Poppers
Limited data
Limited data
Sparse data. Doses and effects may be unreliable or untested.
- 1 source
- no dose data
- duration data present
- toxicity data (PsychonautWiki)
- 1 source
- no dose data
- duration data present
- toxicity data (PsychonautWiki)
Aliases: Alkyl nitrites, Amyl nitrite, Isopropyl nitrite, Isobutyl nitrite, Butyl nitrite, Amyl, Amyls, Rush, Super Rush, Gold Rush, Jungle Juice, Amsterdam, Liquid Gold, Locker Room, Snappers, Room odouriser
Summary
Poppers are alkyl nitrites — volatile liquids inhaled from the bottle for a brief, intense rush. They are vasodilators rather than classical intoxicants: they relax smooth muscle throughout the body, which is why the effect is a head rush, facial flushing, a pounding heart and relaxation of the anal and vaginal sphincters, and why it is over in minutes. Effects begin within seconds and are gone in one to five. European products have mostly contained isopropyl nitrite since isobutyl nitrite was banned as a carcinogen in 2007. Two things carry nearly all of the risk. Poppers must never be swallowed — a single small bottle can be lethal, and swallowing is now the more common way people are poisoned by them. And they must never be combined with erectile-dysfunction drugs such as Viagra or Cialis, a combination named as an absolute contraindication on the drugs’ own labelling.
Dose Information
Dose basis. There is no dose ladder for poppers and none can be built: the substance is inhaled from the bottle until it takes effect, and no source anywhere states a recreational dose in milligrams or millilitres. What harm reduction services publish instead is a duration heuristic — TripSit and CAHMA both advise no more than about five seconds per inhalation, and Erowid describes four to six inhalations as typical. Strength varies between brands and between batches, and an opened bottle degrades. The after-effects row covers the physiological tail — flushing, headache and a fast heart rate outlast the subjective effect.
Onset, Duration & After-effects
| ROA | Onset | Peak | Offset | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inhaled | 10-30 sec | <1-2 min | 1-3 min | 1-5 min |
Add missing routes to PsychonautWiki Journal
The PsychonautWiki Journal app already has Poppers, but its built-in entry carries no dose or duration data at all. Here are the routes we have data for. You can't edit a built-in substance, but you can add a Custom Unit for any of these routes to log it.
Poppers: routes the PsychonautWiki Journal app is missing Source: SubstanceSearch (substancesearch.com) Inhaled duration: onset 10-30s · peak <1-2m · offset 1-3m · total 1-5m · after-effects 5-10m Note: ranges are harm-reduction guidance, not a prescription. Start low, go slow, and test your substances.
Custom Units carry a single dose per route, so the full ranges live in the reference above. A route's suggested dose is the midpoint of its common range. Ranges are harm-reduction guidance, not a prescription.
Tolerance
Effects
Aggregated from 23 Erowid experience reports
Positive Effects 7
Adverse Effects 2
Combinations
Cross-Check Poppers with another substanceHelpful Links
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