Instead, they remain focused on anecdotal evidence that suggests the ammonia in smelling salts irritates the highly sensitive membranes in the nose and lungs, disrupting normal breathing patterns and inducing what's known as an "inhalation reflex," or the body's emergency survival instinct to restore stasis. The ammonia may also hyperstimulate the large trigeminal nerve that runs from the nostrils to deep inside the brain stem and thalamus.
While doctors and trainers remain skeptical, athletes swear that this combination of responses to the gas triggers the nervous system's powerful fight-or-flight response, temporarily spiking levels of breathing, heart rate and alertness. Junod and Wickersham: Tom Brady's most dangerous game.
Holmes: The NBA's secret addiction. Even if it's all the result of a placebo effect, NFL players just know it's legal and it works Seuss-like face after sniffing salts during a game. Because of that effect, perceived or not, former U. Extra-strength smelling salts featuring brand names like Nose Tork and Wake Up Motherfxxxxr are targeted toward the powerlifting market. Ammonia capsules also remain popular in the NHL, except maybe in Boston, where in , then-Bruins center Tyler Seguin accidentally tossed a discarded capsule into a fan's beer.
In the NFL, where Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis and scores of others have been photographed while indulging, one former trainer estimated that more than 80 percent of players use smelling salts. Former Giants star Michael Strahan once put that number in the 70 to 80 percent range too.
If they were used strictly as a treatment for fainting, a football team should go through maybe a handful of capsules the entire season. In just that one game against the Rams, the Cowboys left more than broken capsules on their sideline. The optics aren't exactly ideal for an image-conscious corporation like the NFL.
YouTube clips and social media threads of players sniffing salts typically inject snide references to drug use. In a Week 3 Monday night game against the Cardinals, cameras captured what looked like a scene straight out of an after-school special on inhalants when an oblivious Elliott huffed away while Dallas running backs coach Gary Brown yelled in his ear.
Days later, network TV cameras in Green Bay captured a Gollum-eyed Clay Matthews enjoying several long, seemingly mind-altering pulls before taking the field against the Bears. These days, Tom Brady might be a well-known health food nut who won't poison his body with so much as a single tomato, but just a few years ago he could regularly be seen on the Patriots bench rewiring his thalamus with a cupful of ammonia capsules alongside his wide receivers.
Instead of something sinister, though, what the widespread use of smelling salts really reveals is the increasingly bizarre culture created by the NFL's win-at-all-costs pressure cooker. Extreme parity, the minuscule margin of error, the constant threat of injury and million-dollar stakes all push players to exploit any shortcut, no matter how weird, gross or pitiful. More than a century ago in major league baseball, players like Hall of Fame pitcher Pud Galvin thought consuming ground-up monkey testicles was the answer seriously.
The gas irritates the nasal membranes and lungs when the person inhales. This irritation triggers a sharp inhalation reflex, which brings more air into the lungs and allows the oxygen to flow rapidly to the brain. The person begins to breathe faster and feels more alert. Smelling salts have traditionally been used in cases where someone has fainted or blacked out. Photos reveal English soccer players began using smelling salts back in the s. The use of smelling salts in American sports first became popular in boxing as trainers used it to revive fighters who had been stunned or knocked unconscious.
While boxing no longer allows the use of smelling salts, there is no such prohibition in the major American sports leagues like the NHL, NFL, and MLB, where its use has been commonplace for years.
You can find boxes of smelling salt for sale on Amazon. The concentration will likely burn your eyebrows off. Stay safe and buy the capsules. The answer is no. Hockey players are sniffing ammonia-laced salt. Despite this fact, smelling salt has become an integral part of a hockey pregame ritual.
But there is a more rational explanation. Players may be giving into confirmation bias. Previous Post. Next Post. Play Tips. Leave a Reply Cancel reply. Popular Posts. Recent Posts.
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