Helium shortage and Walmart

[CT-Rich]

After seeing several helium filled baloons sink prematurely, I would, definitely conclude that there is more in the mix than just helium.

Heliium is an extremely small atom. O2 and N2 are several orders of magnitude larger than the He. The premature sinking of the balloon is entirely a function of the balloon, not the gas in it.

I agree that you can kill yourself breathing pure He. As the O2 in your blood is consumed, it needs to be replaced and the CO2 needs to off gas from the hemiglobin. Once you pass out from lack of O2 it is a crap shoot if you continue to breath reflexively. The only time I used mouth to mouth was on a woman who fainted from dehydration. When she went down her airway blocked and stopped the breathing reflex. A puff of air revived her and she was fine.

Don't underestimate the ability of people to commit accidental suicide....

 

[wedivebc]

You cannot die from breathing too much helium or any other inert gas at 1 atm unless you fix it so that you continue breathing it when you are unconcious. In order for it to kill you, you would have to continue breathing it for several minutes after you passed out. If oxygen is added, it is to prevent from being used in suicides.

After seeing several helium filled baloons sink prematurely, I would, definitely conclude that there is more in the mix than just helium.

Sometimes people who go unconscious from asphyxia don't spontaneously start breathing on their own so unless there is someone there to provide AR you could easily die from breathing helium or any inert gas at 1 ATA.

 

[windapp]

Heliium is an extremely small atom. O2 and N2 are several orders of magnitude larger than the He. The premature sinking of the balloon is entirely a function of the balloon, not the gas in it.

I was refering to balloons that still have enough volume to float if they were filled with helium, but they sink. The helium has leaked out leaving the oxygen and nitrogen behind.

---------- Post Merged at 06:45 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 06:38 AM ----------

I agree that you can kill yourself breathing pure He. As the O2 in your blood is consumed, it needs to be replaced and the CO2 needs to off gas from the hemiglobin. Once you pass out from lack of O2 it is a crap shoot if you continue to breath reflexively. The only time I used mouth to mouth was on a woman who fainted from dehydration. When she went down her airway blocked and stopped the breathing reflex. A puff of air revived her and she was fine.

Sometimes people who go unconscious from asphyxia don't spontaneously start breathing on their own so unless there is someone there to provide AR you could easily die from breathing helium or any inert gas at 1 ATA.

Yes, somebody could swallow their tongue or fall off a cliff for that matter when they blackout. However, these things are extremely rare. Many people suffer from fainting spells all the time, and don't worry too much about dieing from them. Apoxia in and of itself does not cause breathing to stop when the person reaches the oxygen level required to black out. There is no need to resume breathing as the person never stops.

I am, by the way, not suggesting that you try this at home. I am just saying that the risk of accidental death from party balloon helium is extremely low.

 

[ianr33]

it needs to be replaced and the CO2 needs to off gas from the hemiglobin.

CO2 doesn't bind to haemoglobin. CO (Carbon Monoxide does though)

 

[Rick Murchison]

... I am just saying that the risk of accidental death from party balloon helium is extremely low.

WRONG! It's high enough to be a REAL RISK! "The family of 14-year-old Ashley Long can’t believe their girl is gone. Ashley, an eighth-grader from Eagle Point, Ore., collapsed and died suddenly after inhaling helium at a party earlier this month. Now her grieving parents are warning other families of the dangers of peer pressure." Feb 18th, 2012.
Let's not split hairs about what's "extremely low" risk. AFAIK there is no tracking of how many folks breathe helium at parties every year, so assessing the statistical risk isn't reasonably possible, but one thing is for certain - Every year there are a handful of deaths from breathing helium at parties. As it is 100% avoidable, AVOID IT!
--
And for here, the bottom line remains, Balloon gas can not be considered safe as a component in Scuba breathing mixes.
Rick

 

[windapp]

This person wouldn't have been saved by adding oxygen to the helium. She died when the high pressure from the cylinder blew her lungs out.

Again, not suggesting that people do this.

 

[electrix]

I just saw where Walmart has a balloon kit that comes with a 9 cu ft tank of helium, that could be a lot of helium.

Just to be perfectly clear I was not suggesting you buy helium at Walmart, I was merely wondering if there was a connection between a shortage of helium and Walmart selling helium, since there are so many Walmarts around that could add up to a lot of helium.

 

[RATyson]

Yes, somebody could swallow their tongue ...

I am, by the way, not suggesting that you try this at home. I am just saying that the risk of accidental death from party balloon helium is extremely low.

A person cannot swallow their own tongue, unless someone removed it, then forced it down their throat. In a completely relaxed state, it could partially obstruct the airway, but simply tilting the patient's head back solves this.

On this note, or similar... Is there ever a need to detail that someone chocked on THEIR OWN vomit?? I would think it would be very unlikely that they choked on someone else's vomit... unless they are into that kind of thing...

 

[OldNSalty]

I don't think a few party kits at walmart would have a huge impact. Sure, there is an impact anytime you sell some of a limited supply of something but I have seen these kits for years and at more places then walmart. I would think just the H2 filled balloons at teh front of every check out at the grocery stores accounts for at least as much as walmart sells.

 

[CT-Rich]

CO2 doesn't bind to haemoglobin. CO (Carbon Monoxide does though)

CO2 and CO both bind to hemoglobin. CO binds more tightly to the hemoglobin than O2, that is why it is so dangerous. It prevents O2 from binding and blocks the transport of oxygen. Not all CO2 is carried by hemoglobin, but it does bind and its presence on hemoglobin lowers the affinity of Hemoglobin for oxygen. This why CO2 levels of greater than 5% can be fatal regardless of the concentration of oxygen.

Carbaminohemoglobin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia