What are the dangers of nitrous oxide, one of the most commonly used drugs by young people in the UK and other European countries

Doctors at an east London hospital say they see so many cases of laughing gas abuse that they are forced to create treatment guidelines to share with their colleagues in Britain.

Nitrous oxide, sold in small metal tubes, is one of the most commonly used drugs by 16 to 34 year olds in the UK and other European countries.

Intensive use can lead to a vitamin deficiency damage to the nerves of the spinal cord.

The Royal London Hospital team points out doctors need to be vigilant as they see a new case almost every week.

Damage to the nervous system

These patients arrive at the hospital with symptoms related to nerve damage: they cannot walkfalling over or experiencing tingling or loss of feeling on feet and hands.

Others suffer from bladder or bowel problems or incontinence.

That is an important detail few patients report having used nitrous oxide.

“We see young people: teenagers and people in their twenties,” says Alastair Noyce, a neurologist at Queen Mary University of London.

“What is surprising now is the severity (of the cases). We’ve seen this increase in about the last 12 months.

Noyce thinks this may be related to the use of larger gas bottles which can hold about 60 or 70 times more gas than the small containers that usually lie on the ground in streets or parks.

“If you’ve used it and develop symptoms, stop using the gas immediately and seek medical attention as soon as possible,” he says.

The drug can damage the nervous system by interfering with its functioning metabolism of vitamin B12. This damages a protective layer that covers nerves, such as those in the back of the spine.

Correcting vitamin B12 deficiency quickly with vitamin injections can prevent permanent damage.

The guidelines, endorsed by the Association of British Neurologists and prepared by experts from Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham and Queen Mary University, London, advise doctors what symptoms to watch for and how to treat them.

What are the risks of laughing gas?

“They are playing with their lives”

Emma Cain, who lost her son Jon after using a different kind of volatile gas called butane, wants to warn other young people about the dangers of inhaling substances.

Jon died of cardiac arrest at the age of 17 in 2011, immediately after inhaling this lighter gas.

“I’m just one person trying to stop people from doing it, and if that means stopping people on the street then I will,” Cain said in an interview with the BBC in October.

“I’ll tell them that it’s dangerousThey are playing with their lives.”

Kerry-Anne Donaldson, a 26-year-old Londoner, started using nitrous oxide canisters when she was 18, usually at parties.

The first time she ended up in a hospital, she was seriously ill, but continued to use the gas “for the first high I got from it”.

His legs, hands and feet gradually lost feeling, until last year he already did he could no longer walk.

“I was 24 and hadn’t used it since I was 23, but the damage was still there,” he says.

Donaldson says she can get up and move around in her own apartment, but she can’t walk down the street.

“My message is Don’t do it, it’s not worth it.”

“At least find out what damage it can do. I didn’t listen and hid what I was doing from my friends,” he says.

The Government of England and Wales is currently considering banning its use and sale. In January, the Netherlands in the first country in the world to declare its use illegal.

Authorities say the gas can still be used as an anesthetic for medical reasons and also in the food industry (to make whipped cream).