public health at johns hopkins university. i guess i didn t know that laughing gas went away but i guess it used to be used and then hasn t been for a while, huh? about 20, 30 years ago, it was very common. it s still used in england and canada and some other countries. it s good at taking the edge off but remember, it s the whole body effect, it s not just the lower half of your body that gets taken out like it s an epdid youral, so it s got pluses and minuses. jon: epdurable blockings the pain through the injections near the spine. a lot of women like them, i know my wife used them all the time, but there are some potential hazards, right? well, epidurals have a very good safety profile but there are one in 10,000 times that can go tragically wrong and lead to a major con polyindication that s treatable but always a big deal. epidurals are great for pain but they re also difficult to get done in a rural hospital, there may not be