If someone is breathing with an oxygen tank, can too much be dangerous?

Question

And if so, at what levels and why?

thanks
pf

Answer 1

If somebody is breathing 100% oxygen gas. It can be dangerous because the normal carbon dioxide levels in the air stimulate the breathing movements in the respiratory system. But pure oxygen gas suppresses that movement. However, pure oxygen gas is used for some cases like carbon monoxide poisoning, because it has therapeutic effects in those cases.

Answer 2

What type of delivery device is this person using? If it is a nasal cannula (the prongs that go in the nose), the flow rate should be no more than 6 liters per minute. More than this can cause dryness in the nose, possibly even a nosebleed. If using a non-rebreather mask (the mask with a bag beneath it), the rate should be 10-15 liters per minute.

Does this patient have COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)? If so, a high level of oxygen over a long period of time may be dangerous. Healthy people without COPD tend to breathe because of a carbon dioxide drive; in other words, we breathe because we have carbon dioxide building up in our cells, and our body tells us it is time to breath and get rid of the carbon dioxide. COPD patients, on the other hand, have built up so much carbon dioxide over time that they no longer breathe because of the build-up; rather, they breathe because of their hypoxic drive, or because their oxygen level is low. If given too much oxygen over a long period of time, their body decides that it has enough oxygen and no longer needs to breathe. Respiratory problems or even death may occur.

As a paramedic, I never withhold oxygen from someone who needs it, even if they have COPD. That is because the above phenomenon occurs only over a long period of time, and will not happen in the short time that I am caring for someone.

If you have any questions about the level of oxygen this person should receive, contact their physician.

Answer 3

Too much oxygen can be very dangerous for some people. In people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD or emphysema) it's a balancing act to deliver enough oxygen to the person so that their brains/body can function without knocking out what's called their "hypoxic drive". This is because people with COPD breathe differently than a normal person.

The hypoxic drive works like this...the thing that triggers us to breathe is the build-up of carbon dioxide in our blood (CO2). There are receptors in our lungs that detect high CO2 levels and cause us to breathe faster and/or deeper to get rid of the CO2...but in people with COPD, their CO2 receptors have burned out because they live in a chronic state of increased CO2 'cuz their lungs don't work.

When the CO2 receptors quit working, the body compensates by making the oxygen receptors work instead to keep a person breathing. This is where the balancing act comes in...if you give someone too much oxygen...you can burn out these receptors too. That's bad. So you have to monitor a person's oxygen level in their blood (actually we monitor the % of blood cells that are carrying oxygen) and make certain the level is somewhere between 90-94. Anything higher than that can be very harmful to a person with COPD...over time, it can even cause death.

Answer 4

Yes, too much oxygen in the body is the same has not having enough. It's harmful to the system. Let the Dr assign the levels that are appropriate for the patient.'

Answer 5

Absolutely, it can. It depends on your DX (diagnosis). Cardiac pts. can usually tolerate higher levels but those with respiratory diseases can be tricky. What happens is that you have to account for the possibility of respiratory acidosis (amount of acid in your blood) or respiratory alkalosis (amount of base in your blood). Blood draws for blood gas levels are imperative. (It checks blood pH which is the amount of acid or base in your blood). No one can give you a strict answer to this without knowing more of the variables. It gets quite involved, especially if the pt. has cardiac px (problems) and respiratory px. Do not adjust without having been told to do so! They will base it according to DX and blood gas levels.