playing safe.

Though lessons from a popperbator.

by Daniel Goon

Edits by BC and NW (8-Feb-2022)

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This article does not constitute medical advice by any means, it just reflects my personal experience with poppers, if you have any symptoms, please go to your doctor.

Take a deep…huff, really deep. But wait, are you sure that you’re huffing something that’s safe?

I’ve always liked poppers, I consider myself a deep huffer, and I also like to coach. But one day in an IRL session with four bottles of poppers I almost passed out. After taking some air, drinking water and eating a snack I was feeling better. A couple of hours later, of course the throbbing headache started, but that wasn’t the only thing.

Every time I blinked I saw spots of bright lights in my right eye. I thought it was temporary but as days went by, the spots didn’t disappear. So I panicked. I knew that poppers might cause blindness but I thought it was just an exaggeration.

Then it happened to me. I’m a scientist, a chemist and a neuroscientist, so before going to the doctor I started to investigate. I read a lot of non-scientific articles just like this one, in which people reported the same thing that happened to me. I soon discovered the scientific term for this ‘poppers maculopathy’.

Let’s Talk About

The story of poppers starts with amyl nitrite, usually a mix of pentyl nitrite isomers. A substance first used as an angina therapy in the nineteenth century. The liquid drug was sold in sealed glass ampoules that were crushed to release the therapeutic vapor, creating the eponymous ‘pop’. Now poppers are used to treat cyanide poisoning – who knew!

If you’re reading this you probably know that poppers are a volatile compound. Poppers belong to the alkyl nitrite family, I’m not going bore you with chemical details. When inhaled it causes a widening (opening) of blood vessels, that’s why you turn red when you huff poppers. This widening of the blood vessels causes relaxation of the involuntary smooth muscles, another reasons poppers can be good for anal sex.

The 8 Popper Factors

Now, poppers are used as a recreational drug (see our references), these effects are dependent on many factors such as:

Size, weight and general health of the user;
Whether the person is a frequent user;
If other drugs have been taken
The quantity taken
The environment, i.e. where the drug is taken;
The amount of fresh air inhaled at when huffing;
The amount of physical activity before and after inhalation; and
The ‘brand’ of poppers (let’s say for now)

😈 The short-term effects caused by poppers usually last between three to five minutes. Apparently, there are no long term effects, but this also depends on the previously mentioned factors. Here comes the most important part, which affected me a long time ago. There’s a rare risk of maculopathy, which is loss of vision, that is mostly associated with isopropyl nitrite.

Poppers Maculopathy & Potential Loss Of Vision

When I found out that this might be the cause of my loss of vision, I immediately looked for more information. There are many potential symptoms of this condition, described is mild to moderate, including:

Blurred vision;
Metamorphopsia – a type of distorted vision in which a grid of straight lines appears wavy and parts of the grid may appear blank;
Photopsia, the presence of perceived flashes of light in the field of vision; and
Fluctuating vision.

👁️Retina damage

It turns out that poppers (the iso alkyl kind) cause the disruption of a part of the retina called fovea. It is not yet known whether the retinal damage is permanent, although several cases have had long-term reduction in vision despite cessation of use.

⚡Maculopathy

In an article in 2017, by Davis et.al, using data by The Global Drug Survey (‘GDS’), the majority of participants that used poppers along their lifetime reported symptoms similar to those described by patients with confirmed poppers maculopathy. Participants provided mixed response when questioned about the progression of their symptoms. Some patients stopping using poppers altogether while others continued, and some even experienced an improvement of symptoms, while others had ongoing symptoms (see references).

Popper Science

Poppers come in a lot of variations of this alkyl nitrite family, but the most prone to cause this vision affection are the iso-n-alkyl nitrite poppers. The best ones to use are the ones that have pentyl-nitrite, but it’s not clear why this is. The difference between one and the other are the chemical structure and the number of carbon atoms in the molecule. These small differences might have different short and long-term effects.

After I read all this I stopped using poppers for a while, I was a heavy user and I took a long break. Eventually the symptoms disappeared, and I got my vision again, as it was before. I still use poppers, probably as much as I used before and thankfully I’ve never had a long-term issue again.

Being A Safe Popper Bator

So, as with any drug, there’s no safe dose. The use of any drug always carries some risk. It is as safe to use poppers as it is safe to use any drug.

Choose poppers that contain Pentyl nitrite and no other substance. Amyl nitrite, these contain pentyl nitrite and other isomers of this same compound. It’s hard to say what are the percentages of those other isomers.
Avoid poppers that contain Isopropyl nitrite, these are the ones that cause vision problems. There’s no evidence about the long-term effects of isobutyl nitrite, but considering that the molecular structure is kind of similar to isopropyl nitrite, I personally avoid it too.
While you’re using poppers Drink plenty of water. Eat something and get some air every now and then Do it preferably in a ventilated room.
Throw poppers out monthly Once it has been opened for more than one month, throw them away, even if it’s half full. Why? Pentyl nitrite can decompose in residues that are more dangerous than the original compound. Refrigerated poppers has a higher dose strength, as heat will makes it more volatile. Keeping poppers in the fridge, can speed up the cycle of decay to unsafe substance, through freeze and unfreeze process.
Never mix poppers with erectile dysfunction medications. Like Viagra or Cialis or other blood pressure pills! There’s a high risk that you’ll lose consciousness due to a sudden and extreme drop in blood pressure. Using amyl nitrite and amphetamines increase strain on the heart, placing your whole body under extra stress. Man, just don’t mix drugs!

Daniel Goon’s recommendations

Here’s a list of brands of poppers that have pentyl-nitrite, but I usually don’t look at the brand, I look for the composition.

References:

* Illustration by Sidhant Gandhi, originally found here.

* This article was initially posted on the original Bromance Club website in 2022.