Understanding helium and how to enjoy your balloons safely

by Claire Carney

I am a freelance florist, Certified Balloon Artist and NABAS Approved Instructor.

Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes

The last few weeks have seen balloon safety in the headlines and so I thought it would be valuable to share some important safety information.

This week saw two parents on This Morning sharing how their eight year old son died after inhaling helium from a balloon. I can’t even begin to imagine how the parents must feel, and my thoughts are absolutely with them after such a tragic event. I also totally understand their call for helium balloons to be banned.

Many people assume that helium is just for a bit of fun, to inhale and make a squeaky voice but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Let’s understand exactly what helium is: an inert gas which is colourless, odourless, non toxic and non flammable. However, non toxic doesn’t mean it isn’t dangerous. Helium is an asphyxiant, meaning when inhaled it fills the lungs and displaces oxygen in the body, potentially leading to unconsciousness and even death. George at GO International (one of my wholesalers) summarised very succinctly how helium behaves and with permission I have used his wording below:

“When you inhale pure helium, it rapidly fills the lungs and flushes out the oxygen the body needs to function, particularly the brain. Your blood has nothing to absorb. And here is the cruellest twist of the entire mechanism: your body’s panic alarm, the one that screams at you to breathe when you have held your breath too long underwater, is not triggered by a lack of oxygen. It is triggered by a build-up of carbon dioxide.

Because helium is inert, it does not stop the body from exhaling CO2, so CO2 levels do not rise, and the panic response is never triggered. There is no choking sensation. No struggle. No gasping for air. Just a quiet, smiling collapse and unconsciousness can occur within five to ten seconds of the first breath, with irreversible brain damage following within a minute if normal breathing is not restored.

That is helium. The “harmless” party gas. It kills you politely, before you know what is happening.”

However, I’m not convinced a ban on helium balloons is the answer. With anything banned it rarely removes the problem but changes the dynamics and moves it out of sight. There would inevitably be fewer balloon professionals, resulting in more hobbyists operating without training, without insurance and not necessarily understanding why things should be done a certain way to maintain safety standards.

In my opinion, education is absolutely vital and hence the reason for covering this topic. I have seen first hand the absolutely joy and delight that balloons can bring to both large and small celebrations, and balloons remain a popular element of many parties and events. Plus, our industry use of helium as balloon gas is actually recycling the byproduct of helium processing for medical use, which would otherwise be wasted.

Balloons come with safety warnings printed either on them or on the packaging, but it can be difficult to make this information clearly visible to customers. So what is key is that I also educate my customers wherever I can. In my newsletters. Here on my website. On the care cards that are attached to my balloons. These cards also includes important safety information regarding the balloons you choose. A ‘Which’ report recently tested a sample of latex balloons purchased online and a very high proportion were filled with dangerous chemicals that far exceeded the stringent tests that professional grade balloons (such as I use) have to reach.

My hope is that I share this important information with my customers and followers and you’ll be able to share it further with people you know. If you have any questions, please do ask me. If you are unsure about something, chances are someone else is too and I’d love to have the chance to clarify it.

So when you receive balloons with a care card on, please don’t think of us as the fun police. In fact, we want nothing more than for you to love your balloon displays, have a wonderful celebration, enjoy your balloons safely and dispose of them responsibly afterwards. If we can achieve that, then everyone will be happy!