Anyone had issues with cabin Oxygen levels?
 

Perhaps I am more sensitive than others, though I really I have not heard people commenting on this but...

I am 49, and in very good health (workout 3 times a week w/cardio as well) though over a few trips this year - specifically on two Delta flights - I noted periods of time where I felt like there was insufficient oxygen in the air. I tend to breathe somewhat shallow anyway, but I found that I consciously needed to do some rapid breaths just to "catch my breath". This did not occur for an extended period of time, and all was well for likely 95% of the flight.

Has anyone else noted similar issues?

THANKS

I get similar moments, but at ground level, so no oxygen level issues, and I suspect (as does my doctor) they are little panic attacks (but I am not 'panicked' about anything consciously). They tend to happen in more crowded areas, like a train, so I think my subconscious is telling me 'get away from all these oxygen suckers' or summat like that.

Agree with Emma that it's likely not an issue of oxygen levels, but some other physiological response to your environment.

Hmmm- interesting :D

I don't know ... perhaps time will tell!

Bring a brown paper bag along next time you fly. The next time you feel this oxygen issue coming on, breath into the bag. If it is a panic attack, you will feel almost immediate relief
Good luck.

I would have thought that a panic attack (by definition) would also include some sense of anxiety - which is far from the case. I am very at ease.

I will look into this more!

So, the consensus here is that everyone feels that the O2 levels at altitude are within normal limits? I wonder if there's any research on that. As I indicated this has only occurred a couple of times -- and it's either ME or THE PLANE!

Thanks

Depends what you mean by 'levels'. The fractional concentration of oxygen remains 20.93%. The partial pressure of oxygen falls in proportion to the ambient cabin pressure.

At 2100m of cabin pressurisation, the barometric pressure falls to 586mmHg, reducing oxygen pressure from 159.6mmHg to 122.6mmHg. Following humidification in the nose, the pressure of oxygen in the lung then becomes around 60mmHg (complicated formula; google the 'alveolar gas equation' if you're interested in more details).

This is low enough to cause significant hypoxia and shortness of breath in people with even mild to moderate lung disease.
So yes, it could cause your shortness of breath.

The other possibilities for an urge to breathe can include atelectasis (collapsed alveoli needing a deep breath to reinflate them), stimulation of certain stretch receptors, and a myriad of other things.

Now THERE is a detailed response!!

Thanks

Doesn't hyperventilating into a paper bag tend to cause panic attacks in adjacent passengers?

In my personal experience, a nearby passenger with their face buried in a bag never leads to anything good.

Obvious question: when was your last full cardio exam? Have you ever had a stress echo or myoview? Lack of breath sounds like a pretty good reason for getting some unnecessary* medical testng done; provided you have inusrance or can otherwise pay for it.


*it's always the other guy's tests that are are "unnecessary."

i presume the sedentary little old ladies and men are not keeling, so you should go have tests done. delta is not depriving you of oxygen.

i have had every shortness of breath test and lung test ever devised. the idiots(find a better word), never determined i had an blood clot in my leg, was throwing debris into my blood stream causing minor pulmonary embolism. a friend who is a pediatrician suggested it.

i also thought it was recommended to take long deep breaths when suffering from hypoxia, not shallow fast breaths.

when you do cardio, do you monitor your heart? omicron makes a nice inexpensive heart monitor.

you should start pushing the upper limits of your heartbeat, for at least 30min(with cardio supervision).

i play squash with a pulse of 150.......i'm 74 years old. don't try this on the first day. at 50, you should be able to run somewhere between a hundred, and 150, once you become a "trained athletic"

I always get sleepy on flights more than about 2.5 hours. I have always thought that this might have something to do with the reduced pressure/oxygen. Maybe it is just my adrenaline coming down from all the hustle and bustle of the airport. I don't know, just throwing it out there.

dont fly to la pas bolivia.....i had a huff & puff there....fa's were sucking on O2...i asked a pilot who said the runway was at 13,300....

Consider yourself lucky that they found it. I knew two people who died as a result of DVT/PE.

Another thought is that, maybe, the drone of the engines and/or the temp of the cabin makes the OP drowsy and this is being mistaken for "lack of O2."

I have exactly the same problem but have always put it down to claustrophobia (I have no idea whether I'm correct or not). I have shortness of breath when I'm on the ground and can't get the air nozzles to give me any reasonable output (when we taxi seems especailly bad) ... once we're in the air and everything is flowing then I'm fine. I get a similar feeling on the subway ... if I can't feel air rushing over me then I feel slightly tense. I love flying and it really doesn't bother me ... I just accept that somewhere in the back of my mind there's a part which is not comfortable.