In Lille, a team from the University Hospital is working to combat the scourge of “laughing gas”, which can have serious consequences for health. This gas, originally used in cooking and medicine, is now common among young people, who use it not only in the evening because of its euphoric properties. But this is not without risk …
“Poisoning is poorly recognised,” notes Guillaume Grzych. “There are not necessarily typical signs, but there can be tingling, loss of balance and, in the worst cases, irreversible paralysis. More recently, work has been done on a possible link with venous thrombosis.” The problem is that “little is known about the molecular mechanisms of nitrous oxide”. The result is that “one is likely to overlook many diagnoses” of nitrous oxide poisoning. (…)
According to Prof. Grzych, the consumption of “laughing gas” has changed. Today you hardly see the small tin cans anymore, instead they are replaced by bottles with particularly fancy packaging. “We almost don’t have young people consuming from the cans anymore, now it’s just the bottle. On some bottles you now find ‘vegan’ or ‘hallal’ logos. The industry is pushing this misappropriated consumption with aggressive marketing!” the scientist complains.