- If poppers liquid gets on your skin or in your eyes, call 999 straight away.
- Rinse the area with cool or lukewarm water for about an hour.
- Don’t rub the skin, and don’t put creams or oils on a burn.
- Crusty patches from frequent use usually clear within 7 to 10 days.
- Selling or importing poppers can be prosecuted under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016.
Table of contents
- When to get urgent help
- What a poppers burn looks like
- How to treat a poppers burn at home
- How long a poppers burn lasts
- Why poppers cause burns
- Is poppers legal in the UK?
- FAQ
Red, sore or crusty skin after using poppers can look like a burn, and it is hard to judge how serious it is.
You need to know what to do right now. In this article, you will learn how to recognise each type of mark, what to do first, and where UK law stands.
When to get urgent help
If poppers liquid has got on your skin or in your eyes, call 999 straight away.
Keep cool or lukewarm water running over the area while you wait for help. A chemical burn needs hospital treatment, so you will be sent to hospital for assessment.
Not sure whether someone has swallowed, touched or breathed in something harmful? Call NHS 111 for urgent advice. If none of this applies, you can keep watching the skin at home.
If any of these apply, call 999 straight away and do not wait:
- Someone may have swallowed poppers.
- Someone has lost consciousness, stopped breathing, had a seizure, or is struggling badly to breathe.
- Do not make them vomit, and give them no food or drink while you wait.
- Stay with them and keep checking that they are breathing and alert.
- If they are unconscious but breathing, put them in the recovery position.
- If they are not breathing normally, start CPR.
What a poppers burn looks like
A poppers burn is not one single injury. The name covers several skin reactions, and the most common is contact dermatitis: a skin reaction caused by touching a substance, here poppers liquid.
Dermatitis can make the skin red and inflamed, with blisters, swelling, crusts or sores. Irritant reactions hit anyone who touches the liquid, while allergic ones need prior sensitisation. For safer use, read about how to use poppers safely.
Three injuries can look alike, so check how the mark appeared:
- Crusty lesions: frequent or heavy use can leave yellow-tinted, crusty patches around the nose, mouth, lips and face, most often around the nose.
- Irritation: a splash can sting or leave raw skin, or the moist lining of the mouth and throat.
- Heat burn: caused by fire, not by the liquid touching you, for example a cigarette soaked in the liquid being lit, or liquid on a hand catching fire near a flame.
How to treat a poppers burn at home
Stop the exposure first and step away from the poppers. Then rinse the skin with cool or lukewarm running water straight away, and keep the water running for about one hour, since a short rinse is not enough.
If it got in your eyes, rinse them with plenty of clean water and call 999 without waiting. To understand the risks of repeated use, see effects of poppers, risks and safer use advice.
Don’t rub the skin. Rubbing spreads the liquid to more of the skin.
Don’t put creams, oils or other chemicals on the burn. Get medical help instead.
Don’t leave clothing with poppers on it touching the skin. Take it off carefully, without spreading the liquid onto your skin.
If you are helping someone else, wear gloves if you can. This protects you from the liquid.
How long a poppers burn lasts
Yellow, crusty lesions from frequent use usually clear within 7 to 10 days after you stop using poppers.
Keep poppers away from that skin while it heals, since each new contact can cause fresh lesions.
Treat 7 to 10 days as a guide for these lesions only, not for every chemical or heat burn.
If the skin is not clearing after that, or looks worse, see a doctor. Poppers dermatitis can appear within a day of exposure, so check the skin the next day.
If your eyes are affected, if the area may be a chemical burn, or if the injury is severe, get medical help now. A chemical burn needs hospital assessment, because the damage can go deeper than it looks on the surface.
If the skin gets worse, or you are worried about how it is healing, ask a clinician for advice rather than waiting.
Why poppers cause burns
Poppers contain alkyl nitrites, which are volatile: the liquid gives off vapour readily. Direct contact can irritate or injure the skin and cause wounds that look like burns.
Repeated contact around the nose and mouth can cause contact dermatitis, an inflamed reaction that can turn crusty. It happens when liquid spills or touches the face during use. Some people also react allergically to the chemical.
Liquid on the skin around the nose or mouth irritates it, even when no flame is involved. The evidence is limited: a review of published cases found only 18 patients across 13 articles, which can’t show how many users react.
- Flames, cigarettes, matches or lighters: the liquid is highly flammable, so keep it well away from them.
- A cigarette dipped in poppers: never light it, because people have been burned doing so.
Is poppers legal in the UK?
Alkyl nitrites, the chemicals in poppers, are not controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. That is the drug law most people know, so it can look as if poppers sit fully outside the rules.
But they are covered by the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016. This law makes it an offence to produce, supply or import a psychoactive substance for its effects, and alkyl nitrites are not exempt from it.
Keeping and using poppers for yourself does not itself break the Psychoactive Substances Act. Importing, selling or supplying them for their psychoactive effects can be prosecuted.
The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) has recommended a new exemption for alkyl nitrites, but that recommendation is not yet law. For effects, legality and health risks, see Rush poppers.
Keep one rule in mind: if poppers touch your skin or eyes, rinse with cool water and get help. For the eyes, or for any burn that looks serious, call 999 without waiting.
Your next step is to check the skin again tomorrow. If it is not clearing or looks worse, see your doctor.
FAQ
Can poppers cause long-term damage to the nose?
Poppers can cause skin irritation and crusty lesions around the nose. If the problem lasts or gets worse, stop using poppers and see a doctor. Avoid them again once the skin heals, since new contact can cause fresh damage.
Is a poppers burn contagious?
No, a poppers burn is not contagious. It is an injury caused by the chemical touching your skin, not an infection passed from person to person.
You can’t catch it from someone else. Keep the area clean, and ask a clinician if it looks infected.
Is it safe to use poppers again once a burn has healed?
No, not if poppers caused the skin reaction. Avoid using them again once a burn has healed, because the alkyl nitrites in poppers can cause irritation or allergic contact dermatitis.
If you’re unsure what caused the mark, ask a doctor before using them again.
Leave a Reply