(財團法人台灣紅絲帶基金會編譯，資料來源：紐約時報，RONI CARYN RABIN報導 ，2010/10/18)
使用者都稱它們為poppers (註，發出啵聲的東西)：一類稱為亞硝酸烷基酯的化學物質，可經由鼻腔吸入而達到一個快速的”high”，或增強性快感。現在法國的醫生們警告說，他們也可能會導致眼睛的損傷和視力受損。
在一封投給新英格蘭醫學雜誌之信函中，眼科醫師指出在三個月中發現4個在派對上使用poppers後視力受到影響的案例。有幾個人抱怨看到了光的明亮點和視網膜成像顯示出在視覺感受的中心凹受到損傷，此處正是視網膜中負責駕駛或閱讀等所需敏銳中心視力的部位。
醫生指出，隨著時間的推移兩名患者的視力恢復到正常，然而他們的視網膜仍可能存在持續的傷害。其中的一名27歲的女性其損傷至少持續一個月。醫生說，
出現如此的損害，可能是因為氧化氮影響視覺感光的功能和代謝。他們警告說，這個問題可能是被低報。「我們相信事實上，這種併發症是很常見的」，作者之一的米歇爾•帕克醫師同時寫了一封電子郵件並補充說，從這封信被接受並發表後，醫生們已經看到了更多的病人。「初步的數據確實表明，只有少數的消費者會出現在眼科診所」。並沒有嚴重視力喪失的個案，且在某些情況下，視網膜的傷害是溫和的。不過，帕克醫師說，「即使只是單次劑量的poppers亦可能會影響視網膜」。
註：亞硝酸異戊酯最初由伯勒斯•惠康製藥公司（現葛蘭素史克）和禮來公司生產時，是以小瓶安瓿裝瓶，折斷瓶頸後即可釋放揮發性氣體。因為折斷瓶頸時會發出「啵」的聲音（popping sound），這也是Poppers名字的由來（意即為「會發出啵聲的東西」）。
Vision: A Quick High for Sex May Damage Vision
By RONI CARYN RABIN ., Published: October 18, 2010
Users call them poppers: a class of chemicals called alkyl nitrites that can be inhaled for a quick high, or to enhance sexual pleasure. Now doctors in France are warning that they can also cause eye damage and impaired vision.
In a letter to The New England Journal of Medicine, the ophthalmologists describe four cases over three months in which patients’ vision was affected after they used poppers at parties. Several complained of seeing bright dots of light, and retinal imaging revealed damage to the photoreceptors in the fovea, part of the retina that is responsible for the sharp central vision needed for driving or reading.
Two of the patients’ vision returned to normal over time, though their retinas may still have sustained damage, the doctors said. In one, a 27-year-old woman, the impairment persisted for at least a month.
The damage may occur because nitric oxide affects photoreceptor function and metabolism, the doctors said.
And they warned that the problem was probably underreported. “We believe in fact that this complication is quite common,” one of the authors, Dr. Michel Paques, wrote in an e-mail, adding that the doctors have seen several more patients since the letter was accepted for publication. “Preliminary data indeed suggest that only a minority of consumers will show up at the ophthalmologist.”
There were no severe cases of vision loss, and in some cases the retinal damage was mild. Still, Dr. Paques said, “even a single dose of poppers may affect the retina.”