Is holding my breath likely to affect my 02 sats? This may sound like a dippy question but I love to swim and I'm finding that swimming underwater for any length of time is becoming harder and harder and I'm feeling ill after resurfacing. I don't want to give up swimming again as I have only just found a pool that doesn't use so much chlorine it chokes me.
Is rapid breathing likely to affect my 02 sats too?
I'd appreciate some help with this if anyone knows anything about it.
Thanks everyone.
Much love, Fluffy. x x
6 Replies
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you shouldn't be able to hold your breath long enough to significantly drop your o2sats, from what I remember of resp physiology. You may put your carbon dioxide up a little, but it then makes you have an uncontrollable urge to breathe, so you don't drop your oxygen level.
by breathing too fast you blow off the carbon dioxide, and can make yourself a bit tingly and sometimes lightheaded, but shouldn't change your sats.
can'' come up with a good explanation for the swimming problems off the top of my head, but it is 3am so maybe I'll have a better clue in the morning!
s
when i was in hospital i found out,if you held your breath why they took your sats they went up and if you talked they while they did it they went down.
so when they come to take them you had to try and hold your breath why they took them,but try not to get caught or get a telling of.
hope you get it sorted
mel xxx
Hey Fluffy,
I had to give up swimming a few years ago due to progressive symptoms. I was always bad during and after swimming, think about holding your breath whilst exercising because technically thats what your doing. As owl said its likely to affect your co2 levels and I guess depending on how bad your asthma is may also affect your o2 levels.
sorry ive not been much use,
tks xxxxx
what are O2 sats????
sorry to be so ignorant but what are o2 sats?
O2 sats = oxygen saturation = how much oxygen is in your blood
If you have ever been to hospital cos of your asthma or for almost anything else they would have put a little clippy type probe on your finger (some have ear ones but I have only come across them in ITU) it measures the ammount of oxygen in your blood. It should be somwhere above or around 95 but that is a very loose guide and it does vary, if your hands are very cold it might nto read right or if you are having an attack it might be lower.
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