Poppers and gay sex

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And they are legal, which makes them even scarier. However, because these chemicals are often used to enhance sexual pleasure—in conjunction with a process addiction and/or other mental health problems—they may have the potential to become behaviorally addictive.

Take Immediate Action with FHE Health

Regardless of what someone’s purpose for using poppers might be, the bare fact that they are using these dangerous chemicals should be cause for immediate concern and intervention.

Poppers aren’t necessarily all over the place, but they are still dangerous. If you’re going to mix them, against medical advice, we recommend halving the dosages of both at first to get a sense of their potential interactions. The high fades as quickly as it begins, typically lasting just a few minutes.

Common Effects:

  • Feelings of euphoria
  • Muscle relaxation
  • Increased sex drive
  • Increased sensual awareness
  • Heightened sense of confidence
  • Lowered inhibitions

Common Side Effects:

  • Dizziness and lightheadedness
  • Rapid heartbeat
  • Facial flushing
  • Headaches
  • Nausea
  • Vision problems (including sensitivity to light)
  • Impaired judgment 
  • Disorientation 

Health Risks:

While many people consider poppers to be safe, they carry a range of harmful side effects, including:

  • Rashes around the eyes, mouth, or nose
  • Vision loss due to vapor exposure (maculopathy)
  • Impaired judgment, which can lead to risky sexual behavior and associated dangers
  • Brain damage, particularly affecting learning and memory
  • A weakened immune system
  • Increased risk of cancers linked to viral infections
  • Methemoglobinemia, a potentially life-threatening blood disorder that reduces the ability of red blood cells to carry oxygen

Are Poppers Addictive?

Restrictions or not, though, it was too late. If this book is a plea for anything, it is for pleasure – for the time and space to dream about it, to plan for it, to experience it."

Poppers: Risks to Sobriety & Why They’re Popular in the LGBTQ Community

Poppers, also known as amyl nitrite, are a fast-acting inhalant that delivers a quick high.

Find out more about Bespoke Surgical, Dr. Evan Goldstein’s practice, here.

gay sex poppers
These drugs are sold in small bottles under brand names like “Ram,” “Thrust,” and “Rock Hard.” A nitrite chemicals dilate the blood vessels, causing a drop in blood pressure and a corresponding “rush” of warm feelings and dizziness— not unlike an alcohol high.

What Are Poppers, Are They Illegal, and How They’re Not What You Think

See more details about Poppers, or Alkyl Nitrites, in our new blog.

It is widely known that huffing is really bad for you. Goldstein emphasizes that it’s important to do your own research into what you’re putting into your body, and to know your own body’s limitations before incorporating poppers (or any other substances) into your sexual routine.

Did you have your poppers questions answered?

At the same time, somewhat paradoxically, a heart that is under the influence of poppers will speed up. 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 was sold as tape cleaner, VHS cleaner, leather cleaner.

It's time we start talking about it.

Experts say we're not paying enough attention.

The history of poppers

Amyl nitrite was first synthesized more than 150 years ago.

poppers and gay sex

A few other chemists over the next couple of decades played around with it and tested it, discovering it helps blood flow more easily through the body. Some argue that poppers don’t trigger cravings or destructive behaviors, while others believe their mood-altering effects are incompatible with true sobriety.

For example, poppers can lower inhibitions and trigger reminders of past drug use, especially for those who have used them with stimulants like meth.

Gay men knew what they wanted and so did manufacturers, who started to make and sell it as a product outside of the pharmacy system and market it to gay men with muscular, macho, homoerotic imagery.

"It seems to me that the marketing of poppers is really connected to the emergence of male homosexuality as a visible cultural trend as well as a marketable one," Bronski says.

Disco fever took over and so did poppers; at the end of the night in Studio 54 in New York, poppers vials littered the floor.

The nation’s Therapeutic Goods Administration motioned to categorize them in the same drug schedule as cocaine and heroin, though any final decision was put on hold following public consultation.

In many countries, it’s illegal to sell poppers for personal consumption. Another reason could very well be to self-medicate or cope with one of the following mental health problems, according to other research:

  • Mood disorders
  • Anxiety disorders, especially social phobia
  • Childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
  • Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

It’s also not uncommon for one of the above disorders to co-occur with sex addiction.

Seeking Help and Treatment Options

If you suspect that you or a loved one is using poppers because of a sex addiction and/or one of the above mental health conditions, we want you to know that there is help— and that with dual diagnosis and medically integrated treatment, recovery is possible.

Other Names for Poppers

  • Rush
  • Bold
  • Jungle Juice
  • Liquid Gold
  • Purple Haze
  • Buzz
  • Snappers
  • Locker Room

Poppers Effects and Health Risks

Poppers take effect rapidly, usually within seconds of inhaling the vapors.

Poppers, or amyl nitrite, are liquid chemical compounds that produce an instant high when the vapors are inhaled.

Is there a connection?

A: Research suggests there can be a strong connection. However, frequent users may develop a tolerance, causing them to use poppers more frequently or in higher doses to achieve the same effects.

Poppers and Risks to Sobriety

While poppers aren’t addictive in the traditional sense, they can still pose a risk to sobriety.

Studies show a correlation between poppers use and conditions like anxiety disorders, mood disorders, ADHD, or Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. That someone may be using poppers, despite the drugs’ harmful effects, because they have a sex addiction. Because they are so closely linked with enhancing sex, some people develop a behavioral or psychological addiction where they feel they must use them to have sex or achieve pleasure.

Q: I know they can be dangerous, but if they’re sold openly, are they really illegal?

A: While the original chemical, Amyl Nitrite, is regulated, many of the newer chemicals (like butyl or isopropyl nitrite) are often sold legally in the U.S.

as “nail polish remover,” “room deodorizer,” or “video head cleaner” to bypass restrictions.