Chris
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro
- Hunter S. Thompson>
>Thank goodness you spend much of your time focusing on how to take
>each breath! Your autonomic nervous system takes all the fun out of
>breathing!
>
There are at least two instances where the automatic nervous system
response of our bodies can be detrimental, perhaps fatal. One is
hyperventilation, where the CO2 level in the lungs falls below a certain level.
The body responds by breathing deeper, further depleting the CO2 level. At
some point, you just pass out. The correct response is to consciously stop
breathing for a while, or put a paper bag over your head to raise the CO2 level
in the lungs. ChrisB should know about this as it's basic flight physiology.
The other is dehydration, which is potentially fatal in hot dry desert
climates. When you perspire your body loses potassium three times faster than
sodium, and potassium is the body's water regulator. When you get thirsty and
drink just water, you accelerate the process as the body needs to maintain a
certain range of blood salinity, so it releases more water, typically by
urination, which removes more salts. But by drinking more water you increase
the rate of potassium depletion. At some point the potasiium level falls too
low and the body substitutes sodium, which does not regulate water but instead
hoards it. The result is that cells take on water and expand, leading to
headaches, disorientation, etc. and eventually heat-related illness. But you
still feel thirsty, an automatic response that makes you drink more water.
Water poisoning (yes) is a possibility here, but you usually pass out before
reaching that point.
Chris
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro
- Hunter S. Thompson
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