Nitrous Oxide 329health care workers routinely exposed to minuscule amounts of nitrous oxide;
such damage might have a potential for causing cancer.
Pregnancy.Fertility is lower in female rats exposed to nitrous oxide than in
rats having no exposure. Lower fertility has also been observed among female
health care workers with occupational exposure to the gas, and reduced fer-
tility is also reported for males. Offspring of male mice exposed to nitrous
oxide have weighed less than normal and have not matured as fast as normal.
Birth defects resulted from an experiment exposing pregnant rats to the gas
for 24 hours. When given to pregnant women during childbirth the drug
builds up in the fetal blood and brain; one authority recommends adminis-
tering oxygen to any newborn whose mother received nitrous oxide while
giving birth. As the twenty-first century began researchers reported that the
gas might cause permanent fetal and newborn brain damage, a finding in
contrast to previous understanding of the drug. Occupational exposure to ni-
trous oxide is associated with smaller infants and lower birth weight and may
increase likelihood of spontaneous abortion. Pregnant and breast-feeding
health workers are advised to avoid rooms where nitrous oxide residues may
contaminate the air. Sperm abnormalities and lower fertility have been noted
in male rats exposed to nitrous oxide. Wives of men exposed to the gas have
shown a higher spontaneous abortion rate, compared to wives of men with
no exposure. The compound is not detected in milk of nursing mothers.
Additional information.“Nitrous acid” is an unstablenitritesubstance. The
nickname “nitrous acid” is sometimes used for nitrous oxide, but they are
different substances.
Additional scientific information may be found in:
Block, R.I., et al. “Psychedelic Effects of a Subanesthetic Concentration of Nitrous Ox-
ide.”Anesthesia Progress37 (1990): 271–76.
Danto, B.L. “A Bag Full of Laughs.”American Journal of Psychiatry121 (1964): 612–13.
Dohrn, C.S., et al. “Subjective and Psychomotor Effects of Nitrous Oxide in Healthy
Volunteers.”Behavioural Pharmacology3 (1992): 19–30.
Linden, C.H. “Volatile Substances of Abuse.”Emergency Medicine Clinics of North Amer-
ica8 (1990): 559–78.
Temple, W.A., D.M. Beasley, and D.J. Baker. “Nitrous Oxide Abuse from Whipped
Cream Dispenser Chargers.”New Zealand Medical Journal110 (1997): 322–23.
Yagiela, J.A. “Health Hazards and Nitrous Oxide: A Time for Reappraisal.”Anesthesia
Progress38 (1991): 1–11.
Zacny, J.P., et al. “Examining the Subjective, Psychomotor and Reinforcing Effects of
Nitrous Oxide in Healthy Volunteers: A Dose-Response Analysis.”Behavioural
Pharmacology7 (1996): 194–99.