5 ms·
One limitation I’ve seen on this is that the same mechanism can’t remove carbon dioxide, so this is limited to supplemental oxygen in like a surgery or emergenc
by Galxeagle 4y ago
One limitation I’ve seen on this is that the same mechanism can’t remove carbon dioxide, so this is limited to supplemental oxygen in like a surgery or emergency scenario vs a long-term alternative to say a tracheotomy.
- azalemeth 4y agoIndeed. Something people always forget is that hypoxia is bad, but hypercapnia is worse (insert references here to the spiral of death, etc)
- kadoban 4y agoOf particular note: hypoxia is painless, only hypercapnia (too much CO2 in the blood) hurts. This is why inert gasses can be quite dangerous to be around, you won't get the "I'm suffocating" feeling at all, you just get lightheaded and die.
- DoreenMichele 4y agoNot necessarily as limiting as you might think. At altitude, people urinate more starting well before you are in any danger of altitude sickness because the air is too thin to breathe out waste gasses rapidly enough and the body compensates by shunting them out through the kidneys.
- isoprophlex 4y agoSo... at high altitude, your piss is carbonated?!
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- im3w1l 4y agoIt's actually the opposite. At altitude you have to breathe more to get the same oxygen, and this makes your carbon dioxide lower than normal, this makes your blood too basic, so the body pisses out basic compounds to compensate.