Editing Smelling salts

{{Short description|Ammonium carbonate used in the past to restore consciousness after fainting}}
{{For|the record by Trailer Bride|Smelling Salts (album){{!}}''Smelling Salts'' (album)}}
[[File:First aid ammonia inhalant capsules.jpg|thumb|Two capsules of smelling salts from a first-aid kit. A thin inner glass tube contains alcohol and ammonia; the outer layer is cotton and netting. When crushed, the liquid is released into the cotton, while the glass shards are retained inside. The ammonia-soaked cotton is waved in front of the nose for the treatment of fainting.]]
'''Smelling salts''', also known as '''ammonia  inhalants''', '''spirit of hartshorn''', or '''sal volatile''', are [[chemical compound]]s used as stimulants to restore consciousness after fainting.<ref name="BJSM" />

== Usage ==
The usual active compound is [[ammonium carbonate]]—a colorless-to-white, [[crystalline]] [[solid]] ((NH<sub>4</sub>)<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub>).<ref name="BJSM" /> Because most modern solutions are mixed with water, they should properly be called "aromatic spirits of ammonia".<ref name="BJSM" /> Modern solutions may also contain other products to perfume or act in conjunction with the [[ammonia]], such as [[lavender oil]] or [[eucalyptus oil]].<ref>{{cite web |date=March 2007 |title=Mackenzies Smelling Salts |url=http://emc.medicines.org.uk/emc/assets/c/html/DisplayDoc.asp?DocumentID=4379 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120716024342/http://emc.medicines.org.uk/emc/assets/c/html/DisplayDoc.asp?DocumentID=4379 |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 16, 2012 |access-date=2009-01-03 |publisher=Electronic Medicines Compendium}}</ref>

Historically, smelling salts have been used on people feeling [[Syncope (medicine)|faint]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://weddings.usabride.com/wedding-planning-advice/how-not-to-faint-at-the-altar/ |title=How not to faint at the altar |last=Colburn |first=Dareth |publisher=USA Bride |access-date=2016-06-17 |archive-date=2016-08-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160812202354/http://weddings.usabride.com/wedding-planning-advice/how-not-to-faint-at-the-altar/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |publisher=Oxford University Press |work=Compact Oxford English Dictionary |title=Smelling Salts |url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/english/smelling-salts|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151201014418/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/english/smelling-salts|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 1, 2015}}</ref><ref name="scifun">{{cite web |last=Shakhashiri |title=Chemical of the week – Ammonia |url=http://www.scifun.org/chemweek/PDF/Ammonia.pdf |publisher=University of Wisconsin-Madison |access-date=2010-05-24 |date=2008-02-01 |archive-date=2011-07-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721174430/http://www.scifun.org/chemweek/PDF/Ammonia.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> or who have fainted. They are usually administered by others but may be self-administered.

Smelling salts are often used on athletes who have been dazed or knocked unconscious to restore consciousness and mental alertness.<ref name="BJSM" /> Smelling salts are now banned in most boxing competitions because of the concern that their effect could mask a more serious injury.<ref name="goodchild-donaldson">{{cite journal|last1=Goodchild|first1=Jason H. |last2=Donaldson |first2=Mark |title=Is it time to omit ammonia inhalants from dental emergency kits?|journal=General Dentistry|year=2022|issue=July/August|pages=6–9|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/361673446}}</ref>

They are also used as a form of stimulant in athletic competitions (such as [[powerlifting]], [[Strongman (strength athlete)|strong man]], [[Rugby football|rugby]] and [[ice hockey]]) to "wake up" competitors to perform better.<ref name="BJSM" /><ref name="BBC1" /> In 2005, [[Michael Strahan]] estimated that 70–80% of [[National Football League]] players were using smelling salts as stimulants.<ref name="FTU">{{cite news |title=Investigation: Ammonia sniffing popular in NFL |url=http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/020305/sup_17863663.shtml |access-date=29 September 2016 |work=[[Florida Times-Union]] |date=February 3, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160502192805if_/http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/020305/sup_17863663.shtml#.VyeqV9zLeSA |url-status=dead |archive-date=2016-05-02}}</ref>

== History ==
[[File:M0354 1951-23-102 2.jpg|thumb|Flask with smelling salts, used for reviving dental patients after a procedure. French, 18th century.]]

Smelling salts have been used since [[Roman Times|Roman times]] and are mentioned in the writings of [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]] as ''Hammoniacus sal''.<ref name=BJSM>{{cite journal|last=McCrory|first=P|title=Smelling Salts|journal=British Journal of Sports Medicine|year=2006|volume=40|pages=659–660|url= |pmid=16864561|doi=10.1136/bjsm.2006.029710|issue=8|pmc=2579444}}</ref> Evidence exists of use in the 13th century by [[alchemists]] as [[sal ammoniac]].<ref name=BJSM/> In the 14th-century "[[The Canon's Yeoman's Tale]]", one of [[Geoffrey Chaucer|Chaucer]]'s ''[[The Canterbury Tales]]'', an alchemist purports to use ''sal armonyak''.<ref name="prewitt">{{cite magazine |last1=Prewitt |first1=Alex |title=Smelling salts jolt of choice in NHL |url=https://www.si.com/nhl/2016/03/17/smelling-salts-nhl-players |access-date=29 September 2016 |magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]] |date=March 17, 2016}}</ref> In the 17th century, the distillation of an [[ammonia]] solution from shavings of [[Hart (deer)|harts]]' (deer) horns and hooves led to the alternative name for smelling salts as spirit or salt of [[hartshorn]].<ref name=BJSM/>

They were widely used in [[Victorian era|Victorian]] Britain to revive fainting women, and in some areas, constables would carry a container of them for that purpose.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=BBC News|title=Antique gadgets|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/uk_antique_gadgets/html/7.stm|access-date=2009-01-03}}</ref> At that time, smelling salts were commonly dissolved with perfume in vinegar or alcohol and soaked onto a sponge, which was then carried on the person in a decorative container called a vinaigrette.<ref name="Sampson Mordan">{{cite web | url=https://www.antiquesinoxford.co.uk/sampson-mordan | title=Vinaigrettes by Sampson Mordan | publisher=Antiques in Oxford | access-date=2020-10-05}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|publisher=Jane Austen Society of North America|title="Bad Smells" and "Fragrance": Reading Mansfield Park through the Eighteenth-Century Nose|url=http://www.jasna.org/persuasions/on-line/vol35no1/friedman.html}}</ref> The ''sal volatile'' appears several times in [[Charles Dickens|Dickens]]' novel ''[[Nicholas Nickleby]]''.

The use of smelling salts was widely recommended during the [[Second World War]], with all workplaces advised by the [[British Red Cross]] and [[St. John Ambulance]] to keep smelling salts in their [[first aid]] boxes.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Caring on the home front |title=Air Raids fact sheet: First aid kits |url=http://www.caringonthehomefront.org.uk/factsheets/firstAidKits.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120102118/http://www.caringonthehomefront.org.uk/factsheets/firstAidKits.htm |archive-date=2008-11-20 }}</ref>

== Physiological action ==
[[File:Rembrandt van Rijn - Unconscious Patient (Allegory of Smell) - RR-111 - Leiden Collection.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Rembrandt]]'s ''[[The Senses (Rembrandt)|Unconscious Patient (Allegory of Smell)]]'' shows a woman using smelling salts to revive a man who has fainted at the hands of a [[barber-surgeon]].]]

Solid [[ammonium carbonate]] and [[ammonium bicarbonate]] salts partly dissociate to form {{chem|link=ammonia|NH|3}}, {{chem|link=carbon dioxide|CO|2}} and {{chem|link=water vapour|H|2|O}} vapour as follows:

{{block indent|{{chem2 | (NH4)2CO3 -> 2 NH3 + CO2 + H2O }}}}
{{block indent|{{chem2 | NH4HCO3 -> NH3 + CO2 + H2O }}}}

The smelling salts release ammonia ({{chem|NH|3}}) gas, which triggers an [[inhalation]] reflex. It causes the muscles that control breathing to work faster by irritating the [[mucous membrane]]s of the [[nose]] and [[lung]]s.<ref name=BBC1>{{cite news|work=BBC News|title=Henman's smelling salt solution|date=2002-07-02|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2082231.stm|access-date=2009-01-03}}</ref>

Fainting can be caused by excessive [[parasympathetic nervous system|parasympathetic]] and [[vagus nerve|vagal]] activity that slows the [[heart]] and decreases [[perfusion]] of the [[brain]].<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/tc/fainting-topic-overview | title= Fainting | website= WebMD| date= January 2, 2013 |access-date= April 22, 2014}}</ref> The sympathetic irritant effect is exploited to counteract these vagal parasympathetic effects and thereby reverse the faint.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://smellingsalts.org/why-do-smelling-salts-wake-you-up/|title=Why do smelling salts wake you up? |website= smellingsalts.org |date=7 July 2015|access-date=7 July 2015}}</ref>

== Risks ==
Exposure to ammonia gas in large concentrations for prolonged periods is toxic and can be fatal.<ref name="BJSM" /><ref name="scifun" /> If a high concentration of ammonia is inhaled too close to the nostril, it might burn the nasal or oral mucosa. The suggested distance is {{convert|10–15|cm|in|0}}.<ref name="BJSM" />

The use of ammonia smelling salts to revive people injured during sport is not recommended because it may inhibit or delay a proper and thorough neurological assessment by a healthcare professional,<ref name="BJSM" /> such as after [[Traumatic brain injury|concussions]] when hospitalization may be advisable, and some governing bodies recommend specifically against it.<ref name="thefa">{{cite web |publisher=The Football Association |title=Pitchside medical care |url=http://www.thefa.com/GrassrootsNew/Coach/Postings/2004/06/MedicalKitBag |archive-url=https://archive.today/20071029051823/http://www.thefa.com/GrassrootsNew/Coach/Postings/2004/06/MedicalKitBag |url-status=dead |archive-date=2007-10-29 }}</ref> The irritant nature of smelling salts means that they can exacerbate any pre-existing [[cervical spine]] injury by causing reflex withdrawal away from them, although this has been found to be a result of holding the smelling salts closer to the nose than recommended.<ref name="BJSM" />

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Ammonium compounds]]
[[Category:First aid]]
[[Category:Odor]]