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Helium and the Human Body

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blade2251:
what is the effect of helium on the human body... lets say if a person was to like ummm... well digest helium... what would be the major and minor effects be... would they still get the high voice or what?

jdurg:
Well, helium is a noble gas with the lowest melting point of any substance in existance.  If one were to ingest solid helium, they would probably cease to exist due to the severe cold they were experiencing.  Helium does not form any compounds, so the only way that someone would ingest helium would be in the form of a gas.  The gas is much less dense than air, so their vocal cords vibrate a heck of a lot faster as the He is expelled causing their voice to be much, much higher.  The dangers with ingestion of helium is simply asphyxiation caused by the displacement of oxygen.  There are no chemical reactions which occur in the body, and as soon as the helium has escaped normal respiration begins once more.  So in all actuality, inhaling helium gas really isn't a danger.  It's just when people forget that they need oxygen to live that the problems occur.

Mitch:
 :uhuh:

blade2251:
ok so if someone was to like... i dont know... swallow helium like they do carbonization from sodas... would they get the high pitched voice then

Corvettaholic:
I think you can swallow helium just as easily as you can swallow plain ol air from the atmosphere. If you ingest helium in any other state than a gas, you will die. Fairly painfully I'd imagine. And you mean carbonation from soda? The bubbly stuff. Its just gas... I'm fairly sure about that anyway.

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