# Tell Me About Smelling Salts **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 15, 2022, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-smelling-salts/962893 "2022-04-15T20:30:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2022, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-smelling-salts/962893/1 "2022-04-15T20:30:40Z")
I saw these for sale on a weightlifting website. It was implied that a mix of ammonia and alcohol could revive the unconscious or provide a boost to athletes about to strain. Since in twenty years of emergency work I have never seen them used or heard recommendations, I assume it is largely BS. Is it? Have you seen them used? What do you know about them? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2022, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-smelling-salts/962893/2 "2022-04-15T20:41:23Z")
I recognize the term, mostly from hearing about them being used to revive (or reinvigorate) boxers. I’ve never personally seen them in use. The Wikipedia page on them indicates that, while I guess they were effective, they have generally fallen out of favor (and are apparently now banned in boxing), though it also says that former NFL player Michael Strahan claims that, during his playing days, they were widely used by players as a stimulant. > **[Smelling salts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smelling_salts)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > Smelling salts, also known as ammonia inhalants, a spirit of hartshorn or sal volatile, are chemical compounds used as stimulants to restore consciousness after fainting. > The usual active compound is ammonium carbonate—a colorless-to-white, crystalline solid ((NH4)2CO3). Because most modern solutions are mixed with water, they should properly be called "aromatic spirits of ammonia". Modern solutions may also contain other products to perfume or ... ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2022, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-smelling-salts/962893/3 "2022-04-15T21:55:25Z")
They work and they’ve been around a long time. The sharp unpleasant odor will revive someone who is unconscious, usually as a result of exhaustion. I think the stimulant effect is just from an adrenalin surge in response. Larry Holmes was accused of using a towel with ammonia in it between rounds when he fought Jerry Cooney (I believe it was the Cooney fight). The evidence was scanty but it certainly was possible and as mentioned above the stuff has been used in other sports. Why does it sound like BS? You don’t think tossing a bucket of water on someone wouldn’t wake them up either? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2022, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-smelling-salts/962893/4 "2022-04-15T21:55:55Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Since in twenty years of emergency work I have never seen them used or heard recommendations, I assume it is largely BS. “Largely BS”? This seems like an extreme conclusion to draw… ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2022, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-smelling-salts/962893/5 "2022-04-15T21:58:48Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Why does it sound like BS? You don’t think tossing a bucket of water on someone wouldn’t wake them up either? The sense I get is that they **do** work, but because they require the patient to inhale ammonia (which is, generally, not good for you), and as use of them may delay a more thorough medical examination for someone who’s lost consciousness, they have fallen out of favor among actual medical practitioners. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2022, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-smelling-salts/962893/6 "2022-04-15T22:16:48Z")
The small amount of ammonia isn’t particularly harmful, you could get a whiff like that accidentally while cleaning. I think you’re right that a medical practitioner would be very concerned about the specific cause of the loss of consciousness and not use them. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2022, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-smelling-salts/962893/7 "2022-04-15T23:03:05Z")
I think I started the thread because I wanted more information on them. In a medical setting you can quickly judge if someone is alert, responsive to voice, responsive to pain or does not respond. You can further and in more detail quantify eye, voice and motor responses. If the idea is ammonia is painful or unpleasant, certainly it may cause a response, like bending a finger backwards. The site selling them talked about how they improved performance and boosted adrenaline, which is a much bolder claim. I have attended many sporting events and never seen them used. No doctor I know has ever proffered an opinion about them, but in medicine and especially emergency, stuff that works effectively tends to stick around. Even stuff that never really worked but sounded good (like gastric lavage, ipecac or military anti shock trousers). That does not mean that they don’t work or that people believe they work. Tell me about that. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2022, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-smelling-salts/962893/8 "2022-04-15T23:21:27Z")
Back in the late '70s and early '80s I worked in a hospital pharmacy. We had a small supply of smelling salts stocked there, but they were very rarely used and one day I had process some as a return to the manufacturer because they had expired. Being curious (and an idiot) I crushed one of the capsules to see what it smelled like. I regretted that. The smell was VERY intense - and this was an expired capsule. The claims you are seeing about them are bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2022, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-smelling-salts/962893/9 "2022-04-15T23:29:20Z")
> [@romansperson](#): > > The claims you are seeing about them are bullshit. Which claims? Your performance will definitely improve if you regain consciousness and the shock of the smell is likely to cause an adrenalin boost. These effects may me mild and short term but it’s not bullshit unless they claim otherwise. Perhaps you mean to say they are useless or something similar. I understand the term ‘bullshit’ may be applied to things you just generally dislike, but it’s confusing when a factual matter is being questioned. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2022, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-smelling-salts/962893/10 "2022-04-15T23:30:41Z")
I’ve seen them used in a gym within the last decade. > Smelling salts work for powerlifters for the same reason they awaken the unconscious. When you sniff a smelling salt, you’re inhaling a small amount of ammonia gas, which irritates the membranes of your nose and lungs, eliciting an “[inhalation reflex](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2579444/).” That reflex triggers an increase in your breathing rate, which causes your heart rate to jump. That, in turn, stimulates your body’s “fight-or-flight” response, causing the release of adrenaline, a hormone that enhances gross motor skills (like lifting) and causes an acute uptick in focus and alertness. In short, it turbocharges the body. > **[Why Weightlifters Huff Smelling Salts Before Big Lifts](https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a31187286/smelling-salts-weightlifting/)** > > What would you do to get that last big strength burst? ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2022, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-smelling-salts/962893/11 "2022-04-15T23:46:29Z")
My family’s first aid kit back in the late 1950s - '60s included smelling salts. Holy cow, one whiff was like getting electrocuted through your nose, it was so strong. Those things could wake the dead. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-smelling-salts/962893/12 "2022-04-16T00:04:03Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Which claims? What the OP was asking about. > [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > It was implied that a mix of ammonia and alcohol could revive the unconscious or provide a boost to athletes about to strain Anyone who is truly, genuinely unconscious will not be awakened by them. The shock of smelling them is unlikely to evoke an adrenaline response strong and long-lasting enough to be truly effective with weightlifting, but if someone _believes_ it helps, that belief is enough for them to continue using them. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-smelling-salts/962893/13 "2022-04-16T00:19:30Z")
> [@romansperson](#): > > Anyone who is truly, genuinely unconscious Like an unconscious Scotsman? > [@romansperson](#): > > strong and long-lasting enough to be truly effective with weightlifting So not even 10 seconds? ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-smelling-salts/962893/14 "2022-04-16T00:27:43Z")
Not sure why you want to argue so aggressively about this, but I related my experience. Sorry if that doesn’t suit you. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-smelling-salts/962893/15 "2022-04-16T00:33:26Z")
No real Scotsman would be unconscious. I could see possible use for, say, boxers. It has been claimed that everyone has more strength than is usually available, but grandmothers lifting up cars to rescue people are still rare. Can smelling salts do more than listening to Thunderstruck? The inhalation reflex is sadly neglected in many medical schools. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-smelling-salts/962893/16 "2022-04-16T02:36:50Z")
The hospital pharmacy I worked at had them as of 2010, in the dispensing machines and emergency boxes. They, too usually expired out, but they were cheap, so why not keep them? I had one used on me when I blacked out while giving blood (and they told me not to do it again). It falls under the category of “noxious stimulus.” ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-smelling-salts/962893/17 "2022-04-16T03:29:48Z")
Actually each exam room at my oncology practice [Eastern Conn Hematology and Oncology - I seriously give them 10/10 stars] has one taped to a cabinet for easy access, so there is at least a demand for their use there. I have seen someone crash out in the infusion side, but I was about 8 beds away and didn’t really see much of what happened other than them roll the poor guy out on a gurney for a fast trip next door to the ER. I do know they were working on him while EMS was getting there. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-smelling-salts/962893/18 "2022-04-16T03:31:32Z")
So far, everyone’s been talking about athletes. What about all the women who swooned or passed out in old books and movies? “Quick! The smelling salts!” Was the idea that unconsciousness is dangerous? ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-smelling-salts/962893/19 "2022-04-16T03:46:59Z")
Most medical fainting is relieved by keeping the body flat to restore blood flow to the brain. Mercy me! However. Smelling salts might be more effective for the vapours, cases of acute hysterical female syndrome or following devastating blows to the solar plexus. All subjects barely taught in medical school, sadly. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-smelling-salts/962893/20 "2022-04-16T04:13:35Z")
When I was 16 back in the early to mid Jurassic period I had a waterskiing accident on a reservoir out in the middle of nowhere. It wasn’t until the next day that I was finally at the orthopedic surgeon’s office getting x-rayed multiple times for a nasty break and I started fainting. I can remember them saying take a deep breath, feeling nothing and then my head exploded (I would say literally exploded but that’s another thread) and boom, everything was fine. Except that there were problems trying to set the bone and it happened again with the same result. Unfortunately this was one of those stories that I repeatedly told over the past many decades, which grew each time, so I can’t really say how many times it actually happened. At least twice. But it was quite effective, although it didn’t prevent it from occurring again. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-smelling-salts/962893.md?page=2)