What Are Some Facts About Amyl & Butyl Nitrates?
- Amyl and butyl nitrates bear a strong chemical resemblance to nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas. The common form of the drugs is a flammable, highly volatile clear or yellow liquid. Known as "rush" and "poppers" in the United Kingdom, nitrates come in glass bottles that cost £2-5, or approximately $3.50-7.00 as of 2011. Most people who take amyl or butyl nitrates snort the drug, though others coat cigarettes in the liquid and consume it when inhaling the cigarette smoke. Drug safety website Urban 75 warns against lighting a nitrate-dipped cigarette, as the drugs are highly combustible.
- Nitrates induce intense but short-lived feelings of euphoria by relaxing muscles around blood vessels, causing blood to pump more quickly through the heart. This in turn sends higher quantities of oxygen-rich blood to the brain, creating a feeling known as a "rush of blood to the head." The drugs are purported to reduce functioning of the immune system in users for several days after use, leaving users more susceptible that usual to disease. Poppers dilate the blood vessels, increasing the risk of blood-borne diseases such as HIV.
- Amyl and butyl nitrates are most commonly associated with sex; the drug delays ejaculation and enhances feelings of sexual stimulation in users. Nitrates also relax the muscles of the vagina and anus. The drug also figures prominently into certain club scenes because, according to Urban 75, taking the substance induces a feeling "like you've been hit by a percussive thunderbolt."
Medically, amyl nitrate was used to treat angina, a condition in which limited blood flow through the heart induces severe pain, and cyanide poisoning. - Urban 75 warns that nitrates may induce debilitating headaches and impede decision-making skills. Those planning on having sex while taking nitrates should take precautionary measures such as putting on a condom before taking the drug. The drug takes effect immediately though the effect only lasts for a few minutes -- five at most.
Those with heart conditions, glaucoma, high blood pressure, anemia or a history of cerebral hemorrhaging, and pregnant women, should abstain from nitrate use.