However, this ventilation-perfusion ratio can get thrown off, usually because of high-flow oxygen therapy, COPD exacerbations, or other COPD symptoms. At the same time, they increase blood flow to the most healthy alveoli so they can absorb as much oxygen (and release as much carbon dioxide) as possible. Usually, your lungs constrict your blood vessels in such a way that they decrease the amount of blood that flows to poorly functioning air sacs that have been damaged by COPD. This happens when your body gets confused about which parts of your lungs to prioritize, which reduces the efficiency of gas exchange in your lungs. As that excess CO2 builds up in your blood, it causes an imbalance between your blood oxygen and carbon dioxide levels, which can cause serious symptoms and oxygen deprivation.Ĭo2 retention also happens through a phenomenon known as ventilation-perfusion mismatch. Over time, as your COPD progresses and your lung function declines, you may retain more and more carbon dioxide as you breathe. When you have COPD, there are fewer healthy alveoli and fewer places for this exchange to happen, which makes it difficult to get enough oxygen into your blood and also difficult to get enough CO2 out of your blood and into your lungs. This leaves excess CO2 trapped in your lungs after you exhale, which takes up space that is needed to hold oxygen-rich air when you breathe in.ĬOPD also damages and destroys your air sacs, or alveoli, which is where oxygen and carbon dioxide is passed between your blood and the air in your lungs. It does this in two ways: by destroying the tiny air sacs in your lungs, and by preventing you from pushing all of the air out of your lungs when you exhale.ĬOPD can make it difficult to breathe out because of airway narrowing, blockage, and other changes in the lungs. Or you can take these precautions: If you’re using your oven, running a space heater, or you have a lot of guests over, open a door or window for a few minutes every half hour and turn on the ventilation fan over your oven.COPD can disrupt the process described above by preventing you from getting rid of enough carbon dioxide when you breathe. How can you protect yourself? You could buy a CO2 detector like this one ($149, ), but they’re expensive, Mendell says. However, gas stoves and space heaters can both be significant sources of CO2, Mendell warns. But unless you have a lot of people cramped into one room, CO2 levels are likely to hang around 400 ppm or below. Think small, poorly ventilated rooms where 10 to 20 people may gather, such as class or conference room, Mendell says.Īt home, most heating and cooling systems don’t offer ventilation, meaning they don’t circulate fresh air from outdoors, Mendell says. So should you be worried? The greatest danger is in an office space or school, where CO2 levels frequently range between 1,000 to 3,000 ppm, the study says. Mendell says some past studies have linked cognitive issues to poor ventilation, but the assumption was always that other air pollutants-not CO2-were to blame. “We don’t yet understand a biological mechanism for this effect,” explains study author Mark Mendell, PhD, an epidemiologist at Lawrence Berkeley. And at 2,500 ppm-just half the maximum level approved by OSHA-decision-making ability slumped by up to 93%, an effect similar to being either drunk or having a head injury. The results were surprising: Average scores on seven different measures of decision making dropped 11 to 23% when the CO2 was pumped up from 600 to 1,000 ppm. More from Prevention: Invisible Toxins In Your Living Room

Each group member completed a computer activity that measured decision-making ability.

In each room, CO2 levels were adjusted to either 600, 1,000, or 2,500 parts per million-all of which are well below the 5,000-ppm max dictated by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA). Researchers from SUNY and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory recruited 22 people and divided them into three rooms. But what about carbon dioxide, or CO2, which is the gas you expel every time you exhale? Health researchers have long believed that CO2 is relatively harmless-but a new study finds that CO2 may be seriously messing with your brain’s ability to reason and make decisions. You know all about the dangers of carbon monoxide exposure, and you (hopefully) have a detector in your house.

Carbon dioxide poisoning after surgery