Hypoxia is the state resulting from a lack of oxygen in the blood and other tissues. Although it is generally studied as a metabolic state, the various personal manifestations that arise during oxygen lack will be included in this consideration. In fact they, rather than the tissue impairment itself, are the main objects of our interest. Holders of conventional views which confuse fatigue with impairment would assume much of anoxic impairment and fatigue to be identical. It is known that personal activity during oxygen lack varies considerably. Investigations show that on many occasions when extreme tissue impairment is known to exist the subjects report absence of fatigue.
Although hypoxia has been studied for some time in connection with mountain climbing and balloon ascensions, it is one of the hazards that have been made more prominent in the recent trend of events. Both incidental and experimental hypoxia, particularly the latter, have been of great interest to those studying both chemistry and physiology.
TYPES
Hypoxia poses a real danger to pilots. There are several types.
Histotoxic Hypoxia – This form results from tissue poisoning such as from alcohol, narcotics, and certain poisons. The utilization of oxygen by the body tissues in interfered with and the tissues are unable to metabolize the delivered oxygen.
Hypemic Hypoxia – The inability of oxygen to bind to the hemoglobin, as a result of a large blood loss, chronic anemia (decreased hemoglobin content), or the forming of compounds with hemoglobin (carbon monoxide, nitrites, sulfa drugs) that reduces the amount of hemoglobin available to form oxyhemoglobin.
SMOKERS BEWARE: Carbon monoxide has an affinity for the blood 20 times greater than oxygen. Given a choice between carbon monoxide and oxygen, the hemoglobin will choose the carbon monoxide. A regular smoker has a
physiologic altitude of 3,000 to 8,000 feet while at sea level........
