I read somewhere that the reason people feel the need to breathe because of carbon dioxide building up in the body. So if you were to be per say in a room filled with just pure oxygen or some other gas other then carbon dioxide, would it be possible to suffocate due to lack of oxygen without getting that tight feeling in your chest that compels you to breathe? I.e you’re still inhaling and exhaling, but you don’t feel the tight chest feeling, while simultaneously suffocating
In: Biology
Yes, that’s a thing. It’s a not-unheard-of kind of industrial accident, especially in mines with poor ventilation. It happens when the air pressure is too low, too, like on Everest or in airplanes that lose cabin pressure.
But we usually call that *asphyxiation,* not suffocation. There’s not a strict rule about the words, but try to use suffocate when the victim uses up the available oxygen (or poisons themselves with their own exhaust), and asphyxiate when there isn’t enough in the first place.
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