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Laughing gas: Harmless fun or danger to the nerves? | The truth
Is laughing gas really as harmless as many people think? We reveal the risks and potential harm.
Hey guys,
I’m on the road again, this time on a somewhat more serious search for clues. It’s about a gas that many of us may know from the dentist’s chair: Nitrous oxide. While it has been used in medicine for over 200 years for short-term anaesthesia and is considered relatively safe there, it has unfortunately also made a name for itself as a party drug in recent years. Balloons are filled and the contents inhaled — a short high that can have devastating consequences. I asked myself: what is really behind this supposedly harmless fun? And what does it mean for our nervous system?
From the clinic to the street: a dangerous trend
The problem is that the use of laughing gas outside of a medical context is anything but harmless. Overdoses can lead to blood formation disorders, cardiac arrhythmia, strokes…