If carbon dioxide is bad...

If carbon dioxide is bad for us why does mouth to mouth resuscitation do more good than harm?

Thanks for your question! Fortunately, it is NOT true that carbon dioxide is bad for us.

That false idea comes from the confusion about the relationship of carbon dioxide to the concept of global warming.

Carbon dioxide, which we exhale, is needed by plant life in the same way that the human body needs oxygen.

Additionally, the goal of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation* (also called artificial respiration) is to help someone who is not breathing to resume taking in air on their own. Air is composed of several different gases, including oxygen and carbon dioxide.

In other words, the purpose of mouth-to-mouth is to get the person breathing on his own, not necessarily to get oxygen into his lungs.

Check out this article "What is carbon dioxide?" for a much better understanding of carbon dioxide - written in plain English.

Cheers,
BB

*Resuscitation means: Bringing a person back to life after an apparent death or in cases of impending death

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