Inhalant abuse (typewriter correction fluid) in street children

Background: Inhalant abuse is a growing concern in India among street children. Aim: To describe the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of 9 street children and adolescents with typewriter correction fluid abuse. Method: Nine street children who presented to the psychiatry department of Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, New Delhi for treatment of inhalant abuse were interviewed. Findings: The inhalant abusers were boys of 10 to 17 years, school dropouts who had run away from villages of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. In two-third of children there was domestic violence and conflict in their family, along with physical abuse by family members; in one-third it was due to alcoholic fathers. They used to "huff" typewriter correction fluid, and abused other substances as well. Conclusion: There is a need to systematically study inhalant abuse in the street children in India.