Aggressive behaviors are a major problem in patients with autism / ASD. Parents of kids with autism / ASD struggle with aggression as one of the most challenging aspects of this disease. Drug treatments for aggression are often not effective and they may even contribute to death in some patients. On the other hand, the use of low-dose, transdermal nicotine patches is relatively safe and has been shown to reduce aggression in ASD kids and adults. This is an ASD hack that can be useful for both kids and adults with autism / ASD.
Transdermal nicotine patches are used regularly in those with mental health issues to reduce agitation and quell cholinergic dysfunction. In fact, nicotine patches, when used cyclically with 1-2 days off every 3-4 days, can be beneficial to health and produce few or no side effects. In one case study of an adolescent with ASD, nicotine patches were well-tolerated and they reduced the need for restraint and emergency medications.
Natural Alternative to Nicotine Patches
If the idea of putting a nicotine patch for ASD on your kid makes you squeamish, consider working with an herbal mix known as Rápe / Rapeh which contains pure tobacco (without any of the additives found in commercial cigarettes). If you think about tobacco as a medicinal plant that has been used for centuries to promote peaceful social interactions, the idea of pure nicotine might begin to make more sense to you. If you’re an American, you might recall the idea of the “Peace Pipe” as a tobacco-based tool that was once used by Native people to promote peaceful treaties and social harmony. Tobacco, also known as Nicotiana rustica is one of many plants that contain nicotinic-receptor agonists that interact with the human cholinergic system.
When nicotine receptors are overwhelmed and “blocked” by a venom such as the krait snake venom a person will develop Totally Locked-In Syndrome, a state in which the person is still conscious and able to feel everything that happens to them, yet they appear lifeless and dead. A person in this state must be ventilated until the effects of the venom subside or they’ll die. The COVID spike protein is nearly identical to krait snake venom and causes slightly less dramatic effects involving lethargy, dullness, poor appetite, poor digestion, difficulty sleeping, and essentially difficulty functioning normally, a state that represents a less severe form of Totally Locked-In Syndrome that have been dubbed “Long COVID”.
Pure nicotine either from the transdermal patches or from pure tobacco (as in what you might find in Rápe / Rapeh), competes with toxins, venoms, and viral particles that might lodge themselves in nicotinic receptors. Pure forms of nicotine have the ability to kick toxins out of nicotine receptors to help them function more normally again, but there are other herbs like Lobelia inflata that contain substances that also interact with nicotinic receptors in a natural way to produce a cleansing, detoxifying effect.
Rápe / Rapeh is a substance that’s taken as a snuff – it’s inhaled into the nose such that the nicotine impacts the brain through the nasal bulbs. A very tiny dose (a pinch) of Rápe / Rapeh can inhaled up to 3 times per day as an alternative to the nicotine patch for ASD.
Nicotine Patches for Aggression in Autism Patients
Scientists have noted that the nicotinic receptors in the cholingergic system play an important role in the development of ASD as well as in aggressive behaviors. This fact inspired studies into the use and tolerability of low dose, third stage 7 mg nicotine patches for adults with ASD and aggression.
Transdermal nicotine patches are normally used to help people stop smoking, but since the advent of COVID when scientists started realizing that smokers were less likely (initially, at least) to get sick with the infection, the use of nicotine as a pure transdermal patch has expanded. Indeed, there are many types of infection in which viral particles (such as the COVID spike protein) or bacterial toxins can lodge themselves in the nicotinic receptors to wreak havoc on human health and behavior.
The intentional use of nicotine patches or Rápe / Rapeh to overcome strong angry or aggressive behaviors makes sense given that nicotine has been used to promote peaceful social interactions for centuries. Nicotine, in fact, helps people with severe digestive issues begin producing normal facial expressions. There’s a link, after all, between stomach upsets and an inability to produce meaningful facial expressions that provoke positive social interactions. The stomach upset – “flat affect” issue is one that can lead to a downward spiral in people with ASD. Lydian and I have observed this phenomenon of improved facial expressions due to the use of nicotine patches ourselves with our clients. Clients that normally have a very “flat affect” and very few facial expressions will become more animated and more capable of communicating using body language and gestures when working with nicotine patches. This effect seems to be permanent as, once they begin working with the nicotine patches, even just a few times, facial expressions improve even when they aren’t using the patches. This nicotine-effect makes a massive, positive difference in the patient’s ability to have positive and peaceful social interactions.
Click here to read more about nicotine patches for cancer.
The alpha-7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor plays a role in the development of ASD and it can also play a role in ASD aggressive behaviors specifically. One study demonstrated that low-dose, third stage, 7 mg transdermal nicotine patches can reduce aggression in autistic adults. This study included 8 adults who were randomized in a double-blind crossover trial of 7 mg transdermal nicotine or a placebo. The trial took place over the course of 7 days. All of the participants who received the nicotine patch tolerated the treatment well. The five subjects who received the nicotine patch improved significantly in their aberrant behaviors, as well as in terms of their sleep.
This should be thought provoking for parents of ASD kids, especially parents who are searching for ways to reduce aggression in ASD patients.
Nicotine Patches to Address Sensory Gating for ASD Kids
Some anecdotal reports have demonstrated that ASD kids may experience some relief from sensory overwhelm using nicotine patches at an appropriate dose according to their weight.
Can Nicotine Patches Be Used in Children?
Yes, but children need lower than a 7 mg dose of nicotine over the course of 24 hours. If your child weighs 100 pounds or more, put tape on half of the nicotine patch rather than cutting it in half to deliver 3.5 mg over the course of 24 hours. If you cut the patch, the entire dose of nicotine (in this case 3.5 mg) will be delivered all at once. Allow your 100 pound + child to try the 7 mg nicotine patch at half of a dose (using tape) for 3-4 days in a row. Take 1-2 days off, then give your child another 3-4 days of treatment using the transdermal patches. If you don’t take 1-2 days off from the nicotine periodically, the body will become less sensitive to it.
If your child weighs less than 100 pounds and you wish to try the transdermal nicotine patches for ASD aggression, apply tape to the patch according to the following formula:
- 75 pounds – cover ¾ of the patch with tape
- 50 pounds – cover all but 1/8th of the patch with tape
- Less than 50 pounds – ask a doctor
What about Nicotinic Acid, also known as Vitamin B3, for ASD?
People have some knowledge of nutrition might have noted that nicotinic acid and nicotine sound like they’re related. Nicotinic acid is another name for niacin, also known as vitamin B3. There are a number of forms of vitamin B3, but niacin is one of the forms that’s been used in high doses to cure ASD, or at least significantly reduce symptoms, partly through its impact on the nicotinic receptors in the cholinergic system.
Click here to read about vitamin B3 for autism / ASD.
If you are giving your child high dose nicotinic acid / niacin / vitamin B3, don’t use the nicotine patch at the same time. Nicotine and nicotinic acid can amplify each other’s effects. To be clear, these two substances, vitamin B3 / nicotinic acid and nicotine have different effects on the nicotinic receptors, but when used together they can produce issues like nausea and other other uncomfortable symptoms. So while average doses of vitamin B3 might be okay while a child (or adult) doses with nicotine patches, high doses should be administered only on those 1-2 days off from the nicotine patches.
For more information or to set up a health coaching call with us to learn more about nicotine for ASD / autism, contact us at info@medicinassagradas.com or info@alivenhealthy.com.
Resources:
Lewis, A. S. et al. (2018). An Exploratory Trial of Transdermal Nicotine for Aggression and Irritability in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Retrieved January 31, 2025 from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29536216/
Schalkwyk, G. I. V. et al. (2015). Reduction of Aggressive Episodes After Repeated Transdermal Nicotine Administration in a Hospitalized Adolescent with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Retrieved January 31, 2025 from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25982311/
Arehart-Treichel, J. (2001). Nicotine Receptors May Play Role in Development of Autism. Retrieved January 31, 2025 from https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/pn.36.14.0019a