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Breathing 100% pure oxygen for more than 16 hours can lead to irreversible lung damage, damage to the retinas, and eventually, death.

Health Conditions / BBC Focus, breathing, central nervous system, concentration, hemoglobin, Merozoite surface protein, Our Blood, oxygen / / By

Why does breathing pure oxygen kill you?

Asked by: Jane Hawke, Bournemouth

Our blood has evolved to capture the oxygen we breathe in and bind it safely to the transport molecule called haemoglobin. If you breathe air with a much higher than normal O2 concentration, the oxygen in the lungs overwhelms the blood’s ability to carry it away.

The result is that free oxygen binds to the surface proteins of the lungs, interferes with the operation of the central nervous system and also attacks the retina.

Contrary to popular myth, hyperventilating air at ordinary pressures never causes oxygen toxicity (the dizziness is due to CO2 levels dropping too low), but breathing oxygen at pressures of 0.5 bar or more (roughly two and a half times normal) for more than 16 hours can lead … Continue Reading

Source: https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/why-does-breathing-pure-oxygen-kill-you/

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