Is Deep Breathing  the solution for oxygen intake before hit by Covid-19?

As in the last few days, we, Indians are noticing acute increased cases of Covid-19 patients. People dying.

But the main highlight of whatever is coming out is the Shortage of Beds in hospitals and Oxygen shortage!

Yes, Oxygen crisis!!

The life savings Oxygen/Oxygen cylinder shortage is a critical situation now in our motherland India.

As you may be knowing, oxygen shortage in the case of Covid-19 patient is a severe condition already occurred. Severe cases are when one has:

Severe pneumonia,

Acute respiratory distress syndrome,

Sepsis.

As per clinical management protocol, when the body is deprived of adequate oxygen supply at the tissue level, oxygen therapy is the primary form of treatment. It targets to achieve 92-96% SpO2 or 88-92% in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

When respiratory distress and/or hypoxemia of the patient cannot be alleviated after receiving standard oxygen therapy, the protocol recommends that high-flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy or non-invasive ventilation can be considered

By administering all described procedures, the desired outcome is to: Keep Oxygen intake in the body in the bare requirement for survival!

Yes, survival. For which, Oxygen intake is a must!

Most patients with Covid-19 have a respiratory tract infection, and in the most severe cases, their symptoms can include shortness of breath. In a small proportion of such cases, this can progress to a more severe and systemic disease characterized by Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS).

So, Oxygen intake becomes vital.

Scrutinizing above, you may now realize, how Oxygen is so important in the case of a Covid-19 patient.

Is it? Only for severely affected Covid-19 patients?

Not at all.

As you know, Oxygen is vital for every human being’s survival, which we are inhaling with every breathe we take. It’s so natural phenomena we often forget that we are inhaling oxygen with each breath. But we are doing. Unconsciously.

How many of us of the human race do conscious breathing? That too, deep breathing?

I doubt hardly any significant number!

But, in this so critical pandemic Covid-19 situation, when people are struggling everywhere for Oxygen cylinder to save their near and dear one, why not, we take a closer look, how, deep breathing can help us.

Is not it a simple solution to maintain our Oxygen intake? Shall not we be aware of practicing deep breathing before covid-19 hit us?

Should we wait till the condition get worsen??

When the solution is already there with our every second survival that is breathing. Why not start doing deep breathing.

Yes, Practicing deep breathing consciously and consistently can easily maintain our required Oxygen intake in our body. We can prevent ourselves from going into that crisis, even if, Covid-19 hit us.

Yes, in deep breathing, you will find the solution to your body’s oxygen intake.

Before going into the depth of Deep breathing, let us know about a fully functioning lymphatic system which is a must for your overall health and ability.

Unfortunately, only a few people are knowledgeable about the lymphatic system.

What is more concerning is that only a small percentage of health care practitioners ever discuss lymph health with their patients.

The lymphatic system includes your bone marrow, tonsils, adenoids, spleen, thymus, lymph nodes, and lymphatic vessels which are a web of very thin tubes that lay just beneath the surface of your skin.

It is an independent circulatory system that works in partnership with your blood circulatory system as well as your immune system. Your lymphatic system provides a variety of immune functions that ward off infections, viruses, injury… and even cancer.

Basically, the lymphatic system can be termed as Body’s sewage system.

Every cell of the human body is surrounded by lymph. The human body has four times lymph fluid as we do blood. Blood is pumped from the heart through the arteries to the thin, porous capillaries.

Blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the capillaries where they are diffused into the fluid around the cells which is called lymph. The cells take oxygen and nutrients that are necessary for their health and excrete toxins some of which go back into capillaries. However, dead cells, blood proteins, and other toxic materials needed to be removed by the lymph.

The body’s cells depend largely on the lymph system as a way to drain off a large number of toxic materials and excess fluid, which restrict the amount of oxygen. The fluid passes through the lymph nodes where dead cells and other poisons except blood proteins are neutralized and destroyed. So, the lymph system should be fully functional to keep us healthy.

Unlike the heart in the blood circulatory system, the lymphatic system does not have an active pump to propel lymphatic fluid back to the bloodstream.

The only way is muscular movement through exercise and deep breathing.

In many cases, exercise is a choice and needs strong willpower, motivation and also one has to constantly beat procrastination otherwise doing exercise becomes irregular.

But Breathing?

No way. We have to do it every second till we die. So, if this, survival mode of breathing can be converted to deep breathing and do it consciously, we can not only oxygenate our body, we will also have a healthy bloodstream with effective lymph and immune system.

If the lymphatic system shuts down for a cycle of 24-hours, our body,s toxin level will increase which prevents oxygenation into different body tissues and we will simply die. That is what happens in the present Covid-19 crisis. Shortness inbreathe that is shortness in oxygen!!

Solution??

Do practicing Deep breathing!!

But we hardly practice Deep breathing.

We humans, in general, take most of the time shallow breathing only.

Why do you know?

One of the reasons may be that our culture often rewards us for suppressing strong emotions. Girls and women are expected to restraint in anger. Boys and men are encouraged not to cry. What happens when you hold back tears, suppress anger during a charged confrontation, creep through a fearful situation, or try to keep pain at bay? Unconsciously, you hold your breath or breathe irregularly and over time, shallow breathing becomes a habit.

In Shallow breathing or chest breathing, we draw minimal breath into the lungs, usually by drawing air into the chest area using the intercostal muscles rather than throughout the lungs via the diaphragm.

To make you more conscious about the everyday breathe we generally take which is shallow, in this pattern, the body remains in a cyclical state of stress. This breathing pattern also creates tension in other parts of the body and can lead to a lot of everyday problems.

So, we have to use this life force breathing properly!

Proper breathing is deep breathing. You may have heard it called diaphragmatic breathing, abdominal breathing, or belly breathing.

When you breathe deeply, the air coming in through your nose fills your lungs, and you will notice that your lower belly rises.

If you want to observe incredible breathing, watch a newborn. They naturally practice deep, or diaphragmatic, breathing by using the diaphragm, a muscle under the lungs, to pull air into the lungs. Visually, you’ll see the belly expand and chest rise as they inhale air through the nose and into the lungs. As they exhale, the belly contracts.

But as we age, we forget this and start doing shallow breathing.

As noted by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche says “ In every real man a child is hidden that wants to play”, so, let us awaken the child in YOU to start taking breathing.

So, make a habit of deep breathing consciously to maintain oxygen intake optimum before we hit by the current scenario of a pandemic where there is every chance of being affected by the Covid-19 virus.

It is important to know that our lungs are unable to move air in and out without an external stimulus. The skillful art of breathing depends mainly on the usage of the large muscle that separates the chest from the abdomen — the diaphragm.

During deep breathing, inhalation occurs by the contraction of the diaphragm that flattens and goes down towards the abdominal organs. Inhalation is an active movement, in which the internal organs are being pressed by the diaphragm. Consequently, the abdomen goes slightly forward.

Dr. Jack W. Shields, M.D.  from California conducted a study at the 7th International Congress of Lymphology (Florence, Italy/1979) that settled the debate about the main propulsion of lymph flow – deep diaphragmatic breathing. He had the largest lymph vessel – the thoracic duct –  photographed while a person was walking and jogging on a treadmill and also taking a deep breath out of the treadmill. The deep breathing out of the treadmill caused the thoracic duct to “shoot like a geyser” while the lymphatic flow slightly increased on the treadmill.

“Deep diaphragmatic breathing stimulates the cleansing of the lymph system by creating a vacuum effect which pulls the lymph through the bloodstream” ~ according to Dr. Jack W. Shields, M.D.,

So, from today onwards, let us commit that we will start doing deep breathing a new lifestyle.

After all, we have to fight Covid-19 together.

Let us do deep breathing consciously in the ratio of 1:4:2 like a Doctor’s prescription.

The ratio stands for 1 count of Inhale through Nose to take the air to fill up belly and then chest, 4 counts of hold to get the oxygen spread to every cell, every tissue and 2 counts slow exhale to breathe out carbon die oxide fully. As per your comfort, you can do Five seconds of Inhaling to fill your belly, then, 20 seconds of Hold of breathing, and 10-seconds of exhaling.

If we can do it Ten times each in the morning, at noon, and in the evening, after a few days, you will find considerable improvement in your overall health as you can oxygenate your body with bare minimum requirement.

Let us fight this crisis of Covid-19 with deep breathing.

Once oxygen intake is adequate, do you think, we should collect oxygen cylinder at home as some people are doing??

-End-

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