What are Whip Its?
With the hospitalization of Demi Moore last year from reportedly having “seizure-like” symptoms due to nitrous oxide; whip its have been making a comeback. Whip its, or nitrous oxide canisters can be bought at Wal-Mart or in any kitchen section as well as in head shops. Nitrous oxide could just be extracted for a Reddi-Whip can too. Most people use the nitrous oxide canisters to make whipped cream, people who want to party though, inhale them for a very brief but very euphoric high.
So what is nitrous oxide? (Better known as whip its)
Nitrous oxide is characterized as an inhalant drug, used by those who like to “huff” chemicals. This would be better known as inhalant abuse. What nitrous oxide or as it is called by those who abuse it “whip its” do is they give a quick high that is accompanied by dizziness, a lack of coordination, and slurred speech. Since the effect of whip its is very brief many users tend to inhale it again and again, and this increases the euphoric effects.
One of the other slang terms for whip its is hippie crack. Whip its can be sold in small individual canisters or by entire tanks. Whip its are legal to purchase although illegal in many states if you plan to use them as a recreational drug which is why whip its are regulated by the Food and Drug administration and not the Drug Enforcement Agency. Nitrous oxide or whip its as a drug comes in many forms of inhalants including solvents and gasoline.
Like most drugs of course, whip its are not good for you. Whip its can cause hearing loss, liver and kidney damage, limb spasms, central nervous system or brain damage, brain marrow damage, heart failure, and suffocation. There is even a syndrome associated with whip its known as the “sudden sniffing death” or put simply “sudden death”. Whip its also can cause side effects that are very similar to frostbite.
And who uses whip its?
Young people seem to be drawn to inhalants in general just because they are so easy to obtain and can be found around the house. Whip its fall into that because they are so widely available. In 2011, 719,000 people aged 12 or older reported using inhalants for the first time within the prior twelve months according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Most of those users were under the age of18 when they first tried whip its. The average age for first use of whip its is around 16. A lot of the times whip its are sold in balloons at rock concerts.
Dentists also use “whip its” or rather nitrous oxide and if you are familiar with nitrous oxide you probably know it as laughing gas if you have never done a whip it. Whip its though aren’t quite the same as what you get at the dentist’s office. At the dentist’s office the dentist carefully monitors the amount of oxygen mixed in with the nitrous to make sure it’s safe. Here is a fun fact though: many dental associations have been formed to make treatment programs for dentists who get addicted to their own nitrous oxide.
Whip its may seem like fun and they may seem especially safe because they are so easy to buy and get but the truth is whip its are really dangerous and can lead many people into an addiction they don’t know how to get out of.