What do gay men sniff
Poppers
What's the Score?
Poppers are also known as: amyl/butyl/isobutyl nitrite, amyl (especially in Australia, where it's promounced 'ammul'), aromas and by brand names fancy Liquid Gold, Rush, etc. They're often (but wrongly) called 'nitrates', which is a similar, but unlike chemical.
Poppers are a liquid made from chemicals from the alkyl nitrite family. The name comes from the days when they came in glass capsules that popped when broken open.
Sex on Poppers
Poppers can construct you feel horny, decrease your inhibitions and create orgasms feel stronger. Because they relax the sphincter (the muscle in the arse hole) poppers can make it easier to be fucked or fisted. They can cause a man to lose his hard-on too.
Research shows poppers might play an important role in HIV being passed on. The reasons could be:
- poppers can lower inhibitions, making unsafe sex more likely
- there's a bigger chance of the arse bleeding (poppers expand blood vessels inside the arse)
- and/or poppers might make the immune system weaker for a short time, so that people are more open to infection.
It's thought the biggest uncertainty of HIV being transfer
Poppers: What Do They Actually Do?
Poppers are liquid substances people sometimes inhale to experience euphoria, relaxation, or enhance sex. They bring about a rapid dip in blood pressure when inhaled. They may also own unpleasant side effects.
Poppers were previously sold in glass vials that made a popping noise when crushed, hence the name.
They belong to a class of chemicals called amyl nitrites, which were once used to manage heart-related symptoms, including angina, or chest pain. While this kind of medical utilize still happens, it’s not common.
Today, you usually find poppers in petty plastic bottles. In the United States, poppers aren’t illegal, but selling them for nonprescribed consumption is illegal. As a finding, many shops and online retailers market poppers as:
- solvents
- leather cleaner
- nail polish remover
- deodorizers
- air fresheners
- liquid incense
Read on for a closer look at the effects of poppers and whether they’re safe to use.
Poppers are vasodilators, which means they widen blood vessels. When inhaled, they cause a rapid dip in blood pressure that can result in an immediate but short-lived rush of euphoria and relaxation. These effects can
What is ‘jungle juice’ and is it dangerous?
“I’ve seen and known people utilize JJ’s (Jungle Juice, I think it’s a type of popper which was a big gay drug, that’s all I perceive about it). I was just wondering what’s the deal with them. We haven’t received much drug ed on them as other drugs. I don’t know if it’s because it isn’t as unsafe or it’s just more common due to us not being as educated on them.”
‘Jungle Juice’ is one of the mark or product names for a group of drugs known as ‘nitrites’. You’re correct when you said it was a type of ‘popper’, as that was the street word used for these drugs in the past. That term is still used by some but younger users are far more likely to use the product name now – whether that be ‘Jungle Juice’, ‘Rush’ or whatever. In the past the most widely used nitrite was ‘amyl’, but most of the products present today belong to the alkyl nitrite family.
The drug comes as a liquid with users inhaling the vapour from a tiny bottle. It has a unique smell, with some products havin
Is alkyl nitrite (poppers) safe?
People typically apply poppers for a pleasurable feeling of intoxication or euphoria, but some locate the experience unpleasant and disorientating.
Poppers primarily act as vasodilators, which means that they expand blood vessels. Having dilated blood vessels can cause:
- a sudden fall in blood pressure
- dizziness
- an increased heart rate
- lightheadedness
- warm sensations throughout the body
If blood pressure drops too deep (in pitch), it may bring about fainting or a loss of consciousness.
Poppers also relax the muscles around the anus. Some people report that using poppers enhances their pleasure from anal sex. However, the drug can also reduce the ability to get an erection.
Poppers may lead to other unwanted effects, such as:
- Headaches: Because poppers cause blood vessels in the brain to widen, headaches can fallout. They can vary in intensity and may persist after the euphoric effects of the drug wear off.
- Respiratory reactions: Inhaling strong chemicals, such as poppers, can affect breathing and other functions of the respiratory tract, leading to sinus problems and wheezing.
- Allergic reactions: Scented poppers can produce problems for pe
The twisty, titillating, controversial history of queer sex drug poppers
You'll recognize it if you smell it. "Nail polish remover with a hint of permanent marker." "Photo chemicals." "It's hard to explain the smell, but I know I hate it."
These Reddit users – of the subreddit "Ask Gay Men" – are talking about poppers, alkyl nitrite inhalants that many same-sex attracted men sniff from little bottles in order to experience euphoric on the dance floor and/or loosen up before anal sex. They may "hate" the smell, but that isn't stopping them, either.
"It's just a momentary high love that's like a minute- or two long, every day you sniff," says Adam Zmith, creator of "Deep Sniff: A History of Poppers and Homosexual Futures."
Poppers as a gay sex drug dates back to the 1960s in the U.S. People joke that you can smell the poppers "through the screen" when perusing social media footage of gay men jiving, gyrating. Troye Sivan's song "Rush," for example, shares a name with a poppers brand.
But that euphoric, sexual feeling – which comes from sniffing chemical compounds called nitrites – isn't always so euphoric or sexual. It can be unsafe in excess (though many users don't realize it or care – or both).
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