Bengaluru: Recently, the range of flavors for paan has been expanding. From ice paan to fire paan, this traditional mouth refresher has piqued the interest of many, especially the younger generation. However, what seemed like a fun experience with liquid nitrogen paan, soon turned into a nightmare for a 12-year-old girl and her family in Bengaluru when she started experiencing severe stomach pain.

The girl was rushed to the hospital, where doctors diagnosed her with ‘perforation peritonitis’, a serious condition where a hole forms in the stomach. She recalled that she wanted to try the smoky paan because it looked interesting, and everyone else was trying it too. Although no one else felt any pain, the discomfort she experienced was terrifying.

At Narayana Multispeciality Hospital in HSR Layout, doctors determined that surgery was necessary to prevent further complications. The girl underwent an exploratory laparotomy along with intra-operative OGD scopy and sleeve gastrectomy. Intra-operative OGD scopy is a procedure where an endoscope—a flexible tube with a camera and light—is used during surgery to examine the esophagus, stomach, and the first part of the small intestine, as explained by Dr. Vijay HS, the lead surgeon in a report.

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During the surgery, a portion of her stomach, measuring about 4×5 cm, was removed. She was discharged after six days.

The incident has raised alarms among medical practitioners. Dr. Vijay emphasized the importance of caution and safety as the popularity of liquid nitrogen in food increases. He stressed that increased awareness is essential to prevent potentially serious consequences.

Liquid nitrogen, with a liquid-to-gas expansion ratio of 1:694 at 20 degrees Celsius, poses significant health risks. The rapid vaporization of liquid nitrogen in an enclosed space generates immense force. This volatile chemical can damage the skin and present severe health hazards to chefs and food handlers. Inhaling the vapors can lead to breathing difficulties, and there have been reports of tissue damage due to its hazardous nature.

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