Poppers

Also known as

• aromas, liquid incense
• nitrites (sometimes incorrectly as nitrates)
• amyl (in Australia, pronounced ‘ammul’)
• a variety of brand names including Liquid Gold and Rush.

What are poppers?

Poppers are liquids containing chemical compounds from the alkyl nitrite family. It’s rare these days they contain real amyl nitrite, until recently they were more likely to contain butyl or isobutyl nitrite. Now isopropyl nitrite is more common.

Poppers are sold in small bottles and the fumes are breathed in, usually through the nose, sometimes through the mouth or from a piece of cloth onto which the liquid has been poured. The fumes have been described as smelling like old socks.

The name comes from the small glass containers amyl nitrite used to come in which popped when broken open.

What’s the attraction?

The fumes cause blood vessels to open, giving an instant rush that:

• sends blood to the head
• lowers blood pressure
• relaxes muscle, especially the sphincter muscle in the arse hole
• gives a short-lived dizzy, light-headed and excited feeling.

The heart beats harder, and the face and chest redden for a few minutes. It can give a rush when dancing, enhancing music, lights and the effects of dance drugs.

Poppers and sex

Poppers can make someone feel hornier or make orgasms more intense. The smell alone can become closely linked with sex in the user’s mind.

Poppers relax the sphincter muscle, making it easier to be fucked or fisted. They can make it hard to keep an erection. As they can affect the ability to use a condom and stay hard, it can help to put one on before the first hit of poppers.

The effects can be strong enough to lower inhibitions and cloud judgement about safer sex. Studies have shown using poppers when being fucked without a condom makes it more likely HIV is passed on. This maybe because poppers cause blood vessels in the lining of the arse to open wider, making this lining more prone to bleeding during fucking. They may also make rough sex (and bleeding in the arse) more likely. Poppers might also make the immune system weaker for short time, leaving someone more open to picking up HIV.
A new kind of poppers replaced the old type in 2007. People have reported skin burns and problems with their vision after using them. These symptoms go away after a few days.

www.hardcell.org.uk/en/lab/poppers/