• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
The Dangerous Effects Inhaling Laughing Gas Balloons Can Have On Your Body

Home> News

Updated 17:22 21 Jun 2022 GMT+1Published 14:17 21 Jun 2022 GMT+1

The Dangerous Effects Inhaling Laughing Gas Balloons Can Have On Your Body

It's festival season and plenty of people will be inhaling laughing gas, otherwise known as nitrous oxide.

Joe Harker

Joe Harker

Featured Image Credit: Alamy

Topics: Drugs, Festivals

Joe Harker
Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

X

@MrJoeHarker

Advert

Advert

Advert

It's festival season, which means thousands of Brits will be pitching tents in muddy fields and hoping it doesn't rain on them while they enjoy performances from some of the biggest artists in the world.

It also means a lot of those festival goers will be getting their hands on those little metal canisters you can see discarded everywhere from city streets to country lanes.

What's in the canisters is laughing gas – also known as nitrous oxide – and it has quickly become one of the most popular drugs in the country among younger generations.

The gas is usually released from the canisters into balloons, where it then gets inhaled to produce a feeling of being high.

Advert

However, inhaling laughing gas has dangerous effects on your body and can even kill you.

Laughing gas is stored in those little metal canisters you can find littered everywhere.
Alamy

According to Frank, short term effects beyond the initial high after inhaling the gas can occur especially if a person inhales too quickly or takes too much of it.

Laughing gas can make you feel tired, dizzy or sick, while it can also give you a headache or leave your brain feeling scrambled for a bit, which can lead to stupid decision making which puts you in harm's way.

Long term effects for regular users include anaemia and a deficiency of vitamin B12, which can lead to nerve damage and cause difficulty walking.

Advert

It can also stop your white blood cells from forming properly, meaning your immune system will get weaker and leave you much more vulnerable to disease.

Nitrous oxide is also a very dangerous drug to mix with alcohol as the impaired decision making that comes with both can be a recipe for disaster.

The greatest risks come from inhaling nitrous oxide right out of the canister, especially in an enclosed space, and taking too much can make you fall unconscious or even die from suffocation.

The high pressure burst of gas right out of the canister can cause your throat muscles to spasm and stop you breathing.

Festivals across the UK will be littered with the leftover laughing gas cannisters.
Alamy

Advert

According to the Office for National Statistics, laughing gas is now the second-most popular drug among 16 to 24-year-olds behind cannabis.

A 16-year-old nearly died at this year's Manchester Parklife festival after taking laughing gas which ruptured his lung.

Alex Littler was rushed to hospital after complaining that his chest felt like 'popping bubble wrap', with doctors telling him he was lucky to be alive.

Beyond the health risks posed to your body by laughing gas, the environmental impact it can have is also severe.

Cleanup teams will be tasked with the painstaking job of to recovering thousands of metal canisters from the aftermath of festivals.

Advert

Meanwhile, local wildlife can get sick or die from swallowing the discarded balloons the gas is inhaled from.

If you want friendly, confidential advice about drugs, you can talk to FRANK. You can call 0300 123 6600, text 82111 or contact through their website 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, or livechat from 2pm-6pm any day of the week 

  • Laughing gas could be banned after becoming second most common drug for young people
  • Minute-by-minute guide of what cannabis does to your body

Choose your content:

an hour ago
2 hours ago
  • an hour ago

    Teacher made eerie warning about Bryan Kohberger weeks before quadruple murder of students

    The revelation was made in a newly surfaced police report

    News
  • an hour ago

    Missing woman from US discovered alive thousands of miles away after joining tribe in Scottish woodland

    The American woman was found to be a handmaiden in a three-person tribe

    News
  • 2 hours ago

    Drake and Adin Ross to cover funeral costs after streamer dies on live stream following 'ten days and nights of torture'

    French police are currently investigating the death of streamer Raphaël Graven, aka Jean Pormanove

    News
  • 2 hours ago

    Ominous 'black moon' sparks fears as rare phenomenon linked to apocalyptic prophecy set to appear this week

    People are fearing this month's 'black moon' due to a biblical prophecy

    News