Nitrous oxide is known to everyone as “laughing gas”. Nitrous oxide (laughing gas) is the first gas in the world to be used for anesthesia. Now it is used in medicine, for technical purposes, in the food industry, and also for filling balloons. Laughing gas has been used in medicine for over 200 years. Nitrous oxide is a colorless gas, with a pleasant odor and sweetish taste, heavier than air, soluble in water, and liquefies at temperatures below zero and at normal room temperature. A big problem in modern society is that people began to use laughing gas for pleasure.
Laughing gas is distributed in clubs in balloons and sold on the Internet.
Sellers of laughing gas convince us of its safety, explaining that it is even used in medicine. Accordingly, it is “useful”. People started using it at parties as a stress reliever and a pleasure. But no one thinks about the harm that nitrous oxide can cause to the body. In modern medical practice there are already enough cases of laughing gas poisoning and suffocation. Unfortunately, current legislation does not prohibit its acquisition and distribution, but each of us must know what nitrous oxide is and how it affects human health.
Why is it okay to use nitrous oxide for medical purposes, but extremely dangerous to use it for pleasure?
For medical purposes, nitrous oxide is used as a means for inhalation anesthesia in surgery, as an anesthetic for those for whom other drugs are contraindicated, for example, people suffering from allergies, as well as in obstetric practice. This nitrous oxide has a high degree of purification from impurities. During the operation, laughing gas is introduced into the human body in doses, passing it through filters; nitrous oxide is necessarily diluted with oxygen. 30% gas, 70% oxygen.
How does laughing gas affect humans?
When inhaling laughing gas, a person feels euphoria, a state of joy, delight, uncontrollable laughter, removes feelings of anxiety, and causes a state similar to intoxication. Since it quickly enters the bloodstream, it acts with lightning speed. This effect lasts approximately 30 seconds.
Why is laughing gas dangerous for humans?
One breath of this gas can lead to serious mental illness, heart failure, infertility, and in the case of brain damage, death, can occur within minutes
· Once in the human body, laughing gas causes severe intoxication.
· Regular use of nitrous oxide may cause vitamin B12 deficiency. Vitamin B deficiency can cause severe nerve damage.
· By affecting blood cells, it causes anemia, which manifests itself as weakness and fatigue, reduces the number of leukocytes, and increases the body’s susceptibility to infectious diseases.
· Nitrous oxide depresses breathing. When accumulated, it causes asphyxia (suffocation). If nitrous oxide is inhaled in a confined space, it can cause sudden death due to lack of oxygen.
· Inhalation in its pure form causes drug intoxication and hallucinations. Subsequently, with the systematic use of laughing gas, depression and insomnia develop, which develop into aggression.
· Even with a small concentration, it disorganizes mental activity, impedes muscle function, and depresses vision.
· Causes hypoxia (oxygen starvation), which consequently affects the cardiovascular system, kidneys, liver, and central nervous system. Without oxygen, brain cells die irreversibly within 2.5 to 3 minutes.
· Has a cumulative effect, forms some compounds that accumulate in the bone marrow. Affects the spinal cord. In the future it may result in paralysis.
· Use of non-medical nitrous oxide during pregnancy may cause deformities in the fetus.
· Since the gas is cold, a sore throat may develop
· Like any substance that causes euphoria, it can cause addiction. Laughing gas creates an addiction in every person.
· When a large amount of gas is inhaled, an anesthesia effect may develop, which will lead to a fall, which can cause various injuries, abrasions, and bruises. Nitrous oxide quickly leads to a complete loss of motor control; after inhaling, a person’s coordination of movement is impaired, he begins to sway and falls.
Signs of using laughing gas:
For short-term use:
Reasonless laughter, dizziness, frequent headaches, frequent fainting.
For long-term use:
Short-term memory loss, emotional instability, disturbance of thought processes, deterioration of hearing, touch, unsteady gait, slurred speech, gradual atrophy of the tongue.
Prevention:
In order to reduce the use of laughing gas among young people, as well as children and adolescents, it is necessary to explain to them the harm and danger of this hobby. Parents should have a conversation with their children, teachers should pay attention to this topic in class and explain that the use of laughing gas in terms of effects is equivalent to the use of drugs and can lead to death. Self-administration of nitrous oxide without appropriate indications can cause serious health problems. Every breath of laughing gas could be your last.
The Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare reports that the practice of using so-called laughing gas (especially among young people) has recently spread.
On the Internet you can find many offers for purchasing nitrous oxide for individual consumption by inhaling this gas. The goal is to obtain the so-called amusing effect. Such products, called “oxygen balls”, “Ibiza air”, are positioned as absolutely harmless, legal, affordable, fashionable, popular.
In fact, nitric oxide is unsafe for human life and health. Laughing gas has a faint pleasant odor and a sweetish taste, and dissolves in the blood at a temperature of 37 °C.
At high temperatures, nitrous oxide is a strong oxidizer; when mixed with hydrogen, ammonia, carbon dioxide and some flammable substances, it explodes.
In medicine, nitric oxide mixed with oxygen is used for anesthesia. The substance has a toxic effect; at high concentrations it causes suffocation due to the displacement of oxygen from the lungs.
Experiments on animals have shown that exposure to nitric oxide in combination with oxygen (1:1; 8:2) for 6 days causes hematopoietic dysfunction and bone marrow hypoplasia in rats. Exposure of animals for 10 weeks leads to the death of some animals.
When the human body is exposed to gas mixtures containing from 20 to 50% NO, memory deteriorates, the ability of lung tissue to resist infection decreases, irritation of the eyes, nose and shortness of breath occur. With repeated exposure, addiction occurs and muscle performance decreases.
Inhalation for 5 minutes can cause bronchopneumonia, pulmonary edema, hemorrhage, rupture of the alveoli, pulmonary vascular thrombosis, degenerative changes in the liver, kidneys, brain, changes in the mucous membrane of the gums, pulmonary emphysema, pneumosclerosis.
The areas of application of nitrous oxide in its industrial production are as a medicine; for inhalation anesthesia (only for inpatient use in medical institutions) under the constant supervision of specialists.
Highly purified nitrous oxide, intended for medical purposes, does not cause respiratory irritation. During inhalation, it dissolves in the blood plasma, practically does not change and is not metabolized, and does not bind to hemoglobin. After stopping inhalation, nitrous oxide is released through the respiratory tract unchanged within 10-15 minutes.
Nitrous oxide is used mixed with oxygen using special devices for gas anesthesia. Usually they start with a mixture of 70-80% nitrous oxide and 30-20% oxygen, then the amount of oxygen is increased to 40-50%. For more complete muscle relaxation, myo-relaxants are used. This not only enhances muscle relaxation, but also improves the course of anesthesia. After stopping the supply of nitrous oxide, oxygen is continued to be given for 4-5 minutes to avoid hypoxia.
Nitrous oxide is used with caution as a means of therapeutic anesthesia. For a number of diseases - angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, diseases of the nervous system, chronic alcoholism, alcohol intoxication - its use is contraindicated. Excitement and hallucinations may occur when using this substance.
Nitrous oxide is also used for technical purposes, for example, for welding, to improve the technical characteristics of internal combustion engines, in the food industry - for cooling, freezing and storing food, as a preservative.
The products of only a few enterprises are registered in the state register of medicines as a medicinal product with the trade name “Nitrogen oxide”.
According to the instructions for medical use, these drugs are dispensed only to medical institutions, which means they are inadmissible for free sale and inadmissible for individual purchase and consumption due to the possibility of violating the indications for use, methods of application and other requirements set out in the instructions.
In addition, metal cylinders of liquefied gas under high pressure are classified as dangerous goods. Their transportation, storage and use require compliance with safety rules and the availability of special work permits for persons working with them.
Nitrous oxide, as a product with specific properties, intended for use exclusively for medical purposes in a hospital setting, as well as for technical and industrial purposes, cannot be freely sold on the consumer market. Retail sale of nitrous oxide is not provided and serves purposes that do not correspond to its true purpose, moreover, it poses a danger to life and health.
Storage, transportation, retail sale of nitrous oxide falls under Art. 14.2 of the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offences, This article concerns the illegal sale of goods, the free sale of which is prohibited or limited by law.
Laughing gas, or nitrous oxide, is a substance popular among young people, which some consider a harmless means of entertainment, while others consider it a dangerous drug. In high concentrations and prolonged inhalation, it can cause serious harm to human health.
What is nitrous oxide
Nitrogen dioxide, better known as laughing gas, was first produced by Joseph Priestley in the early 1770s.
The substance is colorless, has a subtle aroma and a sweetish taste, can dissolve in water, and under certain conditions, become liquid.
A small amount of gas produces the effect of intoxication and slight drowsiness. If you inhale it in its pure form, it can cause suffocation, but if the prescribed dosage is observed and mixed with oxygen, it is used as an anesthesia and does not have a side effect. Once in the body, it remains unchanged and does not form bonds with hemoglobin. As soon as the gas supply is stopped, it is completely eliminated through the respiratory tract within 15 minutes.
Use of the substance in various fields
There are three types of nitric oxide:
- Technical – used in automotive production and welding.
- Medical - widely used as anesthesia.
- Food grade – is one of the important components in the production of aerated chocolate and confectionery products.
A technical nitrogen compound is introduced into the car engine mechanism, namely into the intake manifold to improve its performance. Under its influence, the engine power increases for some time.
For medical purposes, the substance is used for anesthesia and anesthesia during surgery and during childbirth. In addition, the use of gas is allowed to prevent shock in injuries, to increase the analgesic effect of other drugs, as well as to eliminate pain during a heart attack and pancreatitis. Nitrous oxide is available in liquid form in 10 liter cylinders.
In the food industry, this component is known as additive E-942. It is used as a propellant in products produced in aerosol containers.
Use of nitrous oxide as a drug
The abolition of the mandatory presentation of a prescription for the purchase of combination medications that contain codeine occurred in Russia in June 2012. Since that time, the drug has been freely available, so it is actively used by substance abusers.
The use of nitrous oxide beads quickly leads to narcotic euphoria, which is why the substance has become so widespread among young people and has become an integral part of many parties and nightlife entertainment venues.
Why is gas called "laughing"?
When exposed to the human body, nitric oxide causes a strong feeling of excitement, turning into euphoria, which is why it was called “laughing gas”. The authorship of the name belongs to the Englishman Davy Humphrey, who studied chemical reactions and, during an experiment, personally experienced the effect of gas on the body.
He found that when it is inhaled in a small dose, a person’s motor activity increases, an unreasonable desire to laugh arises, and behavior becomes inappropriate.
The effect of gas on the human body - is it possible to breathe nitric oxide
Nitrous oxide causes virtually no harm to health when used for medical purposes if the recommended dosage regimen is followed. Narcotic gas used in a concentration of less than 80% does not pose a danger to humans.
If the substance is used during childbirth, then it is necessary to reduce the period of its inhalation by the woman to a minimum, since long-term use in this case can harm the newborn and reduce its Apgar scores.
This compound has been proven to have a negative effect on the bone marrow with long-term exposure. If you breathe it for 2-4 days, then inhibition of the functions of bone marrow tissue is observed.
Also, nitric oxide sometimes causes some side effects, which are expressed in the appearance of symptoms of bradycardia or supraventricular arrhythmia when the patient is placed in a state of anesthesia. When a person recovers from anesthesia, symptoms such as nausea, anxiety, confusion, drowsiness, and even hallucinations may occur.
Symptoms of laughing gas poisoning
Signs of the toxic effect of nitrous oxide on the human body are divided into two types. The first includes manifestations that occur with short-term use of laughing gas:
- Brief amnesia. A person does not remember what happened to him for some time, but then his memory returns.
- Reasonless laughter. One of the main parameters indicating poisoning with nitric oxide is unreasonable fun, very strong and incessant laughter.
- Attacks of headaches and dizziness that come and go suddenly.
- Multiple episodes of loss of consciousness.
Frequent and prolonged use of gas can lead to more serious poisoning, in which case the following are possible:
- emotional instability, which is expressed in constant changes in mood;
- disturbance of mental activity, lack of logic in words and actions;
- unsteady gait and incoherent speech;
- hearing loss, visual impairment;
- atrophy of brain structures.
First aid and treatment for intoxication
There is no specific antidote for nitrous oxide, so all that a person who is nearby at the time of poisoning can do is carry out basic first aid measures:
- Provide fresh air access to the room. If possible, it is better to move the victim from the building to the street.
- Position the person so that his body is completely at rest.
- Remove the poisoned person’s outer clothing and create conditions for free flow of air into the respiratory tract.
Further action can only be taken by an ambulance team, which must be called immediately as soon as it becomes known about intoxication. Doctors will transport the victim to the hospital and take emergency measures to save him.
Consequences of drug use
By using the mixture in order to feel the narcotic effect, a person exposes himself to great danger. The components included in its composition, with prolonged exposure, can lead to the death of brain cells. The consequences of consuming this nitrogenous compound can be very severe: first, memory deteriorates, then progressive personality changes occur. Along with the brain, the bone marrow structure is also destroyed. With constant use of nitrous oxide, there is a risk of developing leukemia and disorders of the hematopoietic process.
In addition, mental disorders are observed in people who abuse this substance. Attacks of fear of death, hallucinations, obsessive thoughts, and periodic sensations of approaching danger occur. Suicidal tendencies may appear against the background of a depressive state provoked by this compound. Among the consequences of drinking laughing gas, impaired coordination of movements often occurs.
The greatest threat is the mixture in its pure form. Inhaling it can be fatal.
The effect of this compound is especially detrimental to the developing fetus in the womb. If she breathes nitrogen, this can lead to fetal hypoxia and the development of various congenital anomalies in the child.
Heavier than air (relative density 1.527). Soluble in water (1:2). At 0°C and a pressure of 30 atmospheres, as well as at ordinary temperature and pressure of 40 atmospheres, it condenses into a colorless liquid. One kilogram of liquid nitrous oxide produces 500 liters of gas. Nitrous oxide does not ignite, but supports combustion. Mixtures with ether, cyclopropane, chloroethyl in certain concentrations are explosive.
They use it by inhalation, mainly using balloons filled with nitrous oxide.
The rapid achievement of a state of euphoria turned “laughing gas” into a popular drug at various kinds of youth parties. Laughing gas has been distributed mainly in nightclubs since the summer of 2012.
According to the chief narcologist of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Evgeniy Bryun, doctors may still be addicted to the use of this substance, and how dependence on it occurs.
The head of Rospotrebnadzor, the chief state sanitary doctor of Russia, Gennady Onishchenko, said that the use of nitrous oxide in medical conditions is acceptable. “This is one of the most gentle anesthetics. But when it is used on a huge scale outside the walls of medical institutions for absolutely no reason, no one knows how it will affect.”
Presumably, the use of laughing gas can produce irreversible effects on the brain and nervous system. Even with a small concentration, it disorganizes mental activity, makes it difficult for muscles to work, and impairs vision and hearing.
Its use is only possible under the supervision of specialists who have undergone appropriate training. Without proper control and in its pure form (without “dilution” with oxygen), the use of laughing gas is deadly. If the volume of oxygen in the mixture with nitrous oxide is less than 20%, respiratory arrest may occur and the person will die.
Signs of nitrous oxide use:
With short-term use - stupid behavior, unreasonable uncontrollable laughter, dizziness, frequent headaches, frequent fainting and frequent loss of consciousness.
With long-term use - short-term amnesia, emotional instability, disturbance of thought processes, deterioration of hearing and touch, unsteady gait, slurred speech, gradual brain atrophy.
The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources
Nitrogen(I) oxynitride (nitrogenium oxydulatum)- at normal temperatures it is a colorless, non-flammable gas with a pleasant odor and sweetish taste, heavier than air (relative density 1.527). Chemical formula (N2O). Soluble in water (1:2). At 0°C and a pressure of 30 atm, as well as at ordinary temperature and pressure of 40 atm, it condenses into a colorless liquid. 1 kg of liquid nitrous oxide produces 500 liters of gas. Does not ignite, but supports combustion. Mixtures with ether, cyclopropane, chlorethyl in certain concentrations are explosive. Other nitrogen oxides: N2O, NO, N2O3, N2O5.
Nitrous oxide is produced by heating dry ammonium nitrate. Decomposition begins at 170 °C and is accompanied by the release of heat. That's why it is very dangerous to produce it in artisanal conditions, since at temperatures above 300 °C ammonium nitrate decomposes explosively. It is also possible to obtain it by other chemical reactions (for example, heating sulfamic acid with 73% nitric acid).
Release form: in metal cylinders with a capacity of 10 liters under a pressure of 50 atm in a liquefied state. The cylinders are painted gray and labeled “For medical use.”
Slang names: dinitrogen oxide, laughing gas, nitrous oxide, nitrous oxide.
It is used mainly as a means for inhalation anesthesia, mainly in combination with other drugs (due to the insufficiently strong analgesic effect). At the same time, this compound can be called the safest anesthesia, since there are almost no complications after its use. Also sometimes used to improve the performance of internal combustion engines. A substance containing nitrous oxide and fuel are injected into the intake (suction) manifold of the engine. Reduces the temperature of the air sucked into the engine, providing a dense incoming charge of the mixture. Increases the oxygen content of the incoming charge (air contains only 22% oxygen by weight). Increases the speed (intensity) of combustion in the engine cylinders.
Substance abusers use it inhalation, mainly using balloons.
Consequences of consuming Nitrous Oxide:
Laughing gas relieves anxiety, improves mood, reduces pain, and leads to a state of euphoria. The rapid achievement of a state of euphoria turned laughing gas into a popular drug at various kinds of youth parties. But not everyone knows that the use of laughing gas can produce irreversible effects on the brain and nervous system. Even with a small concentration, it disorganizes mental activity, makes it difficult for muscles to work, and impairs vision and hearing.
It has been found that regular use of laughing gas can inhibit the development of all blood cells. As a result of prolonged inhalation of nitrous oxide, a degenerative disease of the spinal cord can also develop, which manifests itself in sensory disturbances (burning sensation, tingling sensation, numbness), tremors of the arms and legs, paresis of the limbs, etc. The diseases listed above require long-term treatment.
Its use is only possible under the supervision of specialists who have undergone appropriate training. Without proper control and in its pure form (without “dilution” with oxygen), the use of laughing gas is deadly.
Intoxication caused by nitrous oxide is accompanied by a trance state, and therefore sometimes used by hypnologists when conducting narco-hypnosis.
Signs of using Nitrous Oxide:
For short-term use stupid behavior, uncontrollable laughter for no reason, dizziness, frequent headaches, frequent fainting and frequent loss of consciousness.
For long-term use short-term amnesia, emotional instability, disturbance of thought processes, deterioration of hearing and touch, unsteady gait, slurred speech, gradual brain atrophy.
From the history of Nitrous Oxide:
1776 Joseph Presley first discovers nitrous oxide.
1799 Humphry Davy managed to obtain large quantities of nitrous oxide in a well-equipped laboratory of the Pneumatic Institute. (It was G. Davy who established that inhalation of this gas leads to a short period of intoxication in its properties “similar to intoxication” and called this substance “laughing gas”.)
1824 - English surgeon Henry Hill Hickman first proposed the use of this gas as an anesthesia during operations
in 1845, when a young dentist named Horace Wells attended a demonstration of the effects of laughing gas. During the demonstration, one of the visitors accidentally tripped and cut himself badly, and Wells noted that this visitor felt no pain despite his severe cut. As a dentist, Wells immediately saw the potential for using this drug in dentistry.
In the 18th century, a new attraction appeared where participants were allowed to inhale nitrous oxide from leather bags.
Today, nitrous oxide is widely used in dentistry and many other areas of surgery.
For recreational purposes, nightclubs, various Internet resources and social networks that offer to order “laughing gas” to your home play an active role in the spread of the new psychoactive substance. Prices for laughing gas are very affordable: a set of 10 disposable cans can be bought for a couple of thousand rubles.
Supervisory authorities are preparing to initiate the inclusion of nitrous oxide in the List of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, the circulation of which is restricted in the Russian Federation.