TOXICITY

TOXICITY

Only amyl nitrite is specifically manufactured and packaged for legiti­mate medical use in humans. Unless a product is approved by the FDA, it should be considered an industrial chemical not manufactured for human consumption, because even if it is supposed to be pure, it may contain contaminants that are harmful.

Compared to many drugs, amyl nitrite has less toxicity as long as it is inhaled as intended. Of course, there is always the possibility that the dila­tion of the blood vessels will cause someone with blood circulation prob­lems to have a bad experience. As with all drugs, check with your physician

before taking it.

However, there is a major toxicity problem with nitrites if they are swallowed rather than inhaled. When they are ingested, nitrites can cause major medical problems by interfering with the ability of the blood to transport oxygen. Blood carries oxygen to the tissues by way of the red blood cells, which contain hemoglobin to bind the oxygen and then release it to the cells of the body If the hemoglobin cannot bind oxygen, then a person will die rapidly because the tissues will be suffocated. This is the way that cyanide (as used in Nazi gas chambers) works, although nitrites, when ingested, interact a little differently with hemoglobin than cyanide does.

This danger from nitrites is Illustrated by an unfortunate incident that occurred in New Jersey in 1992. On October 20 of that year, forty children in an elementary school visited the school nurse because their lips and hands were turning blue, they were vomiting, and they had headaches after lunch. They had a hemoglobin disorder produced by nitrite poisoning. This was not caused by drug abuse but by something much more surprising. The boiler in their school was used to heat the water, and somehow the boiler fluid, which contained a lot of nitrites, was mixed with the hot water used for preparing their soup. Fortunately, the kids received medical care and recovered completely.

TOLERANCE AND WITHDRAWAL

Frequent and repeated use of nitrites and nitrates can produce tolerance and symptoms upon withdrawal. Workers in the explosives industry are a case in point. When a worker first goes on the job and is exposed to nitro­glycerin in his environment, he might experience headaches, weakness, and dizziness. After a few days, these symptoms disappear as tolerance develops. However, when he stops working on the weekend, he might suf­fer headaches and other symptoms due to withdrawal. A few workers have been found to have cardiac and circulatory problems upon with­drawal, and these were treated by giving them nitroglycerin. Since the advent of the nitroglycerin patch for continuous administration of the drug to heart patients, many people have been continuously exposed to nitroglycerin and have developed tolerance to it. The medical profession has become quite concerned because tolerance reduces the effectiveness of the compound, and withdrawal can produce cardiac problems.