Usage of Smelling Salts

Smelling Salts Today

Although they can seem mysterious, there is a reason that smelling salts are still being used today, just as they have been for centuries. They work. Because of their long-standing effectiveness, they have become one of the standard items that should be stocked in a first aid kit. They are no longer packaged in small glass jars that look like they belong in a witch doctor’s bag. Today they are packed in individual ampules that are very portable. In their individual ampules they are also properly dosed for a single application, so you no longer have to be concerned by over exposure. Don’t write off smelling salts just because they seem like something your great-grandmother might have used. There is often a reason that a home based treatment sticks around for such a long time. After all, smelling salts are just the simple science of ammonia application that causes the user to inhale.

Since ancient Roman times, people have been utilizing smelling salts to prevent fainting, or to revive someone after a fainting spell. The name salt, is confusing however, because it isn’t actually salt that people use to wake up, it is actually ammonia. The ammonia works upon inhalation to “wake up” the individual in need. They weren’t just used in Roman times, however. In the Victorian era, smelling salts gained traction in popular use, thanks to the prevalence of tightly laced corsets. As theses cut off the lung power of women (and some men!) fainting was a popular involuntary response. The ammonia was held in a bottle of what looked like salt crystals but was actually glass or other rock crystals. Today, people still use smelling salts to assist after a fainting incident. In fact, most first aid kits have small ampules of ammonia as a part of the standard supplies.

Throughout History, Smelling Salts Have Been Helpful

Since ancient Roman times, people have been utilizing smelling salts to prevent fainting, or to revive someone after a fainting spell. The name salt, is confusing however, because it isn’t actually salt that people use to wake up, it is actually ammonia. The ammonia works upon inhalation to “wake up” the individual in need. They weren’t just used in Roman times, however. In the Victorian era, smelling salts gained traction in popular use, thanks to the prevalence of tightly laced corsets. As theses cut off the lung power of women (and some men!) fainting was a popular involuntary response. The ammonia was held in a bottle of what looked like salt crystals but was actually glass or other rock crystals. Today, people still use smelling salts to assist after a fainting incident. In fact, most first aid kits have small ampules of ammonia as a part of the standard supplies.

Smelling Salts Good to Have on Hand   

In use for centuries, smelling salts are one of those time honored medical cures that continue to be useful. Medically speaking, smelling salts goes by the name of Ammonia Inhalant. Packaged in convenient ampules, smelling salts continue to keep people from fainting or revive someone in the instance of fainting. In an ampule size, you aren’t at risk for ammonia over exposure, which can be an irritant. Fainting can be one of the scarier medical emergencies to happen, since a person can go from appearing fine and healthy, to falling over unexpectedly on to the floor. A quick revival can be important to assessing the general state of being and health of the fainting person, especially if they have hit their head upon falling. Although smelling salts sounds like an old wives’ tale, they actually do work. A well-stocked first-aid kit should have ammonia ampules, to help people in the case of fainting. </p>