All of us know that breathing oxygen is extremely important to human life, but few understand that breathing faster or deeper than how one normally does is actually harmful to our health. This condition is called hyperventilation or overbreathing. Hyperventilation causes the concentration of carbon dioxide in the blood to drop abnormally causing loss of sensation or tingling pain in the lips, hands and feet, lightheadedness, headache and dizziness, chest pain and palpitations, slurred speech or in worse cases, even fainting.


Other symptoms may include bloating, belching, sleep disturbances, and dryness in the mouth.

Overbreathing actually makes one feel breathless. It is commonly caused by stress, panic attack, or anxiety or it can happen voluntarily by taking many deep breaths.


It can also be triggered by a number of various medical conditions such as lung diseases, asthma, pneumonia and other lung infection, cardiac diseases, bleeding, pregnancy, head injury, coffee abuse or stroke. Sometimes, it is triggered by the body itself as in the cause of metabolic acidosis, when it is used to counter the increase in the acidity of the blood.

Normal breathing usually involves maintaining the appropriate balance of carbon dioxide and oxygen in the blood.


Hyperventilation reduces levels of carbon dioxide so the body assumes that oxygen levels are low causing the blood vessels of the brain to constrict reducing the flow of blood to the brain. In treating hyperventilation, the doctor will first determine the underlying cause of hyperventilation. Frequent hyperventilation can be caused by ongoing stress, anxiety, depression, or anger or panic related to a specific fear or phobia.

Once it has been established that no serious cardiopulmonary disease has triggered the hyperventilation and that it is caused simply by anxiety, panic, or stress, then it can be self treated by raising the level of carbon dioxide in the blood in order to stop symptoms. One can relax one’s breathing by taking in less carbon dioxide through breathing through pursed lips as if one is blowing out a candle or by covering the mouth and one nostril while breathing through one. Over the long term, if the hyperventilation syndrome continues to persist, it is important to see a psychiatrist or a psychologist to identify and treat the cause of anxiety or panic. Learning some breathing exercises and other relaxation techniques can also be very helpful. If these methods do not stop the symptoms or prevent hyperventilation, a doctor may finally recommend beta block as drug medication.

Warning: The reader of this article should exercise all precautionary measures while following instructions on the home remedies from this article. Avoid using any of these products if you are allergic to it. The responsibility lies with the reader and not with the site or the writer.