What Is Hypoxia and How to Treat It

At Breathe Modern Wellness Bar, we provide a variety of different wellness products and services, one of which is an oxygen bar where guests can stop by and energize themselves with supplemental oxygen! Supplemental oxygen can have a lot of incredible benefits for your well being – we’ve covered that before when we’ve talked about the health benefits of an oxygen bar or how you can flush out toxins with oxygen. But we wanted to take a deep dive in the other direction and explore what happens when your body is oxygen-deficient or when you suffer from hypoxia. We aim to explore what is hypoxia and how to treat it. Now we aren’t doctors, just health enthusiasts, so for legal reasons, this is not health advice and shouldn’t be taken as such.

What is Hypoxia?

When your body doesn’t have enough oxygen, either in the blood or in the tissues, you can suffer from a condition known as hypoxia. This is essentially two different conditions: Hypoxemia – a lack of oxygen in your blood cells, and Hypoxia – a lack of oxygen in your tissues.

Hypoxemia can cause hypoxia when your blood has low oxygen levels and cannot deliver enough oxygen to your tissues. This dangerous condition can damage vital organs within just minutes. Hypoxia can be brought on by a number of issues but has been associated with asthma, emphysema, bronchitis, and in high altitude locations where the air is thin.

What Are the Common Symptoms of Low Oxygen Levels?

Hypoxia can be incredibly dangerous and it requires immediate medical attention because of how rapidly after experiencing symptoms you can suffer severe organ damage. While symptoms can vary from person to person, some similar symptoms that arise from low oxygen levels can cause a rapid change in the color of your skin from normal to having a blue tint and:

• Lightheaded
• Wheezing
• Coughing
• Confusion
• Fast heart rate
• Hyperventilating

Symptoms come on quickly so it is important that if you feel symptoms coming on that you dial 911. This is typically not something that can be treated at home.

How Are Hypoxia and Hypoxemia Treated?

When a person suffers from low oxygen it is generally because they are having a hard time getting enough oxygen because of difficulty breathing. Doctors use a variety of different treatment options for hypoxia such as hooking patients up to supplemental oxygen through a Nasal Cannula – a tube that delivers oxygen right to your nose. If hypoxia is brought on by asthma or another respiratory condition a doctor may provide a person with an inhaler. In extreme cases, a doctor may even treat hypoxia with steroids.

How To Prevent Hypoxia?

Preventing hypoxia is possible but it requires a person to maintain a healthy lifestyle while being aware of what triggers their asthma and respiratory issues. You can use deep breathing exercises, practice light aerobic exercises like walking or yoga, eating a healthy diet, drinking plenty of water, and quitting smoking.