Apparently there are places in the world you can get hooked up to 100% oxygen for some hippie health benefit. Uh, isn’t pure oxygen a little harsh on the lungs? Don’t regular users develop health problems? And if so, why isn’t anyone doing anything about it?
The FDA cautions against them, but only if you have health problems, are under chemo-therapy, or intend to use naked flames while partaking, for example. Apparently, the oxygen is “flavoured”.
Like this place Looks more like a yuppie thing.
In my local hospital oxygen is piped to every bed-side (you just grab a mask off a hook and turn on a tap) and they give it to pretty sick people so I can’t see it being dangerous to someone healthy – unless they try to smoke at the same time, that could be interesting.
Early astronauts breathed pure oxygen, and of course mountaineers use it (and they’re probably not fussy about the flavour).
Theo2 lounge in Breckenridge Colorado. Elevation 9500 feet
Well obviously, the decision is a lot easier when it’s pure oxygen or death.
I remember reading that it causes lung damage though. Given its strength as an, uh, oxidising agent, I wouldn’t be too surprised. Anyone care to confirm or disprove?
The o2 used by medical patients and pilots is diluted with air. Either by a mixing regulator, or limiting the delivery rate to well below the aspiration rate.
Pilots will use 100% O2 above 35,000’ or so. (I forget the exact height) the old stuff had a dial calibrated in altitude, the newer stuff is automatically controlled.
I’ve “huffed” O2 as a hangover remedy. Seemed to help, but the experiment was in no way controlled against placebo effects.
Ditto for its effects as a hangover cure. Combined with a bottle of nice cool H20, 10-20 minutes of pure 02 will work some wonders.
Reminds me of the stories I heard about 1800’s-1900’s ‘gas bars’ in Ireland.
The British were occupying Ireland, and had a high tax on all drinks sold in bars. As a way of resisting their occupiers, and reducing the taxes they collected (and a cheaper way of getting high), there were bars where customers could purchase nitrous oxide (‘laughing gas’) and sniff that to get high.
It had some other advantages:
- No British taxes on that.
- No hangover.
- No lengthy intoxication period, breathing regular air for a few minutes got you sober.
I don’t know what the long term medical effects would be, however.
Always sounded like a rather interesting story.