yes, you can die from inhaling computer duster...like my sister did.
Hi all,
My 46 year old sister died 2 July 2009 from huffing spray cans of computer duster (slang terminology: "dusting"). Utterly devastating. In my sister's case, the brand was "Dust-Off" -- but ALL canisters of computer "duster" type propellant lint & dust cleaners ARE NOT "CANNED AIR" whatsoever. This is the great & dangerous misinformation about them, especially for kids/teens. Computer duster products contain either difluoroethane or tetrafluoroehtane, both toxic, fatal, deadly, etc. when inhaled. Death results from hypoxia (lack of oxygen to mainly brain, lungs, heart...respiratory, pulmonary, and CNS organs), pneumonia, cardiac failure or arrest, or aspiration of vomit. My sister's C.O.D. from autopsy was "Acute Difluorethane Intoxication" on her death certificate. In her case, cardiac arrhythmia was what occured. She was living with me at the time, and I found her dead on the bathroom floor in the morning. Although she was a long-term severe alcoholic, I was completely unaware of her computer duster inhaling. Eight empty cans were found in her car the morning I found her dead. The night before she was vomiting, having asthmatic-like breathing trouble, and tingling and numbness in her hands. I wanted to take her to the ER but she just kept telling me she had the flu and just needed to get some sleep. I checked on her every 30-40 minutes up until approx. 11:30 pm and she had started to "calm down" somewhat and her vomiting had stopped. Unaware of her computer duster usage, and seeing her sick symptoms seem to begin to subside, I finally went to bed myself. Only to wake up to the greatest horror of my life.
I am involved in another message forum (Inhalant.org , Inhalant Abuse, Inhalant Education) and have posted there about the greater details of this unfathomable loss, my sister's unabated alcoholism and addiction, and my and my husband's own 6 and 8 years of recovery from alcohol and drugs: Inhalant Abuse Prevention - View Single Post - MY SISTER DIED FROM COMPUTER DUSTERS & SO CAN YOU!
Death by dusters is no "urban legend" or vague possibility. It is tragically REAL -- and also a form of chemical roulette because you can die from "dusting" after 2,000 times or JUST ONE ("Sudden Sniffing Syndrome"). And there are over 50 people on just the inhalant.org message board alone who have lost family members and friends to this new form of an insanely brief high (1 to 5 minutes and less per hit), in addition to other inhalants like air freshener -- yes, really & truly. Beyond the inhalant.org message board there are thousands more. All due to the difluoroethane or tetrafluoroehtane contained in these common household cleaning products. Difluoroethane is basically like the freon in an air conditioner. Exactly why when sprayed too closely on an object or surface you will see a kind of "frosty" effect or residue.
Manufacturers print fatality warning messages all over the cans and have added bittering agents to the products in an attempt to abate their (ab)use. But in too many cases, neither effort can stop a die-hard addict.
In this "Age of Huffing" the end of your life can truly be just one breath away.
Thanks for listening. And please spread the word: Computer dusters are not canned air. They are pure deadly poison.
My 46 year old sister died 2 July 2009 from huffing spray cans of computer duster (slang terminology: "dusting"). Utterly devastating. In my sister's case, the brand was "Dust-Off" -- but ALL canisters of computer "duster" type propellant lint & dust cleaners ARE NOT "CANNED AIR" whatsoever. This is the great & dangerous misinformation about them, especially for kids/teens. Computer duster products contain either difluoroethane or tetrafluoroehtane, both toxic, fatal, deadly, etc. when inhaled. Death results from hypoxia (lack of oxygen to mainly brain, lungs, heart...respiratory, pulmonary, and CNS organs), pneumonia, cardiac failure or arrest, or aspiration of vomit. My sister's C.O.D. from autopsy was "Acute Difluorethane Intoxication" on her death certificate. In her case, cardiac arrhythmia was what occured. She was living with me at the time, and I found her dead on the bathroom floor in the morning. Although she was a long-term severe alcoholic, I was completely unaware of her computer duster inhaling. Eight empty cans were found in her car the morning I found her dead. The night before she was vomiting, having asthmatic-like breathing trouble, and tingling and numbness in her hands. I wanted to take her to the ER but she just kept telling me she had the flu and just needed to get some sleep. I checked on her every 30-40 minutes up until approx. 11:30 pm and she had started to "calm down" somewhat and her vomiting had stopped. Unaware of her computer duster usage, and seeing her sick symptoms seem to begin to subside, I finally went to bed myself. Only to wake up to the greatest horror of my life.
I am involved in another message forum (Inhalant.org , Inhalant Abuse, Inhalant Education) and have posted there about the greater details of this unfathomable loss, my sister's unabated alcoholism and addiction, and my and my husband's own 6 and 8 years of recovery from alcohol and drugs: Inhalant Abuse Prevention - View Single Post - MY SISTER DIED FROM COMPUTER DUSTERS & SO CAN YOU!
Death by dusters is no "urban legend" or vague possibility. It is tragically REAL -- and also a form of chemical roulette because you can die from "dusting" after 2,000 times or JUST ONE ("Sudden Sniffing Syndrome"). And there are over 50 people on just the inhalant.org message board alone who have lost family members and friends to this new form of an insanely brief high (1 to 5 minutes and less per hit), in addition to other inhalants like air freshener -- yes, really & truly. Beyond the inhalant.org message board there are thousands more. All due to the difluoroethane or tetrafluoroehtane contained in these common household cleaning products. Difluoroethane is basically like the freon in an air conditioner. Exactly why when sprayed too closely on an object or surface you will see a kind of "frosty" effect or residue.
Manufacturers print fatality warning messages all over the cans and have added bittering agents to the products in an attempt to abate their (ab)use. But in too many cases, neither effort can stop a die-hard addict.
In this "Age of Huffing" the end of your life can truly be just one breath away.
Thanks for listening. And please spread the word: Computer dusters are not canned air. They are pure deadly poison.
Jujubee Queen
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Port Charlotte, Florida
Posts: 3,582
Funny this subject came up today.
I have never watched "Intervention" I don't have it in me to view more addiction.
Anyway, son #2 in prison called me today.
Said he's been having chest pain after running in the yard. (It's wonderful he's trying to maintain his shape...LOL)
He saw the Doctor today and Dr. ordered a EKG, (I would have ordered a CXR but what do I know) meanwhile son went on to tell me everything.
He has "huffed" neon (how that's possible I don't know) whip cream aerosol,
nitrous oxide, aerolsol paint, and anything else he found Huffable. (I think I just made up a new word.)
So, my eyes were really opened today, I knew he did crack, and methamphetamine, but didn't know he huffed too.
Probably has lung damage from his history.
He says he is amazed from all he has done that he didn't die.
I have never watched "Intervention" I don't have it in me to view more addiction.
Anyway, son #2 in prison called me today.
Said he's been having chest pain after running in the yard. (It's wonderful he's trying to maintain his shape...LOL)
He saw the Doctor today and Dr. ordered a EKG, (I would have ordered a CXR but what do I know) meanwhile son went on to tell me everything.
He has "huffed" neon (how that's possible I don't know) whip cream aerosol,
nitrous oxide, aerolsol paint, and anything else he found Huffable. (I think I just made up a new word.)
So, my eyes were really opened today, I knew he did crack, and methamphetamine, but didn't know he huffed too.
Probably has lung damage from his history.
He says he is amazed from all he has done that he didn't die.
Nature Girl
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: By The Lake
Posts: 60,328
When I worked for a men's rehab, we locked the cans of "air" up because we knew they could be abused, often with fatal results.
I'm so sorry your sister died from this, how sad that must be for you and all who loved her.
Welcome to SoberRecovery, I'm glad you joined us and shared this important message.
Hugs
I'm so sorry your sister died from this, how sad that must be for you and all who loved her.
Welcome to SoberRecovery, I'm glad you joined us and shared this important message.
Hugs
Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: LA - Lower Alabama
Posts: 5,068
Shiny, sorry about your sister.
I was at an AA meeting which was held at a substance abuse hospital in an unnamed city (I am being very vague here to protect anonymity). This is a 90 day minimum commitment, very professional, not cheap going concern.
Besides us "outside" alcoholics/addicts, the patients were also present at the meeting. One kid, who couldn't be more than 10 or 11 was there and I assumed he was visiting dad at the facility. He got up (his voice hadn't even deepened yet) and said "Hi I'm __________ and I'm a huffer".
I about fell over. I thought I had heard it all in a meeting. Thank the lord his parents found out what he was up to and had the resources to get him help.
I was at an AA meeting which was held at a substance abuse hospital in an unnamed city (I am being very vague here to protect anonymity). This is a 90 day minimum commitment, very professional, not cheap going concern.
Besides us "outside" alcoholics/addicts, the patients were also present at the meeting. One kid, who couldn't be more than 10 or 11 was there and I assumed he was visiting dad at the facility. He got up (his voice hadn't even deepened yet) and said "Hi I'm __________ and I'm a huffer".
I about fell over. I thought I had heard it all in a meeting. Thank the lord his parents found out what he was up to and had the resources to get him help.
Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 8
Yes I've heard of this, AH had a friend who huffed the freon from a freezer... it's sad what people will abuse, AH smoked a cigarette dipped in fermadehyde, yuck.
I did not cause, I can not cure it, and I certainly can not make sense of it!
I did not cause, I can not cure it, and I certainly can not make sense of it!
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