09-03-2020, 10:49 PM
(08-24-2020, 09:12 PM)Steve Wrote: Harmful effects of rebreathing CO2...
"Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a gas the body naturally produces as waste. We breathe in oxygen (O2) to fuel organs and tissues and the end product is CO2. The balance between these two gases is required for a healthy body. However, when we rebreathe CO2 it can have harmful and sometimes dangerous effects on the body. When CO2 levels are elevated in the body it is known as hypercapnia. Hypercapnia can occur for a number of reasons, one of which is rebreathing our own exhaled CO2. Rebreathing CO2 can lead to increased blood pressure, headaches, muscle twitches, rapid heart rate, chest pain, confusion, and fatigue. In extreme cases, if left untreated, hypercapnia can lead to organ damage and even have long standing effects on the brain."
(FB)
At sea level oxygen in air is roughly 21 percent, when you breath in and fill the lungs a healthy body absorbs about 4 percent of that oxygen and when we breath out again there is still 16 percent oxygen left, this is how we are able to use mouth to mouth resuscitation to kick start someone who has stopped breathing.
Air also contains around 70 percent nitrogen which is also non poisonous like Co2, the real trouble begins when both gasses are rebreathed in a slowly but sure level over longer periods, this is what creates starvation of the lungs to use the available oxygen on intake.
When people hyperventilate they take in too much oxygen and the cure is to breath into a plastic bag until the levels are once again balanced, but the body cannot recover if the levels of Nitrogen and Co2 are below a certain level, where organs like the kidneys can quickly become damaged.
Depending on how good and effective a persons lungs are depends upon how much oxygen transfer in enabled, so those with lung problems can quickly be overcome by lack of enough oxygen.