Laughing gas misuse a 'growing concern' as doctors diagnose 18 people with neurological disorder

One young person said they had consumed 14 canisters a day for three weeks, while another had ‘binged’ six 580g canisters prior to admission. File photo

Doctors at Tallaght University Hospital diagnosed 18 young people with a neurological disorder caused by inhaling nitrous oxide, or ‘laughing gas’, during a recent 20-month period.

The patients attended the hospital’s emergency department suffering from myeloneuropathy, a condition caused by damage to both the spinal cord and peripheral nerves.

All 18 — the youngest of whom was just 16 years of age — reported recent use of inhaled nitrous oxide, which is a gas used as an anaesthetic in hospitals and dental surgeries.

In a newly published study, doctors at the hospital said the abuse of laughing gas was “rapidly becoming ubiquitous” among young adult drug users in urban areas, describing the trend as a “growing public health concern”.

They noted that many of the patients were using larger 580g or 640g canisters of nitrous oxide, rather than 8g ‘whippets’ that had originally been popular in the recreational setting.

Some of those admitted to the hospital reported using laughing gas for years, while others told doctors that it was their first time. 

The median length of stay at Tallaght University Hospital for the 18 patients was eight days, but discharge was delayed in some cases where patients required intensive rehabilitation due to 'significant functional disability'. File photo: Sasko Lazarov / RollingNews.ie

One said they had consumed 14 canisters a day for three weeks, while another had ‘binged’ six 580g canisters prior to admission.

Nearly all of the patients complained of a numb or tingling sensation on the skin, while 13 reported limb weakness, and eight were observed to have gait impairment.

The median length of hospital stay for the 18 patients was eight days, but discharge was delayed in some cases where patients required intensive rehabilitation due to “significant functional disability”.

Nitrous oxide can cause inactivation of vitamin B12 in the body, which in turn causes damage or loss of the protective layer around nerve fibres in the dorsal spinal column. Three of the patients had taken multivitamins or injected vitamin B12 in a bid to prevent this from happening.

All of the 18 patients who presented with these symptoms between October 2022 and July 2024 were treated with a high dose of vitamin B12 replacement, which the doctors said prevented life-changing disability in a cohort of previously healthy individuals.

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“From a public health perspective, this case series demonstrates that nitrous oxide abuse remains a persistent source of concern for physicians and public health bodies in Ireland, despite repeated efforts at public education,” they wrote.

The authors of the study, published in the Irish Journal of Medical Science, said nitrous oxide poses a challenge from a legislative perspective, as it is used without restriction in the catering industry and can be imported for this purpose.