Hyperventilation
Rapid breathing often with anxiety causing distressing symptoms
Step by Step
Fast, deep breathing can cause tingling in the fingers and lips, dizziness, and muscle cramps by lowering carbon dioxide in the blood. It is often linked to anxiety, but fast breathing can also be caused by serious conditions such as asthma, heart attack, diabetic ketoacidosis, or a blood clot in the lungs. Move the person somewhere calm, reassure them, and encourage slow breathing, for example by breathing along with you. Breathing into a paper bag is not recommended. Call emergency services if they have chest pain, difficulty breathing, blue lips, confusion, or it is a first episode or unusual for them.
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