Camphor inhalants

Colorless liquid with an odor like peppermint or camphor. This material is hazardous through inhalation, skin absorption, and ingestion. 

If you are in public and you start experiencing these symptoms, first ask yourself, did anything out of the ordinary just happen, a loud pop Did someone spray something on the crowd Are other people getting sick too Is there an odor of new mown hay, green corn, something fruity, or camphor where it shouldn t be If the answer is yes, then calmly (if you panic you breathe faster and inhale more air/poison) leave the area and head up wind, or outside. 

The use of opium dates to 4,000 b.c. At that time it was used for medicinal and recreational purposes mainly via inhalation. Today few opium-containing preparations are used, since the activity of opium is largely attributed to its morphine content. The preparations in use today are those that have constipative effects useful for the treatment of diarrhea. Preparations include pantopon, an injectable hydrochloride of opium alkaloids, and paregoric, a camphorated tincture of opium. Paregoric can be used to treat infants with opioid withdrawal signs following in utero exposure to opioids. 

Users also have specific trends regarding how and with what they consume Ecstasy. Though generally taken orally in pill form, Boston users in their late teens and early twenties sometimes inject MDMA and ketamine intramuscularly, and Sioux Falls users increasingly crush and snort it. Ecstasy is also frequently taken in combination with or sequentially with alcohol, marijuana, or both. Other drugs are also taken with MDMA (LSD, GHB, ketamine, prescription pills, heroin, cough syrup, camphor/menthol inhalants, Viagra , and nitrous oxide). 

N.A. Camphor, cinnamon.105 Externally for joint and muscle pain. Used as an inhalant for bronchial and nasal congestion. 

All the tested substances were placed in 6 cm airtight petri dishes and resulted toxic for the mites, that were immobilized within 15 min to 1 h. Linalyl acetate and camphor were active only at the highest doses (6 xl/dish), with 96.7% and 30.0% mortality, respectively. The essential oil showed 98.3% mortality at 0.50 pi (100% at 2 pi), while linalool was the most effective compound (96.7% at 0.25 pi, 100% at 0.50 pi). In further research on the essential oil of L. angustifolia and its constituent linalool, we evaluated the activity of this essential oil on the same parasite using inhalation, rather than direct contact between mites and compounds... 

The cellulose nitrate plastics were adaptable, easy to work, and quite durable, but had the disadvantages of being plasticized with camphor and flammability (they burnt, in fact, quite violently). At one time the smell of camphor was thought pleasant (even therapeutic) but instances have been cited of harm to children attributed to inhaling this vapour. So, while the acetates were not quite so attractive in terms of ease of fabrication it was inevitable eventually that the so-called safety plastic would supersede its forerunner. Among other uses it was stitched into motor car tonneau covers as flexible glazing, and thicker transparent sheet was cut and formed into cockpit canopies for aircraft [though by that time the material preferred for this purpose was poly(methyl methacrylate)]. Later on, in their turn, sheets made from cellulose acetate butyrate and propionate took over some of the uses of earlier commercial materials. 

Aldehydes aid ketones often have pleasant odors. They are found as components of many perfumes and flavorings, both natural and artificial. For example, citral has a strong lemon odor and is found in lemon and orange oils, cinnamaldehyde has a strong cinnamon odor and is found in cinnamon oil, and vanillin is a major component of vanilla flavoring. Camphor, isolated from the camphor tree, is used in liniments and inhalants, and muscone, which has a musky aroma, is used in many perfumes. 

Alan Baxter lost his bronze medal in the winter Olympics in 2000 because he used an American Vick inhaler and not a British one.1,2 Note the position of the CH3 attached to the central carbon atom (Figure 2.18). The British Vick inhaler contains a mixture of menthol, camphor and methyl salicylate the American Vick inhaler also contains L-methamphetamine. This is used as a decongestant and has no performance-improving properties, whereas its optically active isomer D-methamphetamine (commonly known as speed ) is a prohibited drug and is a performance improver. However, the Olympic Committee does not distinguish between these two isomers in its detective work and chemical analysis. It therefore reported that his urine contained methamphetamine and did not report that it was the ineffective l form. The committee took the medal away from him. If they only had known their chemistry and all about optically active isomers. 

A 15-month-old child had crawled through spirits of camphor containing 10% camphor. Over the next 48 hours he became progressively ataxic and had several brief generalized motor seizures. The seizures persisted for 2 days despite appropriate therapy. Over 15 days he slowly improved recovery in motor and mental function was eventually complete. The child had no further seizures until 1 year later, when a camphorated vaporizer containing 4.81% camphor was administered by the mother. During inhalation there was a brief major motor seizure. 

Skoglund RR, Ware LL Jr, Schanberger JE. Prolonged seizures due to contact and inhalation exposure to camphor. A case report. Clin Pediatr (Phila) 1977 16(10) 901-2. 

Camphor has been used as a substance of abuse for many centuries, both by ingestion and by inhalation. Today it is found in many non-prescription vaporized or topical cold cures, topical musculoskeletal anesthetic... 

Camphor, which is used in inhalers, has a high vapor pressure. When stored in a botde, camphor sublimes and then deposits elsewhere in the bottle. 

In external use Camphor exerts a hyperae-mic action by inhalation it is bronchoseaetolytic and in oral administration it acts as central stimulant. 

Remedy for Cold in the Head. Pollioo, of France, recommends the inhaling of hartshorn for curing colds in the bead. The inhalation by the nose he recommends 7 or 8 times in 5 minutes. Spirits of camphor may bo used in the same manner with beneficial results. 

Toxicology Exposure is by inhalation or by skin contact. It is an irritant (eyes and nose), but not a suspected carcinogen. In large quantities, it is poisonous when ingested, and can cause seizures, confusion, and neuromuscular hyperactivity. In 1980, the EDA set the limit of a 11 % maximum of cadmium in consumer products. Since alternative treatments exist, medicinal use of camphor is discouraged by the EDA, except for skin-related uses, such as medicated powders, which contain only small amounts of camphor. 

Menthol is often thought of as a decongestant, but this effect is a sensory illusion. Burrow et al. (1983) and Eccles et al. (1988) showed that there was no change in nasal resistance to air ow during inhalation of menthol, although the sensation of nasal air ow was enhanced. In the former experiment, 1,8-cineole and camphor were also shown to enhance the sensation of air ow but to a lesser extent than menthol. 

By the measurement of lung and forced expiratory volumes, nasal, lower and total airway resistances, closing volume data, the phase III slope of the alveolar plateau, and the maximum expiratory ow volume, peripheral airway dysfunction was con rmed in 24 adults with common colds. In a randomized, controlled trial, an aromatic mixture of menthol, eucalyptus oil, and camphor (56%, 9%, and 35% w/w, respectively) were vaporized in a room where the subjects were seated. Respiratory function measurements were made at baseline, 20 and 60 min after exposure. After the last measurement, phenylephrine was sprayed into the nostrils and the measurements taken again 5-10 min later to determine potential airway responsiveness. The control consisted of tap water. The results showed sign cant changes in forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume, closing capacity, and the phase III slope after aromatic therapy as compared to the control. It was con eluded that the aromatic inhalation favorably modi ed the peripheral airway dysfunction (Cohen and Dressier, 1982). 

Nervous system Isolated cases of camphor-induced seizures have been reported in young children after gastrointestinal, dermal, and inhalational exposure. In 1982, after a series of unintentional ingestions of camphor products, the US Food and Drug... 

Pharmacologically, camphor is categorized as an irritant rubefacient, acting locally on the skin and mucous membranes to induce hyperaemia and feelings of comfort and warmth, with sensations of coolness when its vapours are inhaled. Camphor is readily absorbed from mucous membranes. The human lethal dose is probably from 50—500 mg/kg. Many over-the-counter preparations contain more than 3% camphor, some even 10% or more. Camphorated oil, camphor spirits, Sloan s Liniment, Tiger Balm (Obat Madjan) and Vicks Vaporub are well-known examples all over the world. 

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