Jabberwocky
Frumious Bandersnatch
More young people are likely to die from inhaling laughing gas following an ‘explosion’ in its use as a legal high, a doctor has warned.
Nitrous oxide, also known as ‘hippy crack’, has been blamed for 17 deaths in this country in recent years.
Raheem Sterling, the Liverpool and England footballer, was recently captured on video inhaling laughing gas, and researchers have warned that paediatricians and the public need to be more aware of the dangers.
Dr Paul Seddon, respiratory consultant and neonatal paediatrician at the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital in Brighton said nitrous oxide, which is usually inhaled through balloons, poses a significant risk to teenagers.
He carried out the research after treating a teenager suffering from an unexplained pneumothorax – sudden sharp chest pain followed by painful breathing. The cause was unknown until the patient admitted she had inhaled laughing gas at a festival.
Abusing nitrous oxide can lead to oxygen deprivation resulting in loss of blood pressure, fainting and even heart attacks. It is thought that many youngsters will have suffered similar problems after trying it out.
Dr Seddon’s study found that 7.6 per cent of 16- to 24-year-olds in England and Wales have admitted to having tried balloons, which he described as ‘widely available’ in shops that sell legal highs.
‘There’s evidence that its use has mushroomed over the past few years,’ he said.
‘What’s little-known is that long-term use can result in all sorts of severe complications, such as causing problems to the nervous system.’ The gas is legitimately used for pain relief in dental procedures and labour, in engines to make them perform better and in aerosol cans to prevent food going off and to make whipped cream.
‘Clearly the shops that sell legal highs are not selling it for use in confectionery,’ Dr Seddon added.
‘It is something of a grey area, but there has certainly been an explosion in recreational use and is something that both paediatrics and the general public need to be aware of.’
His study, which is due to be presented at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health’s annual conference this week, stated: ‘Seventeen deaths in the UK were attributable to nitrous oxide between 2006-2012, a figure which we would expect to rise given the current surge in usage.
‘Pneumothorax should be considered in any teenager presenting after inhaling gaseous or volatile agents, and recreational drug use should be considered and addressed in teenagers presenting with a pneumothorax of unknown [cause].’
Although it is not illegal to be in possession of the gas, it is prohibited from being sold in England and Wales to under-18s if there is a risk they will inhale it.
A Home Office campaign last year on the risks of legal highs showed that laughing gas was the second most popular drug among young adults in 2013/14 after cannabis, being more widely used than cocaine and ecstasy.
Research by the Local Government Association has described as ‘deeply disturbing’ the notion that many young people view nitrous oxide as safe, despite it being linked to a number of deaths.
Among those to have died was 17-year-old London sixthformer Joseph Benett, who suffered a cardiac arrest after taking the drug in 2012.
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...nked-nitrous-oxide-killed-17-people-year.html
Nitrous oxide, also known as ‘hippy crack’, has been blamed for 17 deaths in this country in recent years.
Raheem Sterling, the Liverpool and England footballer, was recently captured on video inhaling laughing gas, and researchers have warned that paediatricians and the public need to be more aware of the dangers.
Dr Paul Seddon, respiratory consultant and neonatal paediatrician at the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital in Brighton said nitrous oxide, which is usually inhaled through balloons, poses a significant risk to teenagers.
He carried out the research after treating a teenager suffering from an unexplained pneumothorax – sudden sharp chest pain followed by painful breathing. The cause was unknown until the patient admitted she had inhaled laughing gas at a festival.
Abusing nitrous oxide can lead to oxygen deprivation resulting in loss of blood pressure, fainting and even heart attacks. It is thought that many youngsters will have suffered similar problems after trying it out.
Dr Seddon’s study found that 7.6 per cent of 16- to 24-year-olds in England and Wales have admitted to having tried balloons, which he described as ‘widely available’ in shops that sell legal highs.
‘There’s evidence that its use has mushroomed over the past few years,’ he said.
‘What’s little-known is that long-term use can result in all sorts of severe complications, such as causing problems to the nervous system.’ The gas is legitimately used for pain relief in dental procedures and labour, in engines to make them perform better and in aerosol cans to prevent food going off and to make whipped cream.
‘Clearly the shops that sell legal highs are not selling it for use in confectionery,’ Dr Seddon added.
‘It is something of a grey area, but there has certainly been an explosion in recreational use and is something that both paediatrics and the general public need to be aware of.’
His study, which is due to be presented at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health’s annual conference this week, stated: ‘Seventeen deaths in the UK were attributable to nitrous oxide between 2006-2012, a figure which we would expect to rise given the current surge in usage.
‘Pneumothorax should be considered in any teenager presenting after inhaling gaseous or volatile agents, and recreational drug use should be considered and addressed in teenagers presenting with a pneumothorax of unknown [cause].’
Although it is not illegal to be in possession of the gas, it is prohibited from being sold in England and Wales to under-18s if there is a risk they will inhale it.
A Home Office campaign last year on the risks of legal highs showed that laughing gas was the second most popular drug among young adults in 2013/14 after cannabis, being more widely used than cocaine and ecstasy.
Research by the Local Government Association has described as ‘deeply disturbing’ the notion that many young people view nitrous oxide as safe, despite it being linked to a number of deaths.
Among those to have died was 17-year-old London sixthformer Joseph Benett, who suffered a cardiac arrest after taking the drug in 2012.
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...nked-nitrous-oxide-killed-17-people-year.html
