The Dangers of Alkalosis and Acidosis

What is Alkalosis and Acidosis?

By Ariful Bhuiyan
Alkalosis and Acidosis are one of many the many states that our bodies go through, they specifically describe the acidity or alkalinity of arterial blood. The magnitude and degree of the acidity or alkanity of the arterial blood, can be measured by the pH scale. Acidosis occurs when the acidity level of the blood increases with an increase in the level of acidic compounds in the body, or when the level of alkaline compounds present in the body, falls. The reverse is true for Alkalosis, as the alkalinity level in the body increases when the reverse takes place, i.e., the level of acidic compounds fall.

Another way to check if Alkalosis and Acidosis occurs is to directly monitor the pH of the blood, normal operation range is around 7.4. If the pH level goes above 7.45, alkalosis occurs. If the pH level falls below 7.35, acidosis occurs. If the pH of the body is not around 7.4, and is not neutral, severe problems occur that can lead to failure of the organs or even death.

Causes of Alkalosis and Acidosis:

Acidosis:

Emphysema or kidney failures can reduce the efficiency of lungs and even the kidneys, this reduces the ability of them to regulate the acidic level in the body. Muscle cramps and a lot of production of lactic acid from working out, can also increase in acidity. Anything that increases the number of carbon dioxide or carbonic acid in the blood leads to acidosis. This can be observed in your body by just holding your breath for a length of time. The increase in acidity in your blood, will initiate a responsive mechanism that will introduce more oxygen to the bloodstream to neutralize the pH. Lastly, even consuming a large amount of acidic substances can cause acidosis (i.e. drinking a lot of orange juice)

Alkalosis:

The cause of alkalosis is very similar to acidosis, it can happen if you have severe diarrhea, which gives a loss of body fluid, decreasing the carbonic acid and even the carbon dioxide in the body. There can also be an increase in the alkalinity ( increase in bicarbonate, mainly), that can shift the pH to be more basic, and thus inducing alkalosis.

Those who drink fairly and have hangovers can die or have severe organ failure. This is mainly do to the loss of hydrochloric acid (HCL), which if not meditated and put back into equilibrium (normal pH range) and can even lead to a coma.

Acid-base Homeostasis and Le Chatelier’s

The above conditions can be modeled by the bicarbonate buffer system, which is constantly in harmony thanks to Le Chatelier’s principle. If one side of the equation is less or more, the other side will make up for it.

This further extends to the homeostasis response system, which has various ways of dealing with acidosis and alkalosis. People that hyperventilate cannot help themselves to stop hyperventilating, so a paper bag is usually given to them, this makes sure that the carbon dioxide that they exhale is re-inhaled, so that the same level of carbon dioxide exits and renters the body, this ensures that they don’t pass out. Nowadays, there are pills called benzodiazepines that are administered instead, as they are more effective in making sure that the equilibrium is maintained. Salines can also be issued if there is too much diarrhea, and they increase the acidity levels, and help maintain a health pH level for the blood.