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Friendly reminder to everyone that too much of the good stuff can and will displace oxygen, and that hypoxia is very a bad thing which can lead to among other t

Friendly reminder to everyone that too much of the good stuff can and will displace oxygen, and that hypoxia is very a bad thing which can lead to among other things, permanent brain injury.

swayvil 2y ago
That's a very good point. Also, those balloons are not edible. Do not chew or swallow.
DonHopkins 2y ago
Good point. Definitely don't put your head in garbage bags or fill the room or not breath enough. Also it's much safer to use a regulator on the tank instead of just rocketing it out at full pressure through a hose. Balloons are relatively safe and self regulating, since you let go of them when you pass out and they zoom hilariously around the room giving everyone another thing to laugh uproariously about, but totally bumming out the dismayed fool who just lost their whole balloon, which at the moment was their most important possession.
- e1gen-v 2y ago
  That was such an amazing description!
FuriouslyAdrift 2y ago
It also causes inactivation of vitamin B12 with long term use. This can cause demyelination and bone marrow suppression. By the time you notice the peripheral neuropathy, it's probably too late. Note: to get to this point, you would be doing quite a lot at a time. Be careful with nitrous and take your B12. https://www.rch.org.au/clinicalguide/guideline_index/Nitrous_Oxide_Misuse/ https://www.rch.org.au/clinicalguide/guideline_index/Nitrous...
- csteinbe 2y ago
  Taking your B12 supplements is not a guarantee: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35253567/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35253567/ Checking your B12 levels is not a guarantee either, since the mechanism of deactivation still makes the B12 detectable in a blood test. The inactivation can last for a few days. For frequent users, getting pins and needles in your feet is fairly common, and with prolonged use it can lead to "subacute combined degeneration of the spinal cord". The good news is the effects are mostly reversible if you aggressively supplement with B12 and perhaps the B12 cofactors, and stop using nitrous. If you do a search (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=%22Nitrous+Oxide%2Fadverse+effects%22%5BMAJR%5D&sort=date&sort_order=desc https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=%22Nitrous+Oxide%2Fadv...) neuro effects are most common, but but there are also reports of thrombosis, bladder issues, and sexual disfunction. Some decent papers are https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10447413/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10447413/ and https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10442242/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10442242/ I'm not a medical doctor, but the metabolic processes are fascinating, akin to background garbage collection or other maintenance processes in software. And like those, they are subject to bugs or other interruptions.

Friendly reminder to everyone that too much of the good stuff can and will displace oxygen, and that hypoxia is very a bad thing which can lead to among other things, permanent brain injury.

swayvil 2y ago

That's a very good point. Also, those balloons are not edible. Do not chew or swallow.

DonHopkins 2y ago

Good point. Definitely don't put your head in garbage bags or fill the room or not breath enough. Also it's much safer to use a regulator on the tank instead of just rocketing it out at full pressure through a hose. Balloons are relatively safe and self regulating, since you let go of them when you pass out and they zoom hilariously around the room giving everyone another thing to laugh uproariously about, but totally bumming out the dismayed fool who just lost their whole balloon, which at the moment was their most important possession.

e1gen-v 2y ago
That was such an amazing description!

FuriouslyAdrift 2y ago

It also causes inactivation of vitamin B12 with long term use. This can cause demyelination and bone marrow suppression. By the time you notice the peripheral neuropathy, it's probably too late. Note: to get to this point, you would be doing quite a lot at a time. Be careful with nitrous and take your B12. https://www.rch.org.au/clinicalguide/guideline_index/Nitrous_Oxide_Misuse/ https://www.rch.org.au/clinicalguide/guideline_index/Nitrous...

csteinbe 2y ago
Taking your B12 supplements is not a guarantee: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35253567/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35253567/ Checking your B12 levels is not a guarantee either, since the mechanism of deactivation still makes the B12 detectable in a blood test. The inactivation can last for a few days. For frequent users, getting pins and needles in your feet is fairly common, and with prolonged use it can lead to "subacute combined degeneration of the spinal cord". The good news is the effects are mostly reversible if you aggressively supplement with B12 and perhaps the B12 cofactors, and stop using nitrous. If you do a search (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=%22Nitrous+Oxide%2Fadverse+effects%22%5BMAJR%5D&sort=date&sort_order=desc https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=%22Nitrous+Oxide%2Fadv...) neuro effects are most common, but but there are also reports of thrombosis, bladder issues, and sexual disfunction. Some decent papers are https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10447413/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10447413/ and https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10442242/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10442242/ I'm not a medical doctor, but the metabolic processes are fascinating, akin to background garbage collection or other maintenance processes in software. And like those, they are subject to bugs or other interruptions.