The dangers of helium inhalation are real although it may seem like harmless fun. It is an asphyxiant, causing dizziness or unconsciousness. In addition to generalise hypoxia, it can cause disorientation and even death. Inhaling it can even cause a ruptured lung. There is a well-known party trick where people suck gas out of helium balloons to talk funny. However, most people don’t know how dangerous helium is. Inhaling helium is dangerous. I admit it — I’ve done it — but never again! The amusement of talking like Donald Duck is overshadowed by the helium gas dangers involved with inhaling helium balloon gas. It’s not only ‘daffy’…
It can even be fatal!
What Gas is in Balloons?
The gas in ballons is helium, sometimes also known as “balloon gas”. Helium balloons float because helium is less dense than air or lighter than air.
Helium comes as a compressed gas in a gas cylinder. Most cylinders are refillable although some are disposable.
Helium is non-toxic and non-flammable.
Why Does Helium Make You Sound Funny?
When you speak, you rely on your vocal chords to make the sounds.
The air passing through your larynx causes the vocal chords to vibrate.
The mouth, lips and tongue then convert the sound into speech.
When you inhale helium, it affects the timbre of your voice, because helium is much less dense than air.
This is a result of sound travelling faster through helium than air, as well as helium favouring high pitched sounds.
Inhaling Helium is Dangerous – Asphyxiation
Inhaling helium is dangerous. The helium gas danger is not that it is poisonous, as helium is an inert gas. The helium gas danger is as an asphyxiant, when inhaled instead of normal air.
Inhaling helium is dangerous because it can cause your body’s oxygen level to drop to dangerous low levels, initiating Hypoxia.
This is known as Inert Gas Asphyxiation.
Breathing just helium, or any inert gas, creates a dangerous absence of oxygen.
The helium displaces the air, including the required oxygen, in your lungs.
Symptoms of Hypoxia
The resulting Hypoxia is a condition that develops when the body is deprived of an adequate supply of oxygen.
Generalised hypoxia can cause dizziness, disorientation, abnormal heart function, unconsciousness and even death.
Helium Gas Danger of an Embolism or Ruptured Lung
Inhaling helium too deeply or directly from a gas cylinder is an even greater helium gas danger. The pressurised helium gas can cause a dangerous embolism.
An embolism is a blockage of a blood vessel which, in this case, is caused by a gas bubble.
This can cause a stroke, seizures or death.
The inhalation of pressurised gas can also damage the lungs.
Air sacs in the lungs are likely to rupture and death follows almost immediately, as victims literally drown in their own blood.
Be Safe with Helium Balloon Gas
Don’t be a daffy duck! Here are some helium safety tips to keep you, your family and friends out of danger:
- Don’t inhale helium balloon gas. The dangers far outweigh the momentary amusement.
- Share the Be Gas Wise web site with your family and friends on Facebook or let everyone know on Twitter:
#begaswise
- Ensure helium balloon gas and other gases are only used for their intended purposes.
- Always follow the danger safety warnings.
- Make sure children are always supervised when playing with balloons.
- Click to download the PDF of MSDS Helium (Balloon Gas)
Don’t Release Helium Balloons Outdoors
Releasing balloons may seems harmless except balloons do eventually come back down to earth and can cause environmental damage.
Released helium balloons pose a danger to wildlife and especially marine wildlife.
Releasing balloons may also be illegal, depending on where you live.
For example, in NSW it is against the law to release 20 or more balloons.
Video & Conclusion
Elgas, BOC and the balloon industry are deeply concerned about the dangerous misuse of helium balloon gas. We want to ensure that customers, their family and friends are all educated to understand the helium dangers and how to safely enjoy helium balloons.
To help educate Australians, BOC, with the support of Elgas, has produced the following community service announcement.
Voiced by iconic Australian actor Michael Caton, the video depicts a family setting up for a children’s party.
“We’ve all seen this at one time or another, some of us may even have done it ourselves, but inhaling balloon gas is very dangerous and can be fatal,’’ Mr Caton says in the announcement.
“The helium in balloon gas acts as an asphyxiant and when you inhale it displaces the oxygen in your lungs.
“Balloon gas is safe in balloons and when you release it in a well-ventilated area and in a safe manner.
“So the next time you see some sucker about to inhale balloon gas or you think it is going to be a laugh, stop and be gas wise,’’ he says.
You will most likely see it on TV over the coming months.
Many thanks to Michael Caton for once again agreeing to be our ‘voice talent’ on this, as well as our previous BBQ Safety community service announcement.
Finally, kudos to our friends at BOC for creating the ‘Be Gas Wise’ safety campaign.
Helium Tank Hire – Balloon Gas
Helium gas bottle hire for use as balloon gas in decorative helium balloons.
Helium gas is available in G2, E2 and D2 gas cylinder sizes.
All cylinders are designed for transport.
MSDS Helium
Click to Get a Fast Online Gas QuotationThe ‘Be Gas Wise’ campaign is proudly supported by Stargas:
Comments, questions or feedback? Please Email us at: [email protected]The information in this article is derived from various sources and is believed to be correct at the time of publication. However, the information may not be error free & may not be applicable in all circumstances.
At some point, most people have sucked the helium out of a balloon to get that squeaky, high-pitched voice — including one of the classiest ladies out there, Dame Helen Mirren — but it's time to put the balloon down. The common party trick, typically thought of as harmless fun, has made headlines over the past few years for causing serious, life-threatening injuries — and in some cases, death.
Recently, one family made headlines after a mom in Scotland found her daughter unconscious at McDonald's. The 9-year-old sucked in helium from a balloon she'd found and passed out, The Sun reported.
"Daisy must have been standing with her back to the area where the sauces are placed and the next thing I heard was a bang," the mother, Kelly Milne, told the newspaper. "I looked round and she was slumped in the corner — she had collapsed. Her eyes were rolling and I was terrified."
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The balloon was just floating in the store, and when the staff and others saw Daisy playing with it, they thought nothing of it. "It had just been a practical joke — you see so many kids and even adults doing it," Milne added.
After five minutes and some fresh air, Daisy came to. She was ultimately fine, but not all stories have such happy endings. While sucking helium from a balloon probably won't kill you — you're most likely to pass out from lack of oxygen, Slate reported — taking in helium from pressurized tanks, hoods, or masks (or stepping inside a giant helium balloon) is a completely different story. And far, far more dangerous.
Back in 2012, a 14-year-old girl was hospitalized and later died after inhaling helium at a party with her friends. In 2006, the bodies of two college students were found inside of a giant helium balloon in Florida.
Doctors have weighed in on the dangers of inhaling helium, and they essentially all come to the same conclusion: Actual injuries are rare, but not impossible.
Dr. Mark Morocco, associate professor of emergency medicine at the Ronald Reagan Medical Center in Los Angeles, told Fox News that the effects of helium on the body are similar to what happens when a scuba diver surfaces from the water too quickly. A gas bubble can get into the blood stream through a tear in a blood vessel, block blood flow to the brain, and cause a stroke.
Parents around the world have spoken out against the popular activity – even starting charities – calling it more insidious than other kinds of peer pressure because it appears harmless.
Frank Pegueros, executive director of DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), told Fox that it's just about making sure kids are aware of the dangers. "It's getting somebody to pause and think and evaluate the situation and determine, is this something that's going to have a bad consequence?"
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