Paper bag?

Someone told me today that breathing into a paper bag helps during asthma attacks. I'm not convinced - I hyperventilate during attacks but that's only because I cant breathe deep enough, not because I'm panicing. What is the role of CO2, and what does an asthma attack do to it? Isn't this the week of a million questions from me...

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Paper bags don't really have a role in managing asthma attacks, althought this is a common misconception. Breathing into a paper bag can help in a *panic* attack.

There are a couple of gases which are important to consider when you're talking about what happens in an asthma attack - Oxygen (O2) and Carbon Dioxide (CO2). Both are important gases in your blood - you need oxygen for your cells to function, muscles to work etc etc, and CO2 is also important to have in your bloodstream (in its dissolved form) to keep the blood at the right pH (acidity/alkalinity). CO2 is considered a ""waste"" gas, as your cells produce it when they function, and you get rid of it by breathing it out.

In an asthma attack, you tend to overbreathe (hyperventilate). The net effect of this is that you blow off/get rid of more CO2 and the levels of O2 in your blood go up. This can make you feel light headed with perhaps tingly fingers/toes and lips. People can get similar symptoms when they panic and hyperventilate, and by breathing into a paper bag they re-breathe this CO2 that they've just breathed out, which helps to correct the levels in the blood.

It is only if the asthma attack is very severe and gas exchange is impaired - if your lungs are so bronchoconstricted that they can't move air in and out efficiently - that you may start to retain CO2 - the levels in your blood go up, and the level of oxygen may drop. This, however, is a very late sign of a severe asthma attack.

Hope that makes sense.

CathBear

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Yeah, dont breathe into a bag during an asthma attack. Been there, done that! You turn blue!

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Yeah, I really wasn't convinced. I had just handed the company a 'what to do if...' sheet, one point of which was not to get me to breathe into a paper bag, and thought maybe I had been mistaken.