Home Remedies for Hyperventilation
Extreme panic or anxiety can come at any time. You could be in the middle of a natural disaster or responding to devastating news. Your breathing becomes affected and the rest of your body eventually starts to follow. Fortunately, home remedies for hyperventilation can ease the situation, calm your nerves, and get you back on track.
What is Hyperventilation?
Hyperventilation (sometimes referred to as ‘overbreathing’) is rapid or deep breathing associated with anxiety or panic [1]. Rapid, short breaths are taken, which often placing stress on the lungs. Normal breathing usually uses the diaphragm, as a person takes deep, slow breaths. Many people describe feeling breathless while experiencing an episode.
Causes and Symptoms
In addition to panic, nervousness and anxiety disorders, there are many different medical conditions that can cause hyperventilation. You often hear of people hyperventilating when they come in contact with a phobia, such as a fear of dying, heights, and closed-in spaces (also known as claustrophobia). Pregnant women occasionally hyperventilate when the pressure of a growing baby increases on their lungs. Diabetics may hyperventilate when entering a diabetic coma.
Other causes of hyperventilation include asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pneumonia, congestive heart failure, heart attack, drug overdose, lung disease, and stress. Hyperventilation may also occur when a person travels over 6,000 feet in elevation [2].
Symptoms of hyperventilation typically last from 20 to 30 minutes. You may experience the following:
• An anxious feeling, nervousness, or tension
• Frequent sighing or yawning
• Feeling as you can’t get enough air
• The urge to sit up to breathe
• A pounding, racing heartbeat
• Lightheadedness or vertigo
• Issues with balance
• Numbness or tingling in the hands, feet, or around the mouth
• A tight chest and/or fullness, pressure, tenderness, or pain
Hyperventilation Home Remedies
Since hyperventilation can cause an imbalance in oxygen and carbon dioxide levels (important to the normal functions of your body), complications can become threatening when ignored. Learning how to recover from an episode is important, which make the following home remedies for hyperventilation quite helpful:
a) A Paper Bag:
One of the most popular remedies for hyperventilation is the brown paper bag. By rebreathing into a paper bag, you replace carbon dioxide “blown off” during hyperventilation. You can use this method to ease attacks, as well as prevent one. All you have to do is take 6 to 12 easy, natural breaths while holding a small paper bag over your mouth and nose. Remove the bag, and then take natural breaths afterwards.
b) Calm Down:
When hyperventilating, you need to sit down, calm yourself, and relax. Slowing down your breathing is a must because the tenser you are, the faster you will breathe. For example, certain breathing exercises can help you relax. Aim for the ones that teach you to use your diaphragm and abdomen, rather than rely on your chest wall to breathe.
c) Learn “Normal” Breathing:
There are ways to breathe that can ease hyperventilation symptoms. Your goal is to naturally breathe without exaggeration or shallowness. Normal breathing is considered taking in one breath every six seconds or ten breaths a minute. It is recommended to practice two times per day for 10 minutes per session. The way you breathe can also increase your carbon dioxide when you take in less oxygen. One way to accomplish this is to cover your mouth and one nostril, and breathe through the other nostril.
d) Book:
The ‘belly breathing’ techniques fill your lungs with air, which can lead to relaxation [3]. Try lying on your back with a book placed on top of your stomach. Aim for raising the book with each inhalation.
e) Get Moving:
With the power to decrease anxiety and help people to better cope with their problems, exercise is a good way to get your heart rate pumping and promote healthier breathing.
f) Yoga:
Some of the deep-breathing techniques associated with yoga movements can help prevent and slow down breathing associated with hyperventilation.
g) Avoid Triggers:
Keep an eye out for the circumstances associated with a recurrence of hyperventilation. Once you figure out what makes your anxieties tick, your goal should be to avoid, reduce or eliminate the sources. For example, some people are deathly afraid of canines and should not enter the homes of friends that have a dog unless it is safely secure.
h) Limit Caffeine Intake:
Since caffeine is stimulating, it is suggested to limit your intake if you suffer frequent bouts of hyperventilation. Usual triggers include chocolate, tea, coffee, and cola soda.
i) No Smoking:
If you are a smoker, don’t try to relax by puffing on a cigarette because nicotine is a stimulant that can make your symptoms worse.
j) Music:
Listening to soothing music (such as a recording of ocean waves) or songs by your favorite artist can help calm down your breathing.
k) Hold Your Breath [4]:
It is suggested that a quick fix for hyperventilation is to hold your breath a few times in a row for as long as it is comfortable – like 10 to 15 seconds. This action temporarily prevents the dissipation of carbon dioxide that your veins need. Your symptoms associated with hyperventilation will lessen after holding your breath.
Resources
[1] http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003071.htm
[2] http://www.cigna.com/healthinfo/hypvn.html
[3] http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/hyperventilation-home-treatment
[4] http://www.mdjunction.com/forums/agoraphobia-discussions/general-support/893576-stopping-hyperventilation
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