From: sbharris@ix.netcom.com(Steven B. Harris)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Liquid Nitrogen
Date: 18 Dec 1999 12:52:10 GMT

In <384c512c.2529975@netnews.worldnet.att.net>
taurusryc@worldnet.att.net writes:
>
>On Sat, 04 Dec 1999 10:53:04 -0800, hasmit1@ibm.net wrote:
>
>>         Hello, I was just wondering if it is safe to apply Liquid
>>         Nitrogen to skin abrasions, or warts on the penis? Will it do a
>>         lot of harm if applied to the penis?


    If you don't mind the chance of busting it off accidentally-- no
problem.  Does that answer the question?  LN2 is quite safe in the
hands of pros, who can guess depth of freezing from blanch radius and
appliation rate.  Everybody else should consider that pros are there to
do certain jobs for a reason.   It's not rocket science, and anybody
can learn to do it.  But have you got the time, opportunity, and money?

From: sbharris@ix.netcom.com(Steven B. Harris)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Liquid Nitrogen
Date: 18 Dec 1999 12:55:49 GMT

In <384cec8c.0@ecn.ab.ca> sharx@ecn.ab.ca () writes:
>
>taurusryc@worldnet.att.net wrote:
>> On Sat, 04 Dec 1999 10:53:04 -0800, hasmit1@ibm.net wrote:
>
>> >         Hello, I was just wondering if it is safe to apply Liquid
>> >         Nitrogen to skin abrasions, or warts on the penis? Will it do
>> >         a lot of harm if applied to the penis?  Any help would be
>> >         greatly appreciated. thank you
>
>> http://www.capederm.com/info_liquid_nitrogen.htm
>
>> Liquid Nitrogen
>>
>> I. Definition:
>> Liquid nitrogen is a cold, liquefied gas with a temperature of -321° F.
>>
>> Not a do-it-yourself procedure.
>
>It is impossible for ANYTHING to be that cold. Absolute ZERO is something
>like minus 450 F.



   -459.6 F   And liquid nitrogen is -321 F, just like the man said.
The liquid helium in the magnet in your average superconducting MRI
machine is -452 F.   It's not that hard with present technology to get
that close to absolute zero.  LN2 costs in bulk less than milk, liquid
helium about the same as good scotch.

From: sbharris@ix.netcom.com(Steven B. Harris)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Liquid Nitrogen
Date: 18 Dec 1999 13:01:04 GMT

In <FMDwzq.Izr.0.cb2@apgea.army.mil> "LaVerne Cash"
<clcash@apgea.army.mil> writes:

>I once had a dermatologist attempt to remove a wart from my hand using
>liquid nitrogen. Initially the wart was small. Each time the doctor
>applied liquid nitrogen the wart disappeared only to return larger than
>it had been previously. After about 3 tries the wart had grown from less
>than a pea to about the size of a nickel. The dermatologist gave up on
>the liquid nitrogen and gave me a prescription version of Compound W (It
>was the same acid but I don't remember what it was). That worked.  I
>don't know how common my experience is but as a result (justly or
>unjustly ) I would tend to be very skeptical of any procedure involving
>liquid nitrogen


   That would be Duofilm, the Rx stronger version.  As for the LN2, you
overgeneralize.  It's not that great on classic warts do to the fact
tha the wart virus survives deep freezing, and tissue does not.

From: sbharris@ix.netcom.com(Steven B. Harris)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Liquid Nitrogen
Date: 18 Dec 1999 13:01:30 GMT

In <82jhl8$r8v$1@pegasus.csx.cam.ac.uk> "Bennett" <njb35@spam.ac.uk>
writes:

>Daniel Ganek wrote in message <384D2C8D.223F2AD3@radionics.com>...
>>Bennett wrote:
>>> When used in this way it's applied through a special spray-gun type
>>> thing, which is just as well.  I have a pathological fear of liquid N2
>>> sloshing around and onto my feet/hands, which promptly freeze solid
>>> and snap off. It _could_ happen! Not something to play with...
>>>
>>>
>>
>>You obviously never played with LN in the lab or saw demos on TV.
>>Splashing some on your skin or even sticking your finger in a dewar for
>>a very short time will not cause your finger to freeze and fall off but
>>you won't even feel it! The temperature difference (400°F!) between the
>>LN and your skin will INSTANTLY cause the LN to vaporize and the vapor
>>will act as an insulator.
>
>
>I've heard of this from friends who've worked in the physics labs, but
>not had the courage to try it for myself.  Never _seen_ it done.  I have
>a feeling that I'd feel pretty stupid (and sore) if I played around with
>the LN used to store cell-lines in the labs I've been in and ended up
>losing the tip of my finger.  I've "burnt" myself on the -80 freezer
>trays before now, and once got a reminder that I was using _dry_ ice, not
>normal ice by getting a sore finger, even through a rubber glove.
>
>Maybe one day....until then I suppose I'll keep my concerns ;-)
>
>Cheers
>
>Bennett


   Metal's one thing, the liquid is another.  The original poster is
correct-- you can put you fingers in LN2 for about a second, before you
do any frostbite.  That's enough time to put the whole hand in and
splash it or flip it with the fingers, affectionately so long as you
don't try to scoop any out.  If you do it just right, it looks like you
can do it as long as you want, but were just stirring it briskly for
other reasons. <g>.  Not a demo you want to do for high school kids
witout a lot of explanation, though.

From: sbharris@ix.netcom.com(Steven B. Harris)
Newsgroups: misc.health.alternative
Subject: Re: Sebhorreic keratoses
Date: 31 Dec 1999 12:59:05 GMT

In <84gu0d$e9l$1@nnrp1.deja.com> patman2@my-deja.com writes:

>Can sebhorreic keratoses (benign brown raised patches on the skin) be
>removed the same way as warts e.g. using something like Wart Off? They
>were typically frozen off by my dermatologist using liquid nitrogen but
>were very expensive to have removed.  I now live in a rural area with no
>dermatologist within 100 miles and wonder if I can treat them myself?
>
>Thanks,
>Pat



   You can scrape them off, if you have a sterile blade.  They bleed,
but if you're careful and do small areas with attention to antiseptic
technique (if you have those skills) they can be taken off by anyone.
Scars are a little worse than with a professional, so don't try this on
your face, at home.  Your only real danger on other skin is missing the
diagnosis.  However, for classic lesions, especially if you have a lot
of them, there's not much danger of that, either.

From: sbharris@ix.netcom.com(Steven B. Harris)
Newsgroups: misc.health.alternative
Subject: Re: Sebhorreic keratoses
Date: 31 Dec 1999 13:03:48 GMT

In <lf0o6soc7i2cqf5shk8go1pn3t6ashou1f@4ax.com> Kalalau Rich
<kalalau@gte.net> writes:
>
>On Fri, 31 Dec 1999 00:50:42 GMT, patman2@my-deja.com wrote:
>
>>Can sebhorreic keratoses (benign brown raised patches on the skin) be
>>removed the same way as warts e.g. using something like Wart Off? They
>>were typically frozen off by my dermatologist using liquid nitrogen but
>>were very expensive to have removed.  I now live in a rural area with no
>>dermatologist within 100 miles and wonder if I can treat them myself?
>
>Why don't you get your own liquid nitrogen and freeze them off
>yourself??



   This takes a little practice, however.  Areas that turn white are
going to die, so you have to be VERY careful in your first couple of
sessions not to overdo things.  However, once you get the hang of it,
you can indeed use your own liquid nitrogen in a syrofoam coffee cup,
and a Q-tip.  The only problem is finding a supplier.  Commercially, an
LS-160 dewer (a tank about 5 feet high and the size of your average hot
water heater) is the stardard for refills.  The big distritutors aren't
going to come around to your house and fill your thermos a couple of
times.  You'll have to go to them.  Use a phonebook.  The stuff is
about as expensive as milk, even in small quantities.

  Don't use it over your clothes, and don't use it over places where
you can spill it into your shoes.  Other than that, the above
precautions about skin damage are pretty much all you need.  Go slow.