Dangerous Laughter Gas Use: How Nitrous Oxide Analgesia Can Cause Seizures and Memory Loss

In Tel Aviv, a man in his 30s was rushed to the Poriya Medical Center with neurological symptoms such as seizures, memory loss, and ringing in the ears. Doctors immediately recognized these symptoms were caused by the intentional inhalation of laughing gas used in balloon-filled whipped cream. If it weren’t for the timely intervention of the medical team, the patient could have suffered irreversible damage or death.

Doctors at Poriya Hospital contacted the patient’s family, who brought a cylinder used in siphons for whipping cream to the hospital. This cylinder contained 2.2 liters of gas, much more than household canisters that are typically abused by Israeli teenagers and young people. By identifying the exact cause of poisoning, doctors administered appropriate treatment, including mechanical ventilation, which saved the patient’s life. However, further tests are required to determine whether there is permanent neurological damage.

Dr. Moshe Maruf from Poriya Hospital emphasized that there has been an increase in cases involving abuse of gas from household siphons, particularly among young people and teenagers. Many individuals do not realize how harmful prolonged inhalation of this gas can be to their nervous and immune systems, causing brain damage, seizures and chronic psychotic states. It is crucial to raise awareness about this issue to prevent similar incidents from occurring again.

In recent years, laughter gas has become increasingly popular as a party favor and a way to add some humor to celebrations like birthday parties and festivals. However, its use can be dangerous when done improperly or excessively.

Laughter gas is made up of nitrous oxide (N2O), which can cause serious health problems when inhaled repeatedly or deeply over an extended period of time.

When used correctly as a medical tool during surgery or dentistry procedures it’s called nitrous oxide analgesia or nitrous oxide hypnosis but when misused it can lead to severe side effects such as headaches, nausea vomiting dizziness loss of balance difficulty concentrating memory loss seizures muscle weakness heart palpitations shortness of breath chest pain rapid breathing fatigue confusion disorientation anxiety panic attacks depression hallucinations impaired vision hearing loss difficulty speaking difficulty swallowing difficulty breathing difficulty sleeping difficulty walking difficulty standing difficulty sitting difficulty lying down difficulty standing up difficult urination difficult defecation difficult menstruation difficulties with sexually transmitted diseases impotence erectile dysfunction premature ejaculation vaginal dryness vaginal atrophy genital herpes genital warts cervical cancer breast cancer thyroid cancer ovarian cancer testicular cancer prostate cancer lung cancer colon cancer pancreatic cancer stomach cancer bladder cancer kidney cancer liver