How Laughing Gas or Nitrous Oxide Works?
Laughing gas or nitrous oxide is used in the dentist's office to reduce patient anxiety and relieve pain. It's also a common recreational drug. Have you ever wondered how laughing gas works? Here's a look at how laughing gas reacts in the body and whether it's safe or not.
HOW LAUGHING GAS WORKS
Although the gas has been used for a long time, the exact mechanism of its action in the body is incompletely understood, in part because the various effects depend upon different reactions. In general, nitrous oxide moderates several ligand-gated ion channels. Specifically, the mechanisms for the effects are:
- Anxiolytic or Anti-Anxiety EffectStudies indicate the anti-anxiety effect from inhalation of laughing gas derives from increased activity of GABAA receptors. The GABAA receptor acts as the central nervous system's principal inhibitory neurotransmitter
- Painkiller or Analgesic EffectLaughing gas reduces the perception of pain by facilitating an interaction between the descending noradrenergic system and the endogenous opioid system. Nitrous oxide causes the release of endogenous opioids, but how this happens is unknown.
- Euphoria EffectNitrous produces euphoria by causing dopamine to be released, which stimulates the mesolimbic reward pathway in the brain. This contributes to the analgesic effect, too.
IS NITROUS OXIDE SAFE?
When you get laughing gas at the dentist's or doctor's office, it's very safe. A mask is used to first administer pure oxygen and then a mixture of oxygen and laughing gas. The effects on vision, hearing, manual dexterity, and mental performance are temporary. Nitrous oxide has both neurotoxic and neuroprotective effects, but limited exposure to the chemical tends not to cause a permanent effect, one way or the other.
The primary risks from laughing gas is from inhaling a compressed gas directly from its canister, which could cause severe lung damage or death. Without supplemental oxygen, inhaling nitrous oxide can cause hypoxia or oxygen deprivation effects, including lightheadedness, fainting, low blood pressure, and potentially a heart attack. These risks are comparable to those of inhaling helium gas.
Prolonged or repeated exposure to laughing gas can lead to a vitamin B deficiency, reproductive problems in pregnant women, and numbness. Because very little nitrous oxide is absorbed by the body, a person inhaling laughing gas breathes out most of it. This can lead to risks to medical personnel who routinely use the gas in their practice.
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