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Nitrous oxide, as medical gas supply, is an inhaled gas used as pain medication, and is typically administered with 50% oxygen mix. It is often used together with other medications for anesthesia . [ 2 ]
Nitrous oxide (dinitrogen oxide or dinitrogen monoxide), commonly known as laughing gas, nitrous, or factitious air, among others, [4] is a chemical compound, an oxide of nitrogen with the formula N 2 O. At room temperature, it is a colourless non-flammable gas, and has a slightly sweet scent and taste. [4]
Nitrous oxide (N 2 O), commonly referred to as laughing gas, along with various street names, is an inert gas which can induce euphoria, dissociation, hallucinogenic states of mind, and relaxation when inhaled. [1] Nitrous oxide has no acute biochemical or cellular toxicity and is not metabolized in humans or other mammals.
Dr. Arash Motamed, an anesthesiologist at USC's Keck Hospital, said nitrous oxide has historically been used to help get people unconscious but recreational use of the gas can lead to health problems.
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) was an English polymath who discovered nitrous oxide, nitric oxide, ammonia, hydrogen chloride, and (along with Carl Wilhelm Scheele and Antoine Lavoisier) oxygen. Beginning in 1775, Priestley published his research in Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air , a six-volume work. [ 79 ]
It is for this reason that Entonox, a 50:50 gaseous mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen, is suitable for use by para-medical staff such as ambulance officers: it provides sufficient nitrous oxide for pain relief with sufficient oxygen to avoid hypoxia. [7] [8]
Many teens inhale nitrous oxide to feel its euphoric effects. "When enough of the drug is ingested, it can cause a short-lived high, numbness and a sense of joy or laughter," explains Mishra.
Tracheal tubes can be used to ensure the adequate exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide, to deliver oxygen in higher concentrations than found in air, or to administer other gases such as helium, [27] nitric oxide, [28] nitrous oxide, xenon, [29] or certain volatile anesthetic agents such as desflurane, isoflurane, or sevoflurane.