If carbon dioxide is bad for us, why doesn't mouth-to-mouth resuscitation do more harm than good?

Answer 1

The air you exhale is 17% oxygen. The air we breathe is about 21% oxygen. You can see then, when we breathe, we only use about 4% of the oxygen available to us.

When we do mouth-to-mask (mouth-to-mouth is dangerous), the recipient gets 17% oxygen and will expire about 13% of that back out. Since he/she isn't breathing, this is much better than the 0% oxygen they get on their own.

Having a BVM (bag-valve-mask) available when you think you may need one will increase the oxygen received to the atmospheric level - much better for your non-breathing friend. This device is inexpensive but requires a little training.

Even better, having supplemental oxygen available. With supplemental you can deliver up to 100% oxygen but this too requires training and specific decision processes. Those who work in environments where CPR or artificial respiration are expected to be needed (lifeguards for example) should be trained at this level.

Answer 2

Mouth-to mouth resuscitation is a method of artificial respiration in which a person rhythmically blows AIR ( not CO2) into the victim's lungs, either directly, by placing the mouth over the patient's, or through a tube.


We breathe in oxygen which is exchanged in our lungs' alveoli sacs for CO2, which we breathe out. But, our conversion is far from 100 percent. For one thing, much of the air never gets that far and thus we exhale a considerable amount of oxygen as well.


Proof positive (which should have occurred to you and me): Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation would not work, were we not exhaling oxygen into the victim's lungs.


Another tidbit, this one concerning the emergency oxygen masks on aircraft: Perhaps you recall that jazz about "the bag may not inflate...." Actually, these bags, known as rebreather bags, are sized to hold our initial exhalation of perfectly good oxygen.


Once the bag is filled, additional exhalation, some of it, CO2, is vented outside the mask through a flapper valve. Our subsequent inhalation uses the oxygen in the bag supplanted by the aircraft oxygen supply (as well as ambient cabin air through openings in the mask). This method conserves the aircraft supply by not "wasting" exhaled oxygen

Answer 3

Because mouth to mouth resuscitation is a life and death situation you need to get the lungs filled and keep oxygen to the brain for the amount of time someone is getting mouth to mouth it isn't going to hurt them

Answer 4

Not all of the oxygen from our body gets used, so some of it gets breathed out. When doing mouth-to-mouth, that oxygen is being forcefully inserted into the body of the person because that person can't do it him/herself.

Answer 5

because carbon dioxide isn't bad for us, carbon MONOXIDE is not DIOXIDE.