Why in the old tv shows and movies if someone is hyperventalating do they breath into a paper bag?

Question

What is that suppose to do?

Answer 1

When you hyperventilate, you breathe out excess carbon dioxide.

When you breath out excess carbon dioxide, the pH of your blood gets affected (it becomes more basic).

By breathing into a paper bag, you breath the lost carbon dioxide back into your system, thus preventing a severe disruption in your blood's pH.

-random physician

Answer 2

When you are hyperventilating(breathing abnormally fast) you are breathing way too much CO2 out. Adequate Co2 is needed to maintain respiratory and metabolic stability. When you breath with a paper bag over your mouth you inhale that Co2 back in. This helps someone with a low Co2 return to a normal level. Hope this answers your question.

Answer 3

it re-regulates your breathing and reduces tension by allowing you to breathe only from the bag (a temporary controlled environment). as for the paper bag, it still is done today in tv shows and movies (Everybody Loves Raymond, Friends, The War at Home, etc)

Answer 4

Its not just in the movies..old or new! Hyperventilating is breathing too much oxygen. Breathing into a bag and re-inhaling it stops you getting so much excess air.

Answer 5

All I know is it helps to slow your breathing down so you don't breath in too much oxygen and pass out
Been there Done that

Answer 6

It helps to control the breathing, slow down.

Answer 7

Haha.. that's funny... maybe it's in case they throw up. Maybe it was to get attention and to make people laugh. That's a good question.

Answer 8

by constricting your lungs it forces you to breathe harder...and so your breathing stablizes

Answer 9

i dunno maybe its to do with restricting the oxygen flow, or maybe its just in cases the person is gonna throw up i dunno