What causes Respiratory acidosis?
Causes of respiratory acidosis include:
Airway diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive lung disease, which reduce sending air into and out of the lungs lung tissue diseases such as pulmonary fibrosis Diseases of the chest such as scoliosis, which make the lungs less efficient at filling and emptying Diseases involving the nerves and muscles that cause the lungs to fill or empty Medications that suppress breathing including pain drugs, such as narcotics and sedatives such as benzodiazepines), especially concomitant use with alcohol Severe obesity, which limits lungs expansion
Chronic respiratory acidosis occurs over a long duration. This is a mild stable situation because the kidneys have had enough time to compensate and restore the body's acid-base balance by rising body chemicals, such as bicarbonate.
Acute respiratory acidosis is a severe situation in which carbon dioxide levels increase very quickly and before the kidneys can restore the body to a proper acid-base balance. </s>