A stressful situation, a big rush or excitement, and it can happen: A person panics, suddenly has the feeling that he can’t breathe, that he can’t breathe, as if his chest is suddenly too tight. And to help himself, he starts breathing deeper and faster, intermittently and abnormally, for several minutes, until his fingers and hands cramp and, in the worst case, until he loses consciousness and faints.
Causes and statistics
Hyperventilation syndrome is what it is called, about 5-10% of all adults are affected by this psychogenic disorder. Preferably it is young adults in the second or third decade of life, in older age this disorder rarely appears for the first time. There is a tendency to think that young women are affected more often than men, but various studies have shown that the syndrome is about equally common in both sexes. Anxiety, panic, or acute stressful situations are common causes of hyperventilation syndrome.
Symptoms of hyperventilation
Hyperventilation means excessive breathing, that is, breathing beyond what the body needs. This results in various disturbances in the body that show up as symptoms. This is because the faster and deeper breathing causes more carbon dioxide to be exhaled, and this leads to an increase in the pH level in the blood. This worsens the blood flow to the hands and feet, for example, but also to the brain. That’s why headaches, nervousness and dizziness or cold, clammy skin are also symptoms of hyperventilation. And various metabolic reactions occur, including a shift in the electrolytes in the blood. Calcium is also affected by this, and this leads to overexcitability of the muscles and even muscle cramps, for example the so-called pawing of the hands. All these are symptoms of hyperventilation. Other symptoms include sensory disturbances such as tingling, formication or trembling. If breathing returns to normal, all changes and disturbances are reversed.
Exclusion of other causes
Hyperventilation syndrome can be acute or chronic. In contrast to an acute syndrome, which the physician can usually determine with a thorough questioning, the complaints and symptoms in chronic hyperventilation are only diffuse and mild, since the body has usually become accustomed to the changed conditions. However, the changes can then be detected via a blood gas analysis. However, before it can be assumed that it is a hyperventilation syndrome with a psychogenic cause, physical illnesses that result in a sensible increase in breathing that is adapted to the need must be ruled out. This form of sensible hyperventilation is found, for example, in asthma, cardiac insufficiency, or electrolyte disturbances.
How to help in an attack
The very most important thing is to calm a person who is acutely hyperventilating, while remaining calm yourself. You should try to explain to the person that the symptoms, such as tingling or formication on the skin, are completely harmless and will go away when breathing returns to normal. It is very helpful to get eye contact with the affected person, you should then try to calmly and firmly focus attention on breathing, and give instructions in a clear voice such as: exhale, inhale. Care should be taken to increase the time of exhalation, for example: Inhale through the open mouth, but exhale with the mouth closed and through the nose. If this does not help, it is sometimes advisable to have hyperventilators breathe into a paper bag or a plastic bag held lightly in front of their nose and mouth. If no bag is available, one can try it with the arched hand held out. This captures the excess carbon dioxide exhaled and allows it to be reabsorbed by the body. This leads to a balance of the acid-base balance and the condition of the affected person returns to normal. But be careful, because holding a bag in front of the mouth and nose of someone who has the feeling of shortness of breath can again cause anxiety and panic. Therefore, this should only be done if the affected person is responsive and participates himself. If none of this helps, a doctor must be called, who may give a sedative. Attention.If hyperventilation is based on a serious physical illness, do not breathe into a bag, as this could result in a life-threatening lack of oxygen.
Help through breathing techniques and behavior modification
Breathing training is of great importance in therapy, in which sufferers should learn to control their breathing even during an attack. Relaxation exercises such as yoga or autogenic training are also helpful in treatment. However, if hyperventilation occurs repeatedly in certain situations or if the hyperventilation syndrome is chronic, psychotherapeutic or psychosomatic treatment should be sought to identify the cause and to change the way of reacting by means of therapy.
