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Analgesia

Acute pain relief

ENTONOX® is used for analgesia and sedation in the treatment and relief of short-term acute pain, where fast onset and offset is needed. Areas of use include, (but are not limited to): minor painful procedures such as cannulisation, biopsies, colonoscopies, obstetrics, emergency care, dentistry and paediatrics.

ENTONOX is a mixture of 50:50 nitrous oxide and oxygen premixed in the cylinder ready for use. This analgesic mixture is administered to the patient through a mouth piece or face mask. Gas flow is normally controlled by a demand-valve which is activated by the patient's inspired breath. The necessary equipment is easy to handle and does not restrict patient mobility.

As an alternative the analgesic mixture can be supplied through a blending device where the clinician may want to provide an alternative mixture. Get further information on the use of Entonox

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ENTONOX and pain management

Key features of ENTONOX include:

predictable and reliable analgesia
effective pain relief and sedative effect without loss of consciousness
rapid onset and offset, which can lead to savings through reduced treatment time and increased patient turnaround
easy, self-regulated administration, relieving anxiety
minimal side-effects.

This brings obvious benefits for patients, healthcare professionals and providers

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History of analgesia

After being synthesised by Joseph Priestley in 1776 the analgesic properties of nitrous oxide were discovered by Humphrey Davy in 1800. Nitrous oxide/oxygen mixtures have been established in clinical practice since the 1860s, first in dentistry and later in general surgery. In 1881, nitrous oxide was introduced for pain relief in childbirth. Then in 1911, the American anaesthetist, Arthur Ernest Guedel, described an analgesic technique where patients themselves were allowed to control the administration of a mixture of nitrous oxide and air during childbirth and minor surgery. After the development and improvement of dedicated devices for safe and effective administration of gas mixtures, pre-mixed nitrous oxide/oxygen mixtures cylinders were introduced in the 1960s and these are still used today.

In addition to its traditional use in childbirth, today ENTONOX is fast becoming an established analgesic for a variety of painful procedures within many hospital departments. It is also widely used in emergency care, both pre-hospital and in accident and emergency units.