Recently, a piece of news #Woman nearly became paralyzed after taking nitrous oxide for 3 months# attracted attention, which sounded the alarm for us.
Weibo screenshot
According to reports, Ms. Wang tried to smoke laughing gas six months ago. Three months later, the number of bottles of laughing gas she smoked per day had reached more than 50 bottles. The direct consequence was that she could not walk upright.
Police remind: "Laughing gas" is hallucinogenic and addictive, and long-term inhalation can cause organ dysfunction. Never smoke!
× "Laughing gas", what exactly is it?
"Laughing gas", the chemical name is nitrous oxide, is a colorless, non-flammable, slightly sweet gas.
"Laughing gas" has been used as an anesthetic or analgesic for more than 200 years due to its pharmacological effects such as anesthesia and analgesia. Clinically, it can also be used for gynecological childbirth analgesia, anti-anxiety in dental care, improvement of withdrawal symptoms, refractory depression, etc.
In addition, "laughing gas" is often used as a food additive because of its antibacterial, non-flammable and odorless properties. In the "National Food Safety Standard for the Use of Food Additives" (GB2760-2014) issued by the National Health and Family Planning Commission, nitrous oxide is listed in the "List of Processing Aids that Need to Specify Functions and Scope of Use" and is Approved as propellant , foaming agent.
(Picture: From " National Food Safety Standard for the Use of Food Additives " (GB2760-2014))
"Laughing gas" is safe to use under specified circumstances, but a very small number of people buy and sell it in violation of regulations. This is the main source of current misuse of "laughing gas". Smokers inflate gas from a micro-compression device of nitrous oxide gas into a balloon and smoke it to pursue physical euphoria and psychedelic effects.
× "Laughing gas", does it really make people laugh?
"Laughing gas" was first discovered in the second half of the 18th century. Later, a British scientist Humphrey Davy discovered that inhaling "laughing gas" can produce a highly pleasurable state of excitement, making people dance and laugh, so it was named "laughing gas". "Laughing gas", its mechanism of action is mainly related to promoting the release of excitatory neurotransmitters such as , dopamine, and in the body.
"Laughing gas" is a hazardous chemical.
In February 2015, the State Administration of Work Safety and ten departments jointly promulgated the " Catalog of Hazardous Chemicals " (2015 version). "Laughing gas" is a dangerous goods in the catalog, serial number 2561, product name: nitrous oxide (compressed or liquefied); alias (nitrous oxide; laughing gas).
did not apply for the corresponding license, and the production, storage, use, operation and transportation of "laughing gas" are all illegal. If the market order is disrupted, a prison sentence may be imposed if the circumstances are serious.
×What are the dangers of abuse of "laughing gas"?
The main harm caused by the abuse of "laughing gas" is damage to the nervous system, blood system, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular systems.
"Laughing gas" is addictive. Compared with physical addiction, mental addiction is stronger, so it is easy to abuse. Long-term toxicity requires more vigilance!
Nervous system harm: Inhaling "laughing gas" may cause a series of damage to the brain and nervous system. Including: myelopathy , peripheral neuropathy , polyneuropathy , neuropsychiatric diseases, cerebral cortical lesions and focal necrosis of brain parenchyma, etc.
Among them, peripheral neuropathy manifests as numbness and weakness in the limbs, unsteady walking, abnormal sensation in the toes , numbness and pins and needles; severe symptoms include falls, inability to walk, loss of coordination and even paralysis.
In addition, neuropsychiatric symptoms include memory loss, difficulty concentrating, learning disabilities, , depression, anxiety, hallucinations, irritability, abnormal muscle tone, athetosis, etc.
Blood system damage: Anemia is relatively common, and in severe cases, megaloblastic anemia, pancytopenia, etc. may occur.
Cardiovascular hazards: It can accelerate atherosclerosis, leading to myocardial infarction and stroke; increase the risk of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism.
Other hazards: It may also cause pigmentation on the skin surface; pneumothorax and mediastinal subcutaneous emphysema, intestinal swelling, tympanic membrane rupture; difficulty in defecation and defecation.
In short,
the dangerous product "laughing gas" should not be touched.
Addiction and abuse are highly toxic and
may cause damage to the nervous system.
Early diagnosis and early treatment are the most important!
Experts for this article: Pan Kunming, Master of Pharmacy, Peking University , Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University Supervising Pharmacist
(Popular Science China)
