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Re:iPhones are allergic to helium by dx87 on Tuesday October 30, 2018 @05:32PM (#18341458)
If you fall over unconscious from helium then you'll probably die without immediate help. Your natural breathing reflex is triggered by the presence of CO2, not the lack of oxygen. If you inhale a lot of helium and pass out, your body doesn't start breathing again because there is no CO2, so you just suffocate instead of inhaling oxygen.
Re:iPhones are allergic to helium by mrob on Tuesday October 30, 2018 @05:50PM (#18341568)
You're continuously producing CO2 whenever you're alive. If you fall down and land in a normal atmosphere then your normal breathing reflex will save you. Low oxygen atmospheres don't stop you from breathing; they're dangerous because you continue breathing as normal. The CO2 is carried away from your lungs with each breath, so there's no feeling of suffocation.
Re:iPhones are allergic to helium by outworlder on Tuesday October 30, 2018 @06:22PM (#18341773)
> If you inhale a lot of helium and pass out, your body doesn't start breathing again because there is no CO2, so you just suffocate instead of inhaling oxygen.

Other posters have pointed out that this is false(you will continue producing CO2 while unconscious just fine, chemoreceptors will notice). I would like to add that I have personally witnessed people falling unconscious from helium. They recovered just fine.

Really, the greatest danger is the fall.

Re:iPhones are allergic to helium by ddalex on Tuesday October 30, 2018 @05:46PM (#18341543)
you don't breathe because there is CO2 in the air, you breathe because there is CO2 in your blood
Re:iPhones are allergic to helium by bodas on Tuesday October 30, 2018 @07:24PM (#18342097)
If that were true then divers would have to bring canisters of CO2 down with them.
Re:iPhones are allergic to helium by godelski on Tuesday October 30, 2018 @06:01PM (#18341655)
Well helium rises. So falling down is a good thing, as most vents are above you. If you go to a lab with heavy gases you'll notice vents on the floor for exactly this reason.