Danger! A woman was almost paralyzed after being exposed to this "stuff" for 3 months. Don't touch it...

Expert of this article: Pan Kunming, Master of Pharmacy from Peking University, Chief Pharmacist of Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University

Recently, a news #Woman almost became paralyzed after inhaling laughing gas for 3 months# attracted attention, which sounded an alarm for us.

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It is reported that Ms. Wang tried to inhale nitrous oxide half a year ago. Three months later, the amount of nitrous oxide she inhaled every day had reached more than 50 bottles. The direct consequence was that she could not walk upright.

Police remind: "Laughing gas" causes hallucinations and addiction, and long-term inhalation can cause organ dysfunction. Do not inhale it!

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What exactly is “laughing gas”?

"Laughing gas", whose 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. It can also be used clinically for gynecological labor analgesia, anti-anxiety in dental care, improvement of withdrawal symptoms, and refractory depression.

In addition, because of its antibacterial, non-flammable and odorless properties, "laughing gas" is often used as a food additive. 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 Scopes of Use" and is approved as a propellant and foaming agent.

(Figure: Sourced 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 illegally. This is the main source of the abuse of "laughing gas". Users fill balloons with gas from a micro-compressor of nitrous oxide gas and inhale it in order to pursue physical euphoria and psychedelic effects.

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Does “laughing gas” really make people laugh?

"Laughing gas" was first discovered in the late 18th century. Later, a British scientist Humphrey Davy found that inhaling "laughing gas" could make people feel highly excited and pleasurable, making them dance and laugh, so it was named "laughing gas". Its mechanism of action is mainly related to promoting the release of excitatory neurotransmitters such as dopamine in the body.

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"Laughing gas" is a dangerous chemical.

In February 2015, the State Administration of Work Safety and ten other departments jointly issued the "Catalogue of Hazardous Chemicals" (2015 edition). "Laughing gas" is a hazardous substance in the catalogue, with the serial number 2561, and the product name: nitrous oxide (compressed or liquefied); aliases (nitrous oxide; laughing gas).

The production, storage, use, operation and transportation of "laughing gas" without the corresponding license are all illegal. If the market order is disrupted, the person may be sentenced to prison in serious cases.

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What are the dangers of abusing “laughing gas”?

The main harm of abusing "laughing gas" is damage to the nervous system, blood system, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular systems.

"Laughing gas" is addictive. Compared with physical addiction, its mental addiction is stronger, so it is easy to abuse, and we need to be more vigilant about its long-term toxicity!

Nervous system damage: Inhaling "laughing gas" may cause a series of damages to the brain and nervous system, including spinal cord lesions, peripheral neuropathy, multiple neuropathy, neuropsychiatric diseases, cerebral cortical lesions and focal necrosis of brain parenchyma.

Among them, peripheral neuropathy manifests as numbness and weakness in the limbs, unsteady walking, abnormal sensation, numbness and tingling in the toes; severe manifestations include falls and inability to walk, loss of coordination and even paralysis.

In addition, neuropsychiatric manifestations include memory loss, difficulty concentrating, learning disabilities, depression, anxiety, hallucinations, irritability, and may also include abnormal muscle tone and athetosis.

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Damage to the blood system: Anemia is relatively common, and severe cases may include megaloblastic anemia, pancytopenia, etc.

Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular hazards: 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 urination and defecation, etc.

In conclusion

Dangerous goods "laughing gas" should not be touched.

Addiction and abuse are highly toxic.

There is a lot of damage to the nervous system.

Early diagnosis and early treatment are the key!

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