Method Alternatives to inert gases

[SoDead]

I wonder whether I can use gases other than nitrogen, helium or argon to induce rapid loss of consciousness. The problem with these gases is that they cannot be turned into liquid under normal temperature and therefore require heavy high-pressure gas cylinders and other equipment, which makes them less convenient, more expensive and also less readily available.

There is a well-known issue of inhalants abuse when people use more available alkane gases like butane or propane which are sold in small cylinders as fuel for lighters, among other things. As those people rather enjoy inhaling them, probably these substances do not produce severe discomfort. Unfortunately, it may be not safe to check that personally, because these gases may have other effects on organism than simply replacing air in lungs and causing hypoxic euphoria, for instance they may promote cardiac arrest. See "sudden sniffing death syndrome".

Another major disadvantage is that those gases are highly flammable. Thermal burns are extremely painful and often cause irreversible damage to skin, any risk of getting them should be avoided.

Another option is refrigerants, widely used in fridges and air conditioners, more specifically hydrofluorocarbons and hydrofluoroolefins. Among them gases can be found which are not easily flammable under normal conditions and are relatively inert and not toxic, without odor, so they should not cause much discomfort on inhaling. These gases are easy to buy as well, they can be found not only in gas cylinders for recharging air conditioners but also inside some "compressed air dusters".

"Fourth generation" refrigerants like R-1234ze are likely to be the most safe ones, still they may be not as harmless as nitrogen, making it harder to check in advance how it feels to inhale them and lose consciousness as a result.

Do you think this is worth exploring?

 

[SoDead]

I acquired an air duster which should contain only R-1234ze (if producer website is to be trusted) and tried a few times to inhale it, hold my breath for a few seconds and see what happens.
The gas was not fully odorless, there was some slight smell and perhaps taste on inhaling it. May be it simply was not 100% pure.
Even inhaling a little produced some confusion and dizziness, not sure whether this was light hypoxia or direct effect of the gas. Inhaling more brought me closer to losing consciousness, but it was somewhat scary and unpleasant, and I did not proceed further, instead lying on floor, breathing air more actively and waiting until all the effects are gone.
There was no euphoria, hallucinations or whatever.

Have you tried losing consciousness via inhaling some inert gas? Was it nice?

 

[SoDead]

By the way, another of these refrigerants, R-134a (1,1,1,2-Tetrafluoroethane), which is too widely available, is known as an inhalational anesthetic:

HFC-134a has anesthetic and narcotic action at high concentrations. As reported in Section 3.2, the 10-min EC50​ for anesthesia in rats was 280,000 ppm (Collins 1984), and the EC50​ in mice was 270,000 ppm (Shulman and Sadove 1967). A concentration of 30% induces narcosis in rats (Ritchie et al. 2001), and at a concentration of approximately 50%, narcosis develops in dogs, cats, and monkeys within a few seconds to minutes (Shulman and Sadove 1967). According to patent information, concentrations of at least 20% are required to induce anesthesia (Larsen 1966).

Unfortunately it is also known for its ability to cause cardiac arrest. This is good for euthanasia but makes checking it unsafe.
Some people use it as a psychoactive substance.