My medical student flatmates were talking a lot about acidosis and alcalosis :)
replyIt was the first time that I heard about them. These basically never happen if your body and environment are halfway decent, but they are important in exceptional situations.
Wouldn't high CO2 make you breath faster?
replyInteresting, the linked article does say that.
replyPretty sure I learned the effect was the opposite (high CO2 --> slower respiration). Note that that was ~15 years ago when I would have read that. Maybe I just misunderstood, or thinking has changed.
edit: reading now I see I was wrong about this. Thanks for the correction!
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replyYou are right about the pH implications, but respiratory acidosis leads to hyperventilation, not hypoventilation. CO2 will kill you regardless of oxygen supply.
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