What is Hypoxia?

There are ample clinical conditions detected by doctors affecting the respiratory system of our body and one such condition is hypoxia. Thus, comes the question, 'what is hypoxia'? Hypoxia is a pathological condition wherein the body experiences overall lack of oxygen within the tissues as well as the vital organs of the body. The vital organs include the brain, lungs and the heart. It's a painful condition and has been classified into 5 main types. They are:

• Hypoxic
• Anemic
• Hypemic
• Histoxic
• Stagnant/Ischemic

The types will be explained in this paragraph. Hypoxic hypoxia is a condition when oxygen fails to reach entire body or the body receives minimal amount of oxygen. The partial pressure of the arteries fall terribly. The reasons behind hypoxic hypoxia are sleep apnea, high altitude, inadequate ventilation and malfunctioning of the cardiovascular system. People suffering from anemic hypoxia have a low oxygen content in the blood but the arterial blood pressure is normal.

Hypemic hypoxia is more often caused by carbon monoxide poisoning, causing obstruction to deliver oxygen to the blood whereas histoxic hypoxia is a disorder characterized by inefficiency of cells to utilize oxygen even though appropriate amount is delivered to the blood cells. The last type is stagnant hypoxia. In this condition, the blood contains adequate amount of oxygen but the flow of blood is obstructed. The condition is known as anoxia when the body cells are completely deprived from oxygen. The severity of the symptoms vary depending on the internal conditions.

What Causes Hypoxia?

Lack of oxygen supply to blood or impaired functions of cells to utilize oxygen is attributed to multiple factors. Hypoxia is also experienced by healthy people involved in underwater diving or high altitude acts. The following are the main reasons behind occurrence of hypoxia. Check them.

• Pulmonary hypertension
• Alveolar hypoventilation
• Intestinal lung disease
• Asthma
• Carbon monoxide poisoning
• Heart attack
• Heavy metal poisoning
• High altitude exposure
• Underwater diving
• Strangulation
• Pulmonary embolism
• Anesthetic accidents
• Cardiac shunt
• Pulmonary hypertension
• Bronchitis
• Fat embolism
• Hepatic failure
• Pneumonia
• Sulfur dioxide poisoning
• Smoke inhalation
• Chemical poisoning

The next content shall let you know the hypoxia symptoms and treatment.

What are the Symptoms of Hypoxia?

The causes are now clear to you. The symptoms of hypoxia are dependent on the types of hypoxia and its stages. The genuine symptoms of hypoxia are:

• Shortness of breath
• Poor coordination
• Altitude sickness
• Dizziness
• Lethargy
• Nausea
• Fatigue
• Headache
• Air hunger
• Hot and cold flashes

High intensity of hypoxia causes cyanosis, characterized by blue discoloration of the skin. In severe cases, a person loses consciousness level and experiences seizures. The body gradually slips to coma and death occurs. Altitude sickness in some cases become fatal. Ascending to high altitude might suddenly give rise to high risk conditions like High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE) or High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE). A person suffering from hypoxia undergoes rapid degradation of the red blood cells, as a result the body loses the capacity to transport oxygen to the vital organs and tissues of the body.

What are the Treatments for Hypoxia?

The treatment of hypoxia mainly deals with maintaining the rate of breathing. This involves employment of external breathing equipment. The need of essential life support measures arise if the normal procedures to enhance breathing fails to produce effective results. The artificial methods to step up the breathing rate include employment of mechanical ventilation, oxygen therapy and transfusion of packed RBCs. Spontaneous breathing is encouraged through mechanical ventilation. This involves use of the CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure). It works by forcing air stream into the nasal passages and thus the air pressure eliminates obstruction of the airways. External breathing equipment like oxygen masks and oxygen cylinders are employed effectively for performing oxygen therapies. This technique is normally employed when hypoxia is caused due to hypoventilation.

Transfusion of packed or concentrated RBCs helps to improve the oxygen carrying capacity of the cells. It also avoids blood infection. Transfusions are usually carried out to treat chronic cases of hypoxemia. In mild cases, the patient is asked to maintain a "prone position" (lying flat on ground with face held high to allow increased intake of oxygen). Administration of intravenous fluids and medication (for seizures, blood pressure and other symptoms) is also one of the treatments for hypoxia.

I hope what hypoxia exactly is now clear to you. In case, you are facing breathing trouble, never neglect or delay to take medical assistance. A proper diagnosis and treatment normalizes the symptoms and restores the oxygen carrying capacity of the cells.