Which one of the following gases was used as an early anesthetic?

still used by some dentists

Arohanui, Everyone who reads your comment is humming. I am 😂

It was used in maternity Labour wards when I had my children. It did knock the pain level down. The benefit stopped as soon as not being used. It didn't make me laugh but the clattering medical instruments seemed to echo.

When I was in college in the late 70s "whippets" were miniature gas tanks. I'd see people release the gas into balloons, inhale it, and become momentarily silly.

Arohanui, How interesting...must hum more often

jay w, I was a teenager in the 80's, never heard of that. "Whippets"

It was given to me during labor because the local (spinal) anesthetic didn't work. It did make me laugh, which upset the doctor.

Itsy, we called it rush. it was amyl nitrate

Nitrous oxide N2O is the anaesthetic. Nitrogen dioxide, NO2, forms acids, both H2NO2 and H2NO3, which is strong and dangerous, with contact with water. NO is in the body as a vasodilator.

Arohanui, nasal nitric oxide. I hummed softly during my contractions and a little bit louder during transition. I found out afterwards why it helped. I think staying calm by deep breathing and humming helps a lot! But I did have the gas after 12 hours labouring with 1st son, still took 6 more hours.

ollie, I'm embarrassed to say as a teen we had a device we put on the whipped canister and attached it to balloon that would inflate with the gas. Then we would inhale it.

The #1 inhalant now-a-days is Duster.