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Breathing into a paper bag
Breathing into a paper bag has traditionally been used to treat hyperventilation. However, it has generally fallen out of favor as a standard treatment because more dangerous conditions like heart attack can mimic hyperventilation, and reducing oxygen in that situation can be deadly. Doctors still sometimes recommend it in those with anxiety disorder and who are at low risk for heart attack or asthma.
Dr. Keegan Duchicela reviewed this
16 year experience in family medicine
Related questions
A 35-year old asked:
Old wives tale about breathing into a paper bag when you're hyperventilating?
1 doctor answer • 3 doctors weighed in
A 31-year old asked:
Does breathing into a paper bag really help panic and hyperventilation?
1 doctor answer • 2 doctors weighed in
A member asked:
Will breathing into a brown paper bag help slow down my baby's fast breathing?
3 doctor answers • 3 doctors weighed in
A 39-year old male asked:
I found her breathing on a paper bag. she asked for anxiety pills and also took disprin. she doesn't want me to call ambulance.
1 doctor answer • 3 doctors weighed in
A 24-year old male asked:
I think I inhaled I piece of drinking straw paper? Could it be in my lungs? I'm breathing fine
1 doctor answer • 3 doctors weighed in
A 38-year old female asked:
If I accidentally inhaled small particles/debris from paper with dry blood on it, and have abrasions inside my nose (from nosebleed few days ago), am I at risk for HIV? I had asked about breathing in dry blood, but had not mentioned the nosebleed?
1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in
A 32-year old asked:
Hyperventilation, what size paper bag?
1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in
A 46-year old male asked:
I think i slept in an awkward position that caused pain at my back.Got worse when i carried my bag to work. Now, really hurts when moving or breathing.
2 doctor answers • 4 doctors weighed in
A 48-year old asked:
How can vinegar and a brown paper bag help treat a sprain?
1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in
A 31-year old female asked:
Is stool the color of a brown paper bag a normal color for stool?
1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in
A 34-year old asked:
I'm breathing into a bag, or after exercise why is the rate (breath holding) slower?
1 doctor answer • 3 doctors weighed in
A 53-year old male asked:
How long does ecoli live on paper or plastic? Hard plastic, Not garbage bags. I may have to wash his comforter depending on the answer :(
1 doctor answer • 2 doctors weighed in
A 25-year old male asked:
I sprayed bug spray and droplets fell on a paper bag that had food inside it but was closed. I ate that food will I get sick from poisoning?
1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in
A 64-year old male asked:
Can I safely use my oven for cooking to decontaminate a disposable mask that I wear in a hospital unit? The mask is put in a closed paper bag at 200 Fahrenheit for 20 minutes.
1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in
A 20-year old female asked:
I left my nuvaring in the car from 5:45-7:45 Pm. it was 88 going down to 85 outside. It was in the sealed pouch, the box, and a paper bag, and had just come out of the pharmacy refrigerator. It was inside the center console. Is it still ok to use?
1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in
A 31-year old female asked:
I have the feeling that while I'm walking, something stuck to my lower leg, such as paper, a sheet or a bag from the store! That feeling stops when I stop walking, I also always have a feeling in the same place that this could be?
1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in
A 22-year old male asked:
Can I get AIDS from masturbating with toilet paper and a ziplock bag? Ziplock bag and toilet paper did not contain any blood. Still worried.
2 doctor answers • 3 doctors weighed in
A 21-year old female asked:
Waitin to see psychatrist in meantime hyperventilating 24/7 paper bag helps a little not a lot crying on and off can't sleep feel sick what can I do?
1 doctor answer • 2 doctors weighed in
A 45-year old asked:
Can dipping a brown paper bag in vinegar water and sealing a jammed finger overnight work?
1 doctor answer • 2 doctors weighed in
A 19-year old male asked:
I consumed musrooms, a month ago, stored in a plastic ziploc bag for a couple months. I had difficulty breathing and pains in my chest. After a couple weeks the left side of my body felt weak, but my breathing is improving. Could i have had botulism?
1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in
A 19-year old female asked:
Why is the patient undergoing a panic attack is asked to breathe in or out from a paper bag?
2 doctor answers • 3 doctors weighed in
A 34-year old asked:
How can you give breaths with a bag valve mask to a patient on a ventilator that has stopped breathing?
1 doctor answer • 2 doctors weighed in
A 35-year old male asked:
Can you get hiv from blood on paper bag if the blood is fresh? I had open wounds on my hand when I grabbed the bag. I am worried.
2 doctor answers • 2 doctors weighed in
A 26-year old female asked:
Got refused for an EEG for seizure like symptoms and was told my bicarbonate (sodium bicarbonate) levels are low causing symptoms but labs are normal? Gave me a paper bag?
1 doctor answer • 2 doctors weighed in
A 49-year old female asked:
I keep experiencing pins and needles in my hands, feet and face. It feels like I'm hyperventilating, but I'm breathing normally. I have breathed into a bag to see if it helps, but it did nothing. I took Rivitrol to calm myself down, but no effect?
1 doctor answer • 2 doctors weighed in
A 22-year old female asked:
Sharp pain in rite lung while breathing deep+pain in rite shoulder+feeling of sand bag at rite lung+heaviness of rite arm n leg+fever+dry cough often?
1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in
A 36-year old female asked:
What are these symptoms a sign of after taking multiple hits to the forehead and temple area to the head. Singing or ringing , sounds like fluid swishing, scalp feels lose, head feels like a paper bag. Person has anxiety and high blood pressure .
1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in
A 27-year old female asked:
Severe reaction to 2hand cigarette smoke/cling. Instantly lose voice, chest congestion, wet cough, wheezing, trouble breathing. Some popcorn bags too. Pure tobacco ok. No other asthmas. What additive?
3 doctor answers • 5 doctors weighed in
A 27-year old asked:
How do I know if i'm breathing properly?
1 doctor answer • 3 doctors weighed in
A 28-year old male asked:
What is the definition or description of: breathing?
1 doctor answer • 4 doctors weighed in
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