It is said that the collapse of adults happens silently, but I don’t think so. If you don’t believe me, try tutoring a child with their homework.
Failure to be kind to your mother and filial to your child may lead to chaos. Complaining about tutoring homework has become the most resonant topic among parents in their small groups because everyone can relate.
Recently, the media reported that a parent who got into an argument with their child while tutoring suddenly felt “unwell, with chest tightness and difficulty breathing” and had to be rushed to the hospital for rescue. The diagnosis was hyperventilation syndrome, commonly known as “respiratory alkalosis.”
So, what is respiratory alkalosis? How can it be accurately diagnosed? Is there a way to self-rescue? Today, let’s talk about it~
What is respiratory alkalosis?
Respiratory alkalosis is an emotional stress condition that is more likely to occur during intense physical activity or emotional arousal. When a person is emotionally aroused (e.g., fear, anxiety, anger, tension), it can lead to an increase in breathing rate. If this rapid breathing rate causes excessive elimination of carbon dioxide from the body, it can result in an imbalance of the body’s acid-base levels, leading to respiratory alkalosis.
Respiratory alkalosis is more common in young adults, aged 20 to 40, especially females. This is because women have weaker lung capacity than men, breathe more superficially, and rapid breathing can disrupt the body’s acid-base balance, triggering respiratory alkalosis.
What are the symptoms of respiratory alkalosis?
In cases of alkalosis in the body, blood calcium and potassium levels decrease, leading to vasoconstriction in the brain. When respiratory alkalosis occurs, patients may experience numbness and tingling in the hands, feet, face, especially around the mouth. Other symptoms include chest tightness, chest pain, dizziness, fear, and even limb convulsions, including consciousness disorders (coma).
How to self-rescue from respiratory alkalosis?
If symptoms of respiratory alkalosis occur, first calm down and relieve anxiety. Then, use a paper bag or plastic bag to cover your mouth and nose, leaving a small breathing passage, and breathe to reduce the exhalation of carbon dioxide, increase the carbon dioxide content in the blood, which can effectively alleviate the poisoning, then seek medical attention promptly.
If there is no paper bag, a newspaper can be rolled into a cone shape, with the wider end covering the mouth, and breathe outwards to re-inhale as much of your exhaled air as possible. For less severe symptoms, wearing a mask to breathe may also have a therapeutic effect.
In addition, you can also practice diaphragmatic breathing (breathe in maximally by expanding the abdomen outward while keeping the chest still; breathe out maximally by contracting the abdomen inward while keeping the chest still, repeating in cycles), slow breathing, slowing down the breath rate to reduce or eliminate hyperventilation tendencies.
It is important to note that the above self-rescue methods are for reference only; specific treatment methods should be determined based on the condition and medical advice.
When the poisoning is severe, seek medical help immediately.
Dr. Luo Hui, Director of the Emergency Department at Changsha Taihe Hospital, said: Non-pathological respiratory alkalosis generally does not lead to death and can self-resolve; however, alkalosis can lead to a decrease in blood potassium in the body, causing abnormal cardiac electrophysiology and potentially fatal arrhythmias. Therefore, “dying from anger” is a possibility.
For acute conditions that cannot be resolved, immediate medical attention is advised. For example: sudden abnormal stiffness in the fingers, occasional “cramps” in the fingers, numbness in the lips, speech difficulties; loss of consciousness, convulsions, fainting; arrhythmia, sudden respiratory arrest, etc.
It turns out that people can indeed suffer from “respiratory alkalosis,” and getting angry is very harmful to health. A study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that just being angry for 8 minutes can start to damage blood vessels. Therefore, anger harms the body, so do not get angry!
Source: Changsha Taihe Hospital
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(Editor YH)
