What’s Hyperventilation?

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Hyperventilation is excessive breathing, which usually means that a person is taking quick, short breaths using primarily the lungs, rather than slow, deep breaths using the diaphragm. The condition is often caused by panic attacks or an anxiety disorder, but can be caused by more serious conditions. Anyone who hyperventilates for more than a couple of minutes should see a doctor right away.

There are many serious medical conditions that can cause this type of breathing. In addition to panic and anxiety disorder, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pneumonia, congestive heart failure, heart attack, and medication overdose can cause the problem. People who go into a diabetic coma, who suffer from ketoacidosis, can also hyperventilate. Occasionally, pregnant women breathe this way due to increased pressure on the lungs as the unborn baby grows.

Because so many conditions, some of them quite risky, can lead to excessive breathing, a first case lasting more than a minute or two is always an indication that a condition needs to be diagnosed. For some conditions such as pneumonia, congestive heart failure, heart attack, or ketoacidosis, serious problems can arise if the condition is ignored. For others, hyperventilation is a common occurrence. Once a person has been diagnosed with one of their root causes, panic or anxiety disorder, they don’t need to see a healthcare professional every time.

As long as this type of breathing is caused by anxiety disorders or panic attacks, individuals can usually manage their attacks at home. The problem is that hyperventilation can create more panic, and panic therefore creates more hyperventilation. It is helpful for people to have tools they can use, usually learned through therapy, that can allow them to relax their breathing. It can help to have someone present who can assure the person that everything will be fine. Because the problem can occur when people are alone, however, they should work on developing a small mental script they can use to reassure themselves: This is temporary and the person can control it.

A common misconception about hyperventilation is that the rapid breathing it produces is the body’s way of getting more oxygen. In fact, the opposite is true. This type of breathing leaves the body with too little carbon dioxide compared to the amount of oxygen it has. As the body absorbs oxygen (O) and releases carbon dioxide (CO2), it needs to maintain a certain O-CO2 balance in the blood. This balance is disrupted when a person breathes quickly and shallowly.

Individuals may stop forcing themselves to take slow, deep breaths from the diaphragm, rather than continuing with short, shallow breaths from the lungs. By breathing slowly, it will hold more CO2 and restore the correct O-CO2 ratio in the blood. It can also help the person breathe slowly in and out through pursed lips, which will also help hold in more carbon dioxide. Breathing into a paper bag can also help, as the air expelled into the bag is mostly carbon dioxide, so breathing it means you get more CO2. Individuals should use this approach with caution, however, because doing so for too long could cause them to hold onto too much CO2, causing the opposite imbalance. As a result, some medical professionals advise against this approach.

Those who experience frequent hyperventilation may find help working with a mental health professional to learn respiratory relaxation techniques. These techniques are also available on tape. Learning yoga breathing can also help, as can exercising regularly to reduce panic. Medications to treat anxiety disorder can be of significant help when combined with therapy designed to reduce panic.

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