‘Hippy crack’ users are scarred for life by frostbite, surgeons revealed today.
British burn specialists have shared shocking images of the injuries they’ve sustained over the years, warning that nitrous oxide cans can easily cause the little-known complication.
The drug, also called ‘laughing gas’ or ‘nos’, is loved by teenagers. Buses containing it pollute UK streets and parks.
Users spray the gas from these silver canisters into balloons or inhale it directly from larger dispensers to experience a temporary sense of relaxation and euphoria.
But nitrous oxide – which is stored as a liquid – undergoes rapid cooling to sub-zero temperatures, as low as -88.5C (-127.3F) when it initially turns into a gas.
This youngster suffered frostbite on his thigh from holding a nos dispenser between his legs while filling balloons with the gas to inhale
Another suffered serious hand injuries from the sub-zero temperatures the gas radiates from his storage container
As some have learned, this can cause some unsuspecting victims to get frostbite.
Some have had the hippie crack dispensers hold their legs while filling balloons, the super-cold jerry can leaving excruciating burns. Others have been injured with the buses in their hands.
Teens have even frozen on their mouths after inhaling straight from the cans.
Surgeons at the St. Andrew’s Center for Plastic Surgery and Burns, part of Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, described the injuries suffered by 16 patients for frostbite injuries resulting from the use of hippie crack in 2022.
The patients, the youngest of whom was 15, had a mean age of 22 years. Seven were male, the rest female.
Write in the Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgerythey said 11 of the patients suffered injuries from holding a nitrous oxide canister between their legs.
Eight of them suffered frostbite burns on both sides of their inner thighs.
The report’s lead author, surgeon Jacky Chen, said some injuries took nearly 100 days to heal.
And he added that the frostbite injuries often left young people scarred for life.
“Surgical treatment is the preferred option for these injuries, but this injury often results in unsightly scarring for these young patients,” he said.
Four other patients suffered frostbite on their hands from the use of nitrous oxide, while one damaged the skin of their mouths.
The authors added that half of the patients delayed seeking help from an emergency room for their frostbite by five days or more, with the longest wait being 22 days.
This is despite the fact that some of them suffered from necrosis, where tissue dies.
The authors added that there was a lack of awareness about the potential of hippie crack freezing.
Mr Chen said: ‘Another possible reason for a delayed presentation is a lack of publicly available safety information on the risk of frostbite injury from nitrous oxide abuse.
‘First aid is usually not sufficient immediately after an injury because of poor initial recognition.
Warming the frozen areas with a bath of warm water 37C (98.6F) to 39C (102.2F) for 30 minutes is recommended. This information is not generally available on drug information sites.”
Mr Chen also said there were signs that such injuries were on the rise.
“In recent years there has been a sharp increase in referrals to our frostbite injury unit, with a clear pattern of injuries secondary to the misuse of inhaled nitrous oxide (laughing gas) from compressed metal gas cylinders,” he said.
His team called for public health interventions to warn people about possible frostbite from nitrous oxide use, as well as larger studies in other burn departments.
Doctors are increasingly concerned about the health consequences of the use of laughing gas.
Heavy and regular recreational use of the substance, which is legitimately used in the food industry and as an anesthetic, can lead to dizziness, weakness in the legs and impaired memory.
About 40 percent of users said they experienced side effects such as anemia, cognitive impairment and chronic headaches.
It can even cause users to pass out or suffocate from a lack of oxygen in the brain if they inhale highly concentrated forms of the gas.
In the Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery, they wrote that 11 of the patients suffered injuries from holding a nitrous oxide canister between their legs
Nitrous oxide, also known as hippie crack or nos, is sold in distinctive silver canisters that are disposed of in streets and parks in some parts of the UK.
Here, young revelers suck balloons at a music festival, a common way people inhale laughing gas
However, data from the Office for National Statistics shows that only 3.9 per cent of 16 to 24 year olds in England have tried nitrous oxide at least once until June. It was less than half of the 8.7 percent who said they had the drug – nicknamed ‘hippy crack’ – the year before and the lowest figure on record
The substance can cause memory loss, spasms of limbs, incontinence and a weakened immune system.
Doctors have also previously warned that it affects several brain and spinal cord networks. Vitamin B12 depletion, caused by nitrous oxide, can cause neurological problems, including paralysis.
Part of the problem is that it’s easily accessible through places like convenience stores and on social media – where sellers are directly targeting their audience of 16-24 year olds.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recently promised action against the use of hippie crack as part of a series of measures to tackle anti-social behaviour.
Anyone caught could face “potential prison terms” and “unlimited fines for unlawful supply and possession.”
The measures, which take effect before the end of the year, come despite the conclusion of the government’s independent Advisory Council on Drug Abuse (ACMD) that it would be disproportionate to introduce an outright ban.
Independent experts have also criticized the move, arguing it could lead teens to try harder, more dangerous drugs.
However, there are signs that the laughing gas craze in Britain is dying out naturally.
A report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that just 3.9 per cent of 16 to 24 year olds in England used nitrous oxide at least once last year.
It was less than half of the 8.7 percent who said they had the drug – nicknamed “hippy crack” – the year before and the lowest figure on record.