Quiz - Physiology - Carbon Monoxide

[Angelo Farina]

Right, thanks for pointing that out. Maybe I could have been more clear about that in my first post. One of the incorrect answers in the OP was "a. It causes involuntary hyperventilation". Which sounds like a CO2 issue to my ear.

This is a common misconception. Hyperventilation is not caused by excess of CO2, instead it is a condition where CO2 level falls too low...
See the explanation here:
What Causes Hyperventilation?

When there is too much CO2 what you get is dyspnea, which is substantially exactly the opposite of hyperventilation, albeit most people, not knowing the meaning of technical terminology, call it hyperventilation.
This ignorance of technical terminology is a problem against which I am fighting, for example I hate people confusing the viscosity of a lubricant with its density.

 

[Angelo Farina]

And I'm prepared to take that out.

I've been poisoned twice. Both times I believe that it was from PPB in a dirty tank.

Which is one of the reasons for which I still prefer air to Nitrox. The simpler, the safer...
And the advantages of Nitrox are not so huge to offset the added complexity and risks...

 

[TMHeimer]

Which is one of the reasons for which I still prefer air to Nitrox. The simpler, the safer...
And the advantages of Nitrox are not so huge to offset the added complexity and risks...

I don't disagree, and hardly ever use nitrox as I wouldn't benefit from it with the type of diving I do. You'd probably get an argument from those who use nitrox and dive air profiles for the extra conservatism.

 

[markmud]

I've been poisoned twice.

Hi Big Kahuna,

Poisoned with what? CO?

Both times I believe that it was from PPB in a dirty tank.

What do you think the "dirt" was in the tank before PPB?

cheers,
m²v2

 

[BRT]

This is a common misconception. Hyperventilation is not caused by excess of CO2, instead it is a condition where CO2 level falls too low...
See the explanation here:
What Causes Hyperventilation?

When there is too much CO2 what you get is dyspnea, which is substantially exactly the opposite of hyperventilation, albeit most people, not knowing the meaning of technical terminology, call it hyperventilation.
This ignorance of technical terminology is a problem against which I am fighting, for example I hate people confusing the viscosity of a lubricant with its density.

You can call it what you want but too much CO2 causes rapid breathing. Dyspnea is difficult or labored breathing. Different thing.

 

[Khrissi]

Goblins in yr blood are to be avoided at all cosT. K

 

[TMHeimer]

This is a common misconception. Hyperventilation is not caused by excess of CO2, instead it is a condition where CO2 level falls too low...
See the explanation here:
What Causes Hyperventilation?

When there is too much CO2 what you get is dyspnea, which is substantially exactly the opposite of hyperventilation, albeit most people, not knowing the meaning of technical terminology, call it hyperventilation.
This ignorance of technical terminology is a problem against which I am fighting, for example I hate people confusing the viscosity of a lubricant with its density.

Thanks for reminding me that hyperventalition can be something that just happens with too low CO2 levels. I always relate to it as something I did on purpose for decades in order to stay down longer when snorkeling down to the bottom (ie. "free diving" as it's called today). I know PADI removed the term from manuals and I believe replaced it with a couple of deep breaths from the diaphragm. Guess I was lucky all those years in not blacking out uw.

 

[Angelo Farina]

You can call it what you want but too much CO2 causes rapid breathing. Dyspnea is difficult or labored breathing. Different thing.

Sorry for the improper translation. I am not a native English speaker.
The Italian word for the hypercapnia effect on breathing is "affanno". Another translation of it is
breathlessness, which probably is better than dyspnea.
My point was that the effect of too much CO2 cannot be named hyperventilation, as this word is associated to hypocapnia, which means CO2 is too low.