Does nail polish chemicals cause harm?

Yes.

nail polish contains the following ingredients:

• Toluene
• Butyl acetate
• Ethyl acetate
• Dibutyl phthalate

All of those four chemicals are actually poisonous if either digested or inhaled.

You feel dizzy and light-headed after sniffing or licking nail polish because your brain is being "shocked" by the solvent chemicals above, causing damage to it.

Sniffing or licking nail polish once or occasionally can lead to:

• Drowsiness
• Balance problems
• Stupor
• Eye irritation
• Confusion
• Nausea & vomiting

Sniffing or licking nail polish excessively can lead to:

• Bladder damage
• Kidney damage
• Gastrointestinal damage
• Damage to the retina and corona of the eyes leading to short-sightedness, permanent blurry vision or complete blindness
• Chest pain
• Irregular heartbeat leading to future heart problems, including heart cancer and heart attack
• Difficulty breathing leading to Asthma or complete shut-down of the lungs (respiratory arrest)
• Hallucinations
• Seizures

The vapours from the nail polish prevent oxygen entering your body, because your brain tells your lungs to reject the air you breathe in with the vapours in an attempt to prevent the vapours entering your bloodstream. This can lead to shortness of breath which can cause blackouts.

Starving the brain of oxygen frequently will cause a coma and potentially death.