A 29-year-old man developed vision loss in both eyes after a party at a nightclub. His doctors traced the likely cause to an unusual source: secondhand vapor from a candle infused with alkyl nitrite, the chemical in poppers, that had been burning in what they described as "a small, intimate private room."
Scans showed damage at the center of both retinas consistent with poppers maculopathy, a toxic injury to the macula, the part of the retina responsible for sharp central vision. The condition has typically been reported in people who use poppers directly. A case report in Cureus, published in August 2026, describes what its authors call a unique case of exposure from a burning candle.
