Pontus Blom, 30, took nitrous oxide at every party.
Until he lost the feeling in his feet, legs and fingers – and could not walk straight.
– The doctor said that it was 50/50 that I would get better, says Pontus Blom.
On Rhodes’ bare street in the summer of 2019, Pontus Blom tested a balloon for the first time. Back home in Stockholm, he discovered that it was available for purchase at a Södermalm restaurant.
He soon started seeing nitrous oxide advertising on Instagram and other social media.
– It was much cheaper online than at the restaurant, and you could buy much larger quantities. They drove out almost around the clock, so it was very easy to get hold of when partying.
Became a “party agent”
Pontus and his friends used nitrous oxide a couple of times a week.
– It turned out that you bought it almost every time you drank alcohol. It was a party drug, a party drug.
Facts
What is nitrous oxide?
Nitrous oxide is a drug used in healthcare, including during childbirth. What you then inhale through a mask is a mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen, which has a pain-relieving effect and makes the patient relaxed.
More and more people are also using nitrous oxide in party contexts. It is sold either in cartridges for cream siphons for whipped cream, or in larger tubes. The gas you inhale is then more concentrated than in healthcare, which can cause temporary oxygen deficiency. Using nitrous oxide for a long time can also damage the nervous system, lead to incontinence problems and in rare cases cause a risk of blood clots in the brain or lungs. In even more rare cases, deaths have occurred.
Sources: 1177 Vårdguiden, The youth clinic.
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Pontus Blom, who previously worked in the bar turn as event manager and entrance host, and switched to working as an excavator operator, did not think for a second that there was a downside to the nitrous oxide.
– Sweden is usually quite hard at banning things. New internet drugs and things that come are banned. But this was sold both at the pub and on the internet, so we thought it was completely harmless. I kind of thought alcohol was more dangerous.
At the turn of the year between 2020 and 2021, Pontus began to feel tingling and numbness in his feet.
– It felt like when you were out in the cold in the winter and get into the heat. But this one was constant. Then it began to stretch towards the narrow legs and thighs. And then in the fingertips, hands and arms. It was about then, when it had been going on for two weeks, that I went to the emergency room.
Pontus was in hospital for a few days. After a number of tests, the doctors noticed that his B12 levels were down to zero.
– The nerves are damaged if you do not have enough B12 in the body. That’s what had happened, that I had had too little B12, for too long. Then a doctor asked me if I had taken nitrous oxide.
Could not go straight
When the cause was clear, there was nothing to do but go home, rest and see if it would get better. The doctors gave him about a 50 percent chance that he would improve – otherwise the injuries would be permanent.
– There was nothing they could do on the spot when they found out the reason. And it was pretty scary, because then I could not even go straight or hold a mug properly. I could not write properly on a piece of paper, because you just shook and had no feeling in your hands.
Pontus was taken ill, took walks and rested. Every day he went to the health center and was injected with B12.
After 1.5 months, he was able to return to work.
– I still had some tingling and loss of sensation, and was maybe 70 percent recovered. Now it is about 90-95 percent. It feels very nice, because it was not the hope the doctor gave me at the hospital.
Pontus currently runs his own company. The parties continued for Pontus and his friends – but without nitrous oxide.
– Many went to the health centers themselves and wanted to see their B12 levels.
“Are there other ways to have fun”
When Pontus was in hospital, he published an Instagram post from the hospital bed, which was widely circulated and described in Expressen. He described the nitrous oxide as an intoxication that almost cost him his life, and urged everyone to skip the balloons.
Nevertheless, the use of nitrous oxide has skyrocketed since then, as Aftonbladet reported. The number of people admitted to hospital quintupled between 2020 and 2021.
– It’s because they are still allowed to sell it. And they make so much money that advertising is only increasing and increasing, they are advertising everywhere.
What do you think about it?
– It’s awful, because it’s only younger and younger people who take it. They can injure themselves for life. I just want to warn other people not to take it, there are other ways to have fun.
– Stop immediately, because it can get to the stage that the body is damaged forever and it is not worth it, Pontus Blom concludes.