Signs of oxygen deficiency. hypoxia

The term hypoxia refers to the pathological state of the body, due to its oxygen starvation as a whole or individual tissues and organs.

Hypoxia can develop with an insufficient amount of oxygen in the blood, with a lack of it in the environment, or with biochemical disturbances in the process of tissue respiration.

The adaptation of the body to hypoxia in each person is purely individual and therefore oxygen starvation in patients causes various complications, depending on the state of health of individual organs and the whole organism.

Acute and chronic forms of hypoxia

Hypoxia can occur in both acute and chronic forms.

The acute form of hypoxia often has a short-term character and usually occurs with high physical activity. This type of hypoxia is observed during fitness classes or long runs. The resulting oxygen starvation quickly passes, because. mobilization of a healthy body includes the mechanisms of adaptation of the body to hypoxia.

An acute form of hypoxia can develop during a stay in a stuffy room. Characteristic signs of hypoxia in this case are drowsiness, lethargy, decreased concentration, yawning. All this takes place when fresh air enters or leaves the room.

But quite often acute hypoxia is caused by pathological processes in the body. This form may be a consequence of heart failure, pulmonary edema, carbon monoxide poisoning, or airway obstruction.

Acute hypoxia can pass very quickly, but can be observed within a few days.

Chronic hypoxia is often observed in diseases of the cardiovascular system and respiratory organs.

The severity of chronic hypoxia depends on the localization of the organ suffering from hypoxia, the duration and type of pathology, the characteristics of the body and metabolic processes in it.

Chronic hypoxia is dangerous because it leads to a decrease in the ability of tissues to absorb oxygen. Thus, a person's chances of recovery are reduced.

This applies to both general and local disease, in which only a certain part of the body is affected. The same applies to atherosclerosis, the development of blood clots, embolism, tumors and edema.

Chronic hypoxia can develop and last from several weeks to several months.

Adaptation of the body to hypoxia

When oxygen starvation occurs in the body, a protective mechanism wakes up, working towards eliminating or reducing the severity of hypoxia.

These processes appear already at the earliest stage of hypoxia. Such adaptation mechanisms are called emergency. If the disease passes into the chronic stage, then the process of adaptation of organs to hypoxia becomes more complex and lengthy.

Emergency adaptation consists in the transport of oxygen and metabolic substrates and the inclusion of tissue metabolism.

Long-term adaptation is formed more slowly and includes adjustment of the functions of the pulmonary alveoli, pulmonary ventilation blood flow, compensatory increase in myocardium, bone marrow hyperplasia, and accumulation of hemoglobin.

Hypoxia classification

According to the duration and intensity of the flow, functional, destructive and metabolic hypoxia are distinguished.

Destructive hypoxia is a severe form and leads to irreversible changes in the body.

Functional hypoxia occurs when hemodynamics is disturbed, i.e. as a result of impaired blood flow for various reasons, such as hypothermia, injuries, burns, etc.

Metabolic hypoxia develops as a result of impaired oxygen supply to tissues. At the same time, there is a change in metabolic processes in them.

Both functional and metabolic hypoxia are reversible. This means that after the necessary treatment or changes in the factors causing hypoxia, all processes in the body are restored.

According to the causes of hypoxia, it is divided into:

1. Exogenous hypoxia, depending on the partial pressure of oxygen. This type includes high-altitude hypoxia, which develops at low atmospheric pressure, for example, in the mountains. High-altitude hypoxia can occur in a closed space - a mine, an elevator, a submarine, etc. The causes of high-altitude hypoxia are a decrease in the content of oxygen and carbon dioxide CO2 in the blood, leading to an increase in the frequency and depth of breathing.
2. Respiratory hypoxia that occurs against the background of respiratory failure.
3. Histotoxic hypoxia due to improper use of oxygen by tissues.
4. Hemic, arising from anemia and hemoglobin suppression by carbon monoxide or oxidizing agents.
5. Circulatory hypoxia, which develops with circulatory failure, accompanied by an arteriovenous difference in oxygen.
6. Overload, the cause of the development of which are epileptic seizures, stress from hard work, and other similar reasons.
7. Technogenic hypoxia occurs when a person constantly stays in an ecologically unsatisfactory environment.

Brain hypoxia and neonatal hypoxia are often found in medical practice.

Hypoxia of the brain disrupts the activity of the whole organism and, first of all, the central nervous system.

Hypoxia in newborns is quite common in obstetric and gynecological practice and has serious consequences. The main causes of chronic fetal hypoxia are maternal diseases such as diabetes mellitus, anemia, occupational intoxication, heart disease, and other diseases.

The causes of chronic fetal hypoxia include a complicated pregnancy caused by a disorder of the uteroplacental circulation. In addition, the pathological development of the fetus in the form of malnutrition, Rh conflict, infection of the fetus when protective barriers are broken, and multiple pregnancies can also be causes of chronic fetal hypoxia.

Signs of hypoxia

Symptoms of oxygen starvation are expressed by constant fatigue and depression, accompanied by insomnia.

There is a deterioration in hearing and vision, headaches and chest pains appear. Sinus is detected on the electrocardiogram. Patients experience shortness of breath, nausea, and disorientation in space. Breathing may be heavy and deep.

In the initial stage of the development of cerebral hypoxia, its signs are expressed by high energy, passing into euphoria. Self-control over motor activity is lost. Signs may include staggering gait, palpitations, pallor bordering on cyanosis, or vice versa, the skin becoming dark red.

In addition to those common to all, signs of cerebral hypoxia, as the disease progresses, are expressed by fainting, cerebral edema, and lack of skin sensitivity. Often this condition ends in a coma with a fatal outcome.

Any type of hypoxia requires immediate treatment based on the elimination of its cause.

Oxygen is something without which our body cannot live for even a few minutes. All human organs without exception are sensitive to its deficiency. But, the most sensitive is the brain. Oxygen starvation, or hypoxia, after a few seconds leads to damage to its cells, after 20 seconds a person falls into a coma, and after 4 minutes brain death occurs. Therefore, it is so important to understand why oxygen starvation of the brain occurs and what hypoxia can lead to.

Depending on how quickly oxygen starvation develops, hypoxia happens:

• Acute. The occurrence of obstructions to the blood supply to brain tissue. It can appear as a result of large blood loss, poisoning or a heart attack.
• Chronic. May occur in patients with cardiosclerosis, heart failure and other heart diseases.
• Lightning. Develops rapidly. The duration of such a phase of hypoxia can last several seconds or minutes.

Depending on what caused the violation, the following forms of hypoxia are distinguished:

1. Exogenous. Occurs when a person breathes air with a low amount of oxygen.
2. Respiratory. The reason is various disturbances in the work of the body, which prevent the supply of the amount of oxygen necessary for the brain.
3. Circulatory. Disorders in the work of the heart or blood vessels can lead to this form. characterized by rapid development.
4. Fabric. It appears due to a violation of the absorption of oxygen by the tissues of our body.

Cellular tissue hypoxia is characterized by a certain cyclicity. You can understand this by reading this diagram.

1. Hemic. It is a consequence of a decrease in the amount of oxygen dissolved in the blood.
2. Reloading. Occurs in people when the amount of oxygen that enters the body does not fully satisfy its need. It can be observed during heavy physical exertion.
3. Mixed. Most often it develops gradually and can have serious consequences. It arises as a result of a whole complex of negative factors.

Causes that provoke oxygen starvation of the brain

The most common causes of hypoxia in adults are:

• Stroke, which results in an acute oxygen deficiency in one of the hemispheres of the brain.
• Stressful situations, accompanied by a decrease in blood pressure.
• Anemia.

• Osteochondrosis.
• Prolonged stay in a closed, unventilated room or when climbing to a great height (in the mountains).
• Gassing.
• Cardiac arrest, which leads to the cessation of oxygen supply to the brain tissue.

• Heart failure.
• Paralysis or respiratory disease.
• Suffocation.

How to give first aid to a person with suffocation. In such cases, it will not be possible to wait for the arrival of doctors, you need to act immediately

• Various circulatory disorders of the body.
• Reaction to alcohol.
• Complications after surgery.
• Diseases of the nervous system.
• An allergic reaction that contributed to the development of laryngeal edema.

Symptoms of the disease

Cerebral oxygen starvation in adults has standard symptoms that often help with the diagnosis. These include:

1. Increased excitability, which was not observed before. A slight oxygen starvation of the brain provokes a state of euphoria, a person may not control his behavior. Excitability is replaced by lethargy and a feeling of depression.
2. Sharp headache. Most often it has a pressing character.
3. Arrhythmia and tachycardia.

Learn more about the causes and symptoms of the disease from the doctor of medical sciences, professor, head of the department of cardiology of the Novokuznetsk State Institute Vladimir Matveyevich Podkhomutnikov:

1. Change in skin color. It becomes pale, may be too red or bluish. In such a situation, the brain tries to restore normal blood supply, which can be manifested by excessive sweating.
2. Inhibition of the nervous system, which is a manifestation of posthypoxic brain damage. In this case, the patient notes or indomitable vomiting. Along with this, vision may be impaired. Hypoxia provokes loss of consciousness.
3. Perinatal damage to the brain as a result of its oxygen starvation. This condition provokes, the patient's conditioned and unconditioned reflexes disappear. If the blood supply to the brain is not restored, then the functioning of all internal organs is disrupted, the skin stops responding to external stimuli.

It must be remembered that oxygen starvation manifests itself differently for everyone, therefore, having noted some of the signs in yourself, you need to consult a doctor who can make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe treatment.

Diagnosis of hypoxia

To make a diagnosis, laboratory and instrumental studies are carried out:

• Pulse oximetry. This diagnostic method is rightly called the most accessible way to determine cerebral hypoxia. To do this, the patient puts a special device on his finger - a pulse oximeter.
• Study of acid-base balance. The method is based on the analysis of blood composition, which makes it possible to evaluate the quantitative indicators of many body functions.
• Complete blood count (if you are a resident of St. Petersburg, then here http://medi-center.ru/laboratornaya-diagnostika/analizy-v-spb you can make an appointment).

To understand the results of your tests, you need to know the rules. The main norms for indicators of a general blood test for men and women are given in this table

• Electroencephalogram.
• Computed and magnetic resonance imaging of the brain.
• Reovasography.

You can see how the procedure for obtaining electrocardiogram data is in this figure.

Depending on the patient's state of health, the degree of hypoxia and the alleged cause of brain oxygen deficiency, the doctor will prescribe an individual diagnostic program.

Treatment of oxygen starvation of the brain

Before starting the treatment of oxygen starvation in adults, it is necessary to establish the exact cause that provoked this condition. Therefore, it is important for the patient to clearly articulate the factors that could lead to this. Most often in an adult it is smoking, alcohol abuse, prolonged stay in a poorly ventilated room.

After assessing the severity of oxygen starvation, the doctor will recommend treatment in a hospital or at home. The patient is prescribed drugs that stabilize the normal functioning of the body. It is also necessary to take medications, the action of which is aimed at restoring the normal blood supply to the brain tissues.

Sometimes it is enough for an adult to relieve the symptoms of mild oxygen starvation by ventilating the room in which he is located or going outside. The situation is different if the cause is some kind of disease or malfunction of the body.

If oxygen starvation provoked a disease of the blood, cardiovascular or respiratory system, the patient will need more serious measures to eliminate it.

1. With exogenous hypoxia, oxygen equipment (masks, pillows, etc.) is used.
2. For the treatment of respiratory hypoxia, analgesics, antihypoxanes and drugs that dilate the bronchi are used. Sometimes artificial lung ventilation is performed.

Remember that some analgesics have a negative effect on the body and are addictive. It is important to be able to distinguish which of them are narcotic and which are non-narcotic.

1. Hemic hypoxia requires blood transfusion, which contributes to the normalization of blood circulation.
2. With a circular form of oxygen starvation, surgical intervention on the heart or blood vessels is necessary.
3. Antidote drugs are used to treat the histoxic form.

If the patient consults a doctor in time and effective treatment is prescribed, the prognosis for recovery will be favorable. However, if oxygen starvation continues for a long period of time, irreversible consequences may develop that cannot be eliminated.

You can learn interesting facts about the disease from the pediatrician, family doctor Konstantin Borisovich Zabolotny:

Folk remedies for the disease

Along with traditional methods of treatment, folk remedies are often prescribed that help restore blood supply to brain tissues. Decoctions from the fruits of mountain ash, herbs of horsetail, motherwort, wood lice and periwinkle have proven themselves well.

As an example, we can give a recipe for a folk remedy from crushed leaves of wood lice. To prepare such a tincture, 1 tablespoon of herbs should be poured with 1 cup of boiling water, mix, cover the dish with a lid and leave to infuse for 7-8 hours. Take this medicine 50 ml 30 minutes before meals.

But it is worth noting that before taking any folk remedy, it is necessary to consult a doctor, as some of them can cause allergic reactions.

When making a prognosis for a patient, doctors are guided by the degree of damage to the brain tissue, which depends on how long the brain experienced oxygen starvation.

If the lack of oxygen did not last long, then the prognosis is usually favorable and the patient manages to eliminate its consequences. But if hypoxia has not been treated for a long time, it can lead to the development of a vegetative state. In this state, the patient retains the basic functions of the body (breathing, blood pressure, etc.), but the person will not respond to what surrounds him. As a rule, such patients live within 1 year.

Oxygen starvation in some patients leads to impaired appetite, the appearance of blood clots and the development of pulmonary infections.

Hypoxia in newborns

Oxygen deficiency in the brain tissues can occur in a newborn at any stage of its development: during childbirth or even during intrauterine development. Hypoxia is one of the most commonly diagnosed disorders in newborn babies.

In some cases, this condition is life threatening. If a severe form of the disease occurs, the baby dies or receives a severe disability.

The following factors can affect the appearance of oxygen starvation:

• Maternal disease, severe pregnancy and childbirth. The fetus may experience a lack of oxygen due to anemia or heart defects of the pregnant woman, premature detachment of the placenta or the presence of bleeding in her.
• Pathology of blood flow through the umbilical cord and violation of the placental-uterine circulation. This also includes entanglement with the umbilical cord, damage to its vessels, trophic disorders of the placenta, protracted or rapid labor, the use of special medical instruments (forceps, etc.).

Gynecologist Raisa Zanitullina talks about fetal hypoxia in this video:

• Genetic abnormalities in the fetus, anomalies in its development, Rh conflict, infectious diseases, congenital heart disease, skull trauma.
• Asphyxia, as a result of which the airways of the fetus partially or completely overlap.

After birth, the baby must be examined by a neonatologist, who can pay attention to the symptoms of oxygen starvation in a newborn. In this case, the crumbs observed tachycardia. Subsequently, it turns into arrhythmia and heart murmurs. A child who has undergone hypoxia may develop blood clots and numerous hemorrhages in tissues and organs.

Treatment of the disease in newborns

The treatment of children differs significantly from the treatment of adult patients. If there is a suspicion of a lack of oxygen in the fetus, doctors try to speed up the birth, but at the same time not harm the mother and baby. To do this, a caesarean section or the imposition of obstetric forceps can be performed. After removing the baby, everything possible is done to provide him with the necessary amount of oxygen.

During childbirth, doctors can use special drugs, the action of which is aimed at increasing blood circulation in the placenta and the human body. Also, a set of resuscitation measures is often used, which free the respiratory tract of the newborn from mucus, carry out artificial respiration.

Until the child's condition stabilizes, he is shown the introduction of such drugs: sodium gluconate, glucose solution, etimizol. In the future, a child who has undergone hypoxia should be under the supervision of a pediatrician and a neuropathologist, who will monitor his development and, if necessary, correct possible changes in the functioning of the body.

However, doctors are not always able to conduct effective therapy that would help the baby completely get rid of the effects of oxygen starvation. In this case, the child remains disabled. This leads to his lag in physical or mental development. Therefore, doctors always recommend that pregnant women carry out prophylaxis, which consists in rational nutrition, taking vitamins, frequent exposure to fresh air, and light physical exercises that will correspond to a specific gestational age.

Hypoxia is not a disease, but a condition that can be effectively treated. Only for this, it is necessary to identify the pathology in time and begin the correct treatment.

Signs of hypoxia appear both immediately after birth and in the distant future.

The causes of hypoxia depend to a greater extent on the health of the mother, the functioning of her cardiovascular system, the presence of inflammation, etc.

Treatment of fetal hypoxia is most effective at an early stage, until the fetus has developed serious pathological disorders.

Causes of oxygen deficiency in the fetus

In most cases, the appearance of fetal pathology is provoked by disorders in the maternal body that preceded pregnancy or appeared already during the bearing of the child. Hypoxia of the brain is a consequence of a number of serious illnesses of a woman. Among the most threatening pathologies are:

• anemia
• hypertension;
• heart defects;
• pathology of the urinary organs;
• diabetes;
• sexually transmitted infectious disease.

A significant obstacle to the normal bearing of a child is the bad habits of the mother - smoking, alcohol or drug addiction.

Oxygen starvation of the child's brain can be caused by overpregnancy, umbilical cord pathology, birth process anomalies, placental insufficiency. Severe complications of pregnancy are hypoxia during childbirth as a result of protracted labor activity, entanglement of the umbilical cord during childbirth.

Symptoms of oxygen deficiency

Oxygen deficiency has a negative impact on the child at an early stage of the formation of the baby's body. Resistance to hypoxia is formed by the physiological characteristics of the child. Even in the first trimester, an embryo with an unmet need for oxygen will suffer from untimely development of brain structures, problems in the functioning of blood vessels, and the formation of the blood-brain barrier in the fetus slows down. At the next stage of formation, hypoxia of the kidneys is possible, violations of the liver and lungs are noted. Signs of fetal hypoxia in the later stages force doctors to resort to early delivery.

The severity of pathological changes depends on how intense the pathology has developed, and how long it has affected the body. The primary stage of oxygen deficiency provokes an activation of the heartbeat in the fetus, subsequently a slowdown of the heart and other disorders, which can be diagnosed in utero with the help of ultrasound. If the pathology is mild, then the motor activity of the fetus increases, and in a severe case of development, the disease provokes a slowdown in the child's movements.

Severe hypoxia in a child contributes to the appearance of severe circulatory disorders - jumps in blood pressure appear, an increase in heart rate is replaced by a slowdown.

The blood begins to thicken, and the plasma seeps through the vascular walls and puffiness appears. An increase in vascular permeability causes internal hemorrhages, hemorrhages in the eye are clearly visible. A decrease in tone provokes a slowdown in blood flow and tissue ischemia, since the blood becomes unable to provide tissues and organs with the required amount of oxygen. A serious complication is the shift in the acid-base balance that has appeared in the fetus, the electrolyte balance is disturbed, and there are problems with the supply of oxygen to the tissues. If oxygen deficiency is not prevented or treated, this condition can lead to intrauterine death of the fetus.

With a slight lesion, the lack of oxygen in the brain practically does not affect the child's central nervous system - children are born healthy, all indicators are normal. Severe violations provoke disturbances in the work of internal organs and necrotic lesions of tissues and cells. At the same time, the consequences of fetal hypoxia in a child after birth are difficult to predict - these can be both minor neurological abnormalities and a serious pathology of emotional development.

Intrauterine fetal hypoxia can give not only obvious signs of deviation in children, but also remote symptoms in adults, manifesting at any age.

Classification of pathology

In medicine, there are such types of hypoxia:

• exogenous hypoxia - the second name is hypoxic hypoxia, occurs when the oxygen content in the air that is inhaled decreases;
• circulatory hypoxia - lack of oxygen due to pathologies of the heart and blood vessels;
• intranatal pathology - oxygen deficiency, the signs and mechanisms of which develop during childbirth;
• hemic hypoxia - the cause of this form is blood pathologies, for example, a deficiency of hemoglobin that carries oxygen, pathologies of blood elements, as a result of which it simply does not bind;
• tissue hypoxia - the inability of tissues to receive and retain oxygen;
• cerebral pathology - disorders of the blood supply to the brain.

As for the lack of oxygen during the intrauterine development of the fetus, doctors use a classification depending on the nature of the course and the rate of development of pathological changes. Allocate acute and chronic insufficiency.

Acute fetal hypoxia is mainly caused by such unforeseen factors as pathologies of labor, uterine rupture, premature detachment of the placenta. As a rule, such states do not give signals about themselves in advance, but happen more in the form of anomalies.

In this case, the lack of oxygen in the brain sets in rapidly, and the child's health also deteriorates rapidly. His heartbeat quickens, or vice versa, the work of the heart slows down, arrhythmia sets in, motor activity slows down and asphyxia develops.

Chronic fetal hypoxia - hgp - occurs for a long time, during which the fetus is affected by a negative factor. The protracted course of the pathology during pregnancy provokes intrauterine malnutrition, but in the event of the exhaustion of the body's compensatory capabilities, the fetus begins the same changes as in the acute form. In world practice, the concept of oxygen deficiency has been increasingly used the new term distress syndrome, which indicates a multiple lesion of the fetus, and not just oxygen deficiency.

Diagnosis of pathology

Suspicion of pathology first arises with inadequate activity of the fetus in the womb. Most often, the manifestations of the pathology begin with the activation of the motor activity of the fetus, and since hypoxia is very dangerous for the fetus, you need to contact the clinic immediately. If such signs occur, a woman should consult a doctor and she will be assigned a diagnosis:

• listen to the fetal heartbeat with a stethoscope and evaluate the rhythm of the child's heart sounds and the sonority of tones, the presence of abnormal heart murmurs;
• appoint the patient additional studies - cardiotocography, phonocardiography, ultrasound, dopplerometry, amniocentesis.

As a result of these studies, doctors determine fetal hypoxia and get a complete picture of the child's condition. This makes it possible to prescribe the necessary treatment.

Treatment of pathology

If oxygen starvation is suspected in the fetus, the woman is hospitalized in an inpatient department. A pregnant woman is prescribed oxygen therapy and provides complete rest. At the same time, treatment is carried out aimed at normalizing the tone of the uterus, ensuring adequate blood circulation for the child. For this purpose, a pregnant woman is prescribed for hypoxia Papaverine, Eufillin, Terbutaline, Hexoprenaline. In order to reduce intravascular coagulability, Dextran, Pentoxifylline, Dipyridamole are prescribed.

Chronic intrauterine hypoxia of the fetus is removed if the cells receive more oxygen and remove waste products of metabolism, thus freeing themselves from toxins. The positive dynamics of treatment is supported by physiotherapeutic measures.

If conservative treatment is not successful, and the gestational age is 28 weeks or more, then in order to eliminate the threatening condition of the fetus, it is concluded that early emergency delivery is necessary. During childbirth, fetal cardiac monitoring is used, which makes it possible to control vital processes in the child's body.

With the acute development of pathology, resuscitation first aid is required, but with the timely delivery of medical care, mechanisms can be corrected and severe violations avoided. After the birth of such problem children, they should be registered with a neurologist.

Complications of hypoxia

Oxygen starvation of the heart and brain does not pass without a trace.

Most often, cerebral hypoxia in newborns is manifested by pathologies of the central nervous system, cerebral edema, areflexia, perinatal encephalopathy, and convulsions. Respiratory dysfunction is manifested by pathologies of the lungs, pneumopathy of various kinds.

The most severe cardiac lesions are organ defects, ischemic necrosis of the heart membrane. The infant may develop oliguria, renal failure, enterocolitis, secondary immunodeficiency. When muscle hypertonicity appears, as a complication of pathology, children are shown a massage that will help eliminate the signs and its consequences in the future.

Prevention of oxygen deficiency

For the purpose of prevention, proper preparation of a pregnant woman for conception and childbirth, timely treatment of chronic and acute infections, abandonment of bad habits, and rational nutrition are required. It is possible to prevent fetal hypoxia if physical activity is excluded, to be more in the fresh air. Prevention of hypoxia should be carried out at all stages of fetal development. The disease is easier to prevent than to cure the baby from severe complications.

Watch the video:

Hypoxia is a state of oxygen starvation that can be experienced both by the body as a whole and by its individual organs or organ systems.

A variety of factors can provoke hypoxia, including:

• Reduced oxygen content in the inhaled air (for example, during a stay in high mountainous areas);
• Partial or complete violation of air exchange in the lungs due to drowning, suffocation, edema of the lungs or bronchial mucosa, bronchospasm, etc.;
• A decrease in the oxygen capacity of the blood or, in other words, a decrease in the amount of hemoglobin capable of attaching oxygen, because it is he who performs the function of its main transporter (blood hypoxia can occur against the background of carbon monoxide poisoning, anemia or erythrocytolysis);
• Pathological conditions resulting from cardiovascular insufficiency and in which the movement of oxygenated blood to various tissues and organs is difficult or completely impossible (for example, with heart defects, diabetic vascular disease, etc.);
• Disturbances in the processes of oxygen uptake by body tissues (signs of hypoxia may develop due to blocking the activity of enzymes that take part in tissue respiration, toxic substances or salts of heavy metals);
• An increase in the functional load on a tissue or organ (symptoms of hypoxia can be provoked by hard physical work or increased sports loads, when the need for oxygen exceeds its actual intake into the body).

In some cases, oxygen starvation is the result of a combination of the factors listed above.

Hypoxia can also be observed in children during their prenatal development. If such a condition is noted for a long period, it can cause serious disturbances in the metabolism of the fetus. In especially severe cases, the consequences of hypoxia can be ischemia, necrosis of the child's tissues, and even his death.

The main causes of intrauterine fetal hypoxia are:

• Diseases transferred by the mother, including diseases of the heart, blood vessels, lungs, as well as diseases accompanied by a decrease in the concentration of hemoglobin in the blood;
• Congenital malformations of the fetus;
• Violations of the function of the umbilical cord and placenta, including deterioration of placental gas exchange due to premature detachment of the placenta, and interruption of the umbilical circulation due to the formation of knots, compression or entanglement of the fetus;
• Anemia, characterized by a reduced content of hemoglobin in the blood;
• Prolonged mechanical squeezing of the fetus.

Symptoms of hypoxia

Signs of hypoxia are quite diverse and are determined by the severity of the condition, the duration of exposure to the body of an unfavorable factor, as well as the reactivity of the body itself.

In addition, the symptoms of hypoxia are determined by the form in which it occurs. In general, depending on the rate of development of the pathological process, there are:

• lightning fast;
• acute;
• Subacute;
• chronic hypoxia.

Fulminant, acute and subacute forms, in contrast to chronic hypoxia, are characterized by a more pronounced clinical picture. Symptoms of oxygen starvation develop in a fairly fast time frame, not giving the body the opportunity to adapt to them. Therefore, the consequences of acute hypoxia are often more serious for a person than the consequences of chronic oxygen starvation, which is gradually accustomed to. In some cases, they are irreversible.

Chronic hypoxia develops slowly. Thus, patients who are diagnosed with severe forms of respiratory failure on the background of chronic lung diseases can live for years without any dramatic symptoms. However, it should be noted that, like the acute form of oxygen starvation, the chronic one also leads to irreversible consequences. They just develop over a longer period of time.

The most common signs of hypoxia in acute form are:

• The appearance of shortness of breath;
• Increasing the frequency of breathing and its depth;
• Dysfunction of individual organs and systems.

The chronic form is most often characterized by an increase in the activity of erythropoiesis (the process of formation of red blood cells in the bone marrow) against the background of the development of a pathological condition in which the concentration of red blood cells per unit volume of blood significantly exceeds those considered physiologically normal. In addition, in the body there is a violation of the function of various organs and their systems.

Treatment of hypoxia

The treatment of hypoxia involves the appointment of a set of measures aimed at eliminating its cause, combating the lack of oxygen, as well as making adjustments to the body's homeostasis system.

In some cases, to eliminate the effects of hypoxia, it is enough to ventilate the room or walk in the fresh air. If the condition is provoked by more serious causes and is associated with diseases of the blood system, lungs, cardiovascular system, or poisoning with toxic substances, the following can be recommended for the treatment of hypoxia:

• Therapy using oxygen equipment (masks, pillows, balloons, etc.);
• Appointment of antihypoxants, bronchodilators, respiratory analeptics, etc.;
• The use of oxygen concentrators;
• Artificial ventilation of the lungs;
• Blood transfusion and stimulation of hematopoiesis;
• Surgical operations correcting the function of the heart and blood vessels;
• Prescribing drugs with a cardiotropic effect;
• The use of antidotes in combination with artificial ventilation of the lungs and the appointment of drugs whose action is aimed at improving the utilization of oxygen by tissues (in case of poisoning).

And when you are in poorly ventilated rooms, you feel tired and slightly dizzy. This is due to the lack of oxygen for our organs. If in the cases listed above this is due to external factors, then sometimes a lack of oxygen occurs in the form of a disease. It can be of a different nature, severity and symptoms, sometimes it can reach severe consequences or even death. This article discusses the main characteristics of the concept of hypoxia, the principles and classifications of hypoxic conditions, as well as the main methods of treatment and prevention.

Definition

Hypoxia is a condition in which the body is deprived of oxygen supply at the tissue level. Hypoxia is classified as generalized, affecting the entire body, or local, affecting certain organs. Although hypoxia is a pathological disease, varying levels of arterial oxygen concentration are acceptable in certain physical conditions, such as learning to hypoventilate or vigorous exercise.

Exogenous or associated with climbing to high altitudes, and this causes even in healthy people altitude sickness, leading to fatal consequences: pulmonary edema and acute cerebral edema of the brain. Hypoxia also occurs in healthy individuals when breathing mixtures of gases with low oxygen concentrations, such as during scuba diving while using closed-loop rebreather systems that control the oxygen content of the air supplied. An artificially induced moderate state of hypoxia is used specifically during training at high altitudes to develop adaptation both at the systemic and at the cellular level.

Hypoxia is a common complication in newborns resulting from preterm birth. Since the fetus's lungs develop towards the end of the third trimester, premature babies are often born with underdeveloped lungs. Infants at risk of hypoxia are placed in incubators that provide small organisms with oxygen and positive airway pressure.

Degree of hypoxia

There are several degrees of pathology:

1. Light. It appears during normal physical activity.
2. Moderate. The degree manifests itself in chronic hypoxia in the normal state.
3. Heavy. It appears during an acute attack of hypoxia and can lead to coma.
4. Critical. Severe manifestation of hypoxia can lead to death.

Generalized hypoxia

In altitude sickness, where hypoxia develops less progressively, symptoms include:

• fatigue,
• numbness,
• limb tingling,
• nausea and anoxia.

With severe hypoxia observed:

• mental confusion,
• lack of orientation
• hallucinations,
• behavioral changes
• nagging headaches,
• severe shortness of breath
• pronounced tachycardia,
• pulmonary hypertension leading to slow heart rate, low blood pressure, which is fatal.

Hypoxia is the result of impaired transport of O 2 to cells. In parallel, there is a decrease in impaired gas exchange in the lungs, a decrease in hemoglobin levels, changes in blood flow to the end tissue, and problems with the respiratory rhythm.

Oxygen in the blood has a permanent bond with hemoglobin, so any interference with this carrier molecule prevents the delivery of oxygen to the periphery. Hemoglobin increases the oxygen content in the blood by about 40 times. When the ability of hemoglobin to transport oxygen is disrupted, a state of hypoxia occurs.

Ischemic hypoxia

Ischemia, which means insufficient blood flow to the tissues, also leads to hypoxia. This is called "ischemic hypoxia" causing an embolic condition. This hypoxia causes a heart attack, which reduces the overall blood flow, which leads to further destruction in the tissues. Insufficient blood flow causes local hypoxia, such as gangrene, in people with diabetes.

Hypoxemic hypoxia

Hypoxemia is a hypoxic condition in which there is a lack of oxygen in the blood. Hypoxic hypoxia develops with disorders in the respiratory center. These include:

• respiratory alkalosis,
• shunting of blood in the lungs,
• diseases that interfere with the full functioning of the lungs, which leads to a mismatch between ventilation and perfusion (V / Q),
• pulmonary embolism,
• partial changes in oxygen pressure in the surrounding air or lung alveoli.

It is also called exogenous, this type of hypoxia is due to low. This type occurs at elevated or reduced altitudes. Hypoxic hypoxia can be divided into hypobaric and normobaric. The first refers to cases when a person enters the conditions of rarefied air and low pressure, as well as low oxygen content. This happens in the mountains or on low-altitude aircraft that are flown without masks. The second refers to situations in which there is no change in pressure, but there is still little oxygen in the air. This happens in mines or other enclosed spaces.

The reasons

The causes of hypoxic hypoxia can be quite varied. The main ones are:

1) Discharged air at altitude. This is one of the most common causes of hypoxia, which is present even in healthy people.

2) Poor ventilation in enclosed spaces with a large number of people. One of the most common domestic causes of hypoxic hypoxia.

3) Being in rooms that have no connection with the outside world. This includes various types of mines, wells, as well as submarines.

4) Malfunction of the breathing apparatus in conditions of strong gas contamination. For example, work in smoky rooms with a faulty gas mask.

Symptoms

Symptoms and consequences of hypoxia depend on the body's ability to respond to a lack of oxygen, as well as on the degree of hypoxia that occurs. Among the most common symptoms are the appearance of shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, as well as dysfunction of some organs. It is also worth highlighting that the nervous and cardiovascular systems are most susceptible to hypoxia, which is characterized by a rapid or reduced heartbeat. In acute hypoxia, one of the cerebral hemispheres may malfunction, which can lead to death or irreversible changes. If hypoxia is chronic, then it is characterized by the appearance of shortness of breath during various physical exertion. Perhaps the appearance of chronic fatigue due to lack of oxygen for all organs.

Types of hypoxic conditions

There are two varieties:

• anemic hypoxia.

Hemoglobin is responsible for transporting oxygen throughout the body. Hemoglobin deficiency leads to anemia, which causes anemic hypoxia. Inadequate iron content in the body is the most common cause of anemia. Since iron is involved in the formation of hemoglobin, it will be produced in smaller quantities due to the lack of this trace element, which is either small in the body or poorly absorbed. Anemia is usually a chronic process that is compensated over time by an increased level of red blood cells through increased erythropoietin.

• Acute hypoxia.

Severe hypoxic exogenous hypoxia is characterized by increased heart rate and respiration, the occurrence of tachycardia, the amount of blood passing through the heart also increases due to the fact that the bone marrow releases an additional portion of red blood cells into the blood stream to maintain a normal level of oxygen in the body. In an acute attack of hypoxic hypoxia, the body directs all the blood to the central organs, ignoring the secondary ones. In this case, if the attack is eliminated in a short period of time, then the person can keep his body normal. If the attack is not eliminated immediately, then you can be late with first aid and irreparable reactions will occur in the body, with a possible fatal outcome.

Chronic hypoxia

This degree of hypoxic hypoxia is typical in the period of severe illness, it lasts for quite a long time. This is the main difference from acute hypoxia. With a long period, the body adapts to the conditions of lack of oxygen and begins to receive oxygen for cells in new ways. In the lungs, the network of blood vessels increases, and the blood is supplied with additional hemoglobin. The heart is forced to distill huge volumes of blood and therefore increases in size. If during acute hypoxia, after the elimination of symptoms, all organs return to their normal state, then in chronic hypoxia, the body is rebuilt forever.

Histotoxic hypoxia

Histotoxic hypoxia occurs when the level of oxygen in the cells is normal, but the cells cannot use it efficiently due to non-performing oxidative phosphorylation catalysts. This is what happens with cyanide poisoning.

The consequences of hypoxic hypoxia are very diverse. If the cells of the body do not have enough oxygen, the electrons are converted into pyruvic acid during lactic acid fermentation. This temporary measure allows a small amount of energy to be released. The appearance of lactic acid (in tissues and blood) is an indicator of insufficient oxygenation of the mitochondria, which can be caused by hypoxemia, poor circulation (eg, shock), or a combination of both. This condition, which has a long and severe form, leads to cell death. Pulmonary hypertension adversely affects survival in hypoxemia, to the extent that elevated mean pulmonary artery pressure rises. Chronic hypoxemia increases mortality with any severity of the disease.

Numerous studies in hypoxemic patients have demonstrated a relationship between daily hours of oxygen use and survival. There is reason to believe that continuous 24-hour use of oxygen in patients with hypoxia would reduce the mortality rate. Oxygen concentrators are ideal for this purpose. They are easy to maintain and do not require significant electricity costs. They provide a constant source of oxygen and eliminate the costly transport of oxygen cylinders. In offices and residential areas, climate-controlled rooms are equipped, in which temperature and humidity are maintained at a constant level. Oxygen in this system is always available.

Since hypoxia is a very dangerous disease, with a possible fatal outcome, a lot of attention is paid to its treatment. For the treatment of hypoxic hypoxia, complex treatment is used, which includes the elimination of the causes of the disease, as well as the adjustment of the body's blood supply system. If hypoxia is presented in a mild form, it can be corrected by taking walks in the fresh air, as well as increasing the ventilation of the premises.

In case the degree of hypoxic hypoxia is more severe, there are several comprehensive treatments. The most commonly used artificial saturation of the lungs with oxygen. With this method, various oxygen pillows, masks, as well as an artificial lung ventilation system are used. In addition to this patient, drugs are prescribed that expand the respiratory structures.