According to the media, attacks with sleeping gases are increasing on the Continent. The occupants of caravans are being rendered unconscious using narcotic gases that are sprayed into the vehicles. The intruders then can steal the caravanners' belongings undisturbed. Magazines contain three or four adverts for gas detectors each month to protect against this problem.
The most common narcotic gas available to criminals is contained in sprays formulated to help reluctant engines to start. These contain diethyl ether, the same sort of gas used to anaesthetise people for operations. Other gases, such as propane, may also be used but these are not narcotic. They replace the oxygen in air, thereby suffocating the occupants.
When I was training as an anaesthetist many years ago, I was taught to use ether to put healthy humans off to sleep for surgery. It is not easy. Ether is a pungent vapour that causes coughing and irritation of the airways. It is also very slow to act. Even holding a mask over the patient's face, minutes would pass before they went to sleep. During the phase of going off to sleep there can be a period of excitement when the patient may become very restless. Because of these and other difficulties, ether is no longer used and has been replaced by other anaesthetic drugs.
In a caravan, it is difficult to believe that a concentration of ether sufficient to put somebody
to sleep could be delivered by spraying it through a ventilation plate. It might be possible to make occupants sleepier than normal with a low concentration, especially if they are tired after
a long drive or possibly after a nice glass or two of red wine.
If a robbery were discovered afterwards, the unmistakably pungent smell of ether would still be present. Interestingly, few of the reports I have read mention this. If it were used and the driver had been sedated, then he or she shouldn't drive for 24 hours afterwards to let the effects wear off completely, just like being given sedation in hospital.
Do I think the risk of being anaesthetised or suffocated is enough to make me buy an alarm? No. Would I fit one to my van? Yes. Why? Ether and the other gases are highly flammable. An ether fire is terrifying, and I would like to know if someone has sprayed some into my tourer. Furthermore, criminals may believe they can anaesthetise us with an ether spray. An alarm might just frighten would-be attackers off.
Gilbert Park
Consultant anaesthetist
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