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Oxygen is known to be toxic at high pressure. Most healthy young army recruits can withstand a pure oxygen atmosphere (at normal atmospheric pressure) for up to

Oxygen is known to be toxic at high pressure. Most healthy young army recruits can withstand a pure oxygen atmosphere (at normal atmospheric pressure) for up to 24 hours before they begin to suffer adverse effects. Astronauts could withstand the pure oxygen atmospheres in the space program because the pressure of the capsules was significantly less than 1atm. NASA wrote a report on the toxic properties of oxygen while working on the Apollo program: Space-cabin Atmospheres: Oxygen toxicity (1964) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25883728 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25883728 Any benefit of high pressure oxygen treatment is short lived. People lose their metabolisms as they age. Alzheimer's is one possible result.

sandworm101 5y ago
>> People lose their metabolisms as they age. Alzheimer's is one possible result. Except for those with early-onset alzheimer's. And some old people never get it. So it isn't as simple as saying that old people get old. There is a specific disease at play, one that likely can be treated or even cured once we better understand the underlying causes. >> Most healthy young army recruits can withstand a pure oxygen atmosphere Who is still doing this? Those were phenomenally dangerous studies that I haven't heard about in decades. Outside of space suits, nobody is puts people in pure oxygen atmospheres anymore. Even hyperbaric oxygen therapy doesn't use pure O2. At most, subjects breath pure O2 in a mask.
- deleted 5y ago
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- dreamcompiler 5y ago
  And of course it's not just toxic; the fire risk is the other reason you don't want to fill a room with pure O2. As NASA sadly learned in Apollo 1.
  - taxicabjesus 5y ago
    NASA originally spec'd a mixed gas atmosphere for Apollo, it just got too heavy. After the fire in Apollo 1, they switched to mixed-gas at launch, with this gradually bleeding out to pure O2 as the mission progressed. This was discussed in my comment in my linked submission.
  - sandworm101 5y ago
    Nasa did worse than that. To simulate space they pressurized Apollo 1 to one atmosphere above external pressure. So they were at two atmospheres of pressure, which is ironically about the same pressure as the hyperbaric oxygen therapy used in the OP. The patients in the OP were using masks.
LorenPechtel 5y ago
Even if it fades it could be used as a periodic booster.

sandworm101 5y ago

>> People lose their metabolisms as they age. Alzheimer's is one possible result. Except for those with early-onset alzheimer's. And some old people never get it. So it isn't as simple as saying that old people get old. There is a specific disease at play, one that likely can be treated or even cured once we better understand the underlying causes. >> Most healthy young army recruits can withstand a pure oxygen atmosphere Who is still doing this? Those were phenomenally dangerous studies that I haven't heard about in decades. Outside of space suits, nobody is puts people in pure oxygen atmospheres anymore. Even hyperbaric oxygen therapy doesn't use pure O2. At most, subjects breath pure O2 in a mask.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
dreamcompiler 5y ago
And of course it's not just toxic; the fire risk is the other reason you don't want to fill a room with pure O2. As NASA sadly learned in Apollo 1.
- taxicabjesus 5y ago
  NASA originally spec'd a mixed gas atmosphere for Apollo, it just got too heavy. After the fire in Apollo 1, they switched to mixed-gas at launch, with this gradually bleeding out to pure O2 as the mission progressed. This was discussed in my comment in my linked submission.
- sandworm101 5y ago
  Nasa did worse than that. To simulate space they pressurized Apollo 1 to one atmosphere above external pressure. So they were at two atmospheres of pressure, which is ironically about the same pressure as the hyperbaric oxygen therapy used in the OP. The patients in the OP were using masks.

LorenPechtel 5y ago

Even if it fades it could be used as a periodic booster.