a commonly used anesthetic, inhaled analgesic agent
also readily available to the public as used to inflate balloons and in whipping cream and thus is subject to chronic abuse
commonly abused in the form of nangs which are small canisters of nitrous oxide designed to make cream fluffy and long-lasting
inhaled on its own it can give the recreational user an incredibly short 20second but intense high
there is no “comedown”, as there is with most party drugs and user is usually back to normal self within minutes
along with MDMA, they are the drug of choice for schoolies week, due to the fact that they’re not only cheap, but available at every corner store
long-term use has been associated with functional vitamin B12 deficiency resulting in peripheral neuropathy, spinal degeneration and potentially CNS effects such as paranoia, delusions, hallucinations and behavioural changes 1)
Acute toxicity
nitrous oxide gas is very cold (-40C degrees) and can cause frostbite to the nose, lips and throat (including vocal cords)
faulty gas dispensers can cause harm as they may explode
nausea, vomiting
dizziness
euphoria
CNS depression
syncope
seizures
Chronic abuse
may lead to:
bone marrow suppression and impaired immune system
nitrous oxide neurotoxicity
memory loss
vitamin B12 depletion and neuropathies
the B12 impaired metabolism can result in neurologic and psychiatric symptoms which can, in turn, reinforce nitrous oxide use
may present with unsteady gait, leg weakness and paraesthesiae due to functional B12 deficiency dorsal column neuropathy
NB. as nitrous oxide causes a functional B12 deficiency rather than actual B12 deficiency, serum B12 levels may be normal hence need to check MMA levels