We believe that everyone has a personal responsibility to educate themselves and make choices regarding their physical and sexual health. This information is provided to help you better educate yourself about how poppers -- aromas and video head cleaners -- may affect you and your health. We have summarized this from a document provided the Public Health Department of Seattle and King County.
You are encouraged to read the entire document here (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader).
Although poppers are not labeled or sold for internal use, they are frequently used as inhalants during sex and other activities. Your safest choice is
not to use poppers. If you do use them,
do not use them with ED drugs, such as Viagra, nor with "party drugs."
Pace yourself and have a strategy in mind beforehand to use them carefully.
Poppers are not physically addictive, but some who use them become psychologically dependent on them to have and enjoy sex. The health impacts of moderate use can include severe headache. throat irritation, nose bleed, nausea, faintness, reduced breathing and heart rate, burns or blistering. Chronic use can lead to weight loss, mouth or nasal sores, impaired smell, lung damage, anemia, and impaired ability to think. Poppers should not be used by people with glaucoma.
Although overdoses are rare, overuse can lower blood pressure and cause unconsciousness or heart attack, especially if used in combination with ED (erectile dysfunction) drugs. Together, poppers and ED drugs can cause a severe drop in blood pressure and heart failure. Several deaths have occurred from using poppers together with Viagra. Swallowing poppers may be lethal.
Some research has shown that poppers may weaken the immune system, but the evidence is inconclusive. Poppers do not cause KS (Kaposi's Sarcoma) or any other form of cancer, but may be linked to faster growth of cancer cells. Poppers do not affect HIV viral replication nor do they interact with HIV anti-retroviral medications.
Although poppers do not directly cause HIV, there is an independent association between use of poppers and HIV infection. For some users, poppers may lower sexual inhibition, impair judgement, or make it more difficult to feel small tears in the anal lining during sex.
If you use poppers, educate yourself and use them with care.
