Jonathan Brendan The most common way to consume nitrous oxide is via...

March 3, 2023 at 9:13 PM  ·  Comment — Archer T. Ships replied to Brendan Finegan's comment.  ·  View on Facebook  ·  Markdown source

Jonathan Brendan The most common way to consume nitrous oxide is via either a whipped cream dispensers or balloons filled with nitrous oxide aka whippets (both typically filled from whipped cream chargers that contain ~8 grams of nitrous oxide). If using a whipped cream charger, the user will breathe out as much possible, inhale as much nitrous as they can, then hold the nitrous in their lungs until they can't hold it any longer. If using a balloon, they will do the same, except rebreathe into the balloon. While either holding their breath or rebreathing into a balloon, CO2 builds up in the user's lungs. The increasing CO2 concentration eventually triggers a sense of "air hunger". Most people can only hold their breath for under a minute before "air hunger" causes them to seek fresh air again. (Sometimes people pass out due to the effects of nitrous. But if they do, they drop the balloon/dispenser, and start breathing fresh air again.) In normal, healthy people, this is isn't long enough to cause brain damage. That's because your tissues, blood, and lungs contain enough residual oxygen to support your brain function. (If they didn't, you would pass out during strenuous exercise or while swimming underwater.) So, while the chargers themselves contain no supplemental oxygen, during average use, most people still get enough oxygen to support healthy brain function. If you're worried about it, buy a pulse oximeter, and measure oxygen saturation rates while doing nitrous. If your oxygen saturation drops below around 95%, stop using. However, some people consume nitrous from large tanks via anesthesia masks. If they don't also use supplemental oxygen (as they do in a medical setting), the nitrous gas will take away the CO2, but not replenish the oxygen. They will therefore feel no "air hunger", and might not remove the mask before they pass out. If the mask isn't removed they will soon die of asphyxiation.