Alkalinity and acidity have a few definitions in medicine and chemistry. One useful definition describes an acid as a chemical that gives off positively charged hydrogen atoms, and an alkali, or base, as a chemical that accepts positively charged hydrogen atoms. The pH is a scale that describes how acidic or alkaline a substance is. A neutral pH is 7; the blood is normally a pH of 7.4, which is the level at which the body works optimally. A pH lower than this is considered acidic; a higher pH is considered alkaline. Various conditions affect the pH of the blood.
Symptoms of Acidic Body Chemistry
When there is too much acid in the blood, the changes made to proteins and cells will cause symptoms. The severity of the symptoms will depend on how acidic the blood is, how long it has been that way and what the underlying cause and associated conditions are. According to "Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine" by Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, common symptoms include fatigue, difficulty with exertion, confusion, lethargy, shortness of breath and rapid breathing. Very high levels of acid in the blood can lead to shock or death.
Symptoms of Alkaline Body Chemistry
Alkaline body chemistry also causes symptoms whose severity and manifestations depend upon the underlying conditions, how long it has been present and how severe the alkalosis is. Symptoms include irritability confusion, stupor or coma, nausea, vomiting, lightheadedness, numbness, muscle tremor, spasms or twitching.
Causes of Acidic Biochemistry
Acidic blood is caused by two general problems that may coexist. Respiratory acidosis refers to problems in the lungs or with breathing that is leading to acid building up in the blood. The lungs are responsible for getting rid of carbon dioxide and expelling it into the air. If not enough is expelled, carbon dioxide builds up and combines chemically with water to form carbonic acid. Problems leading to respiratory acidosis include sedative drugs that slow down the breathing rate, or chronic lung diseases in which lung tissue is destroyed.
Metabolic acidosis occurs when the kidneys cannot remove acids or the body makes too much acid. Kidney disease, uncontrolled diabetes mellitus or a lack of oxygen to the tissues from heart damage are examples of conditions that cause metabolic acidosis, according to Linda Costanzo, Ph.D., author of "Physiology."
Causes of Alkaline Biochemistry
Excess base in the blood is also caused by respiratory or metabolic conditions. Respiratory alkalosis is caused by excessive breathing. Sometimes during an asthma attack, a person breathes rapidly in order to get oxygen but breathes out a lot of carbon dioxide, making the blood alkaline. Panic attacks in which a person is hyperventilating are another example.
An example of a metabolic condition leading to alkalosis is vomiting. Stomach contents contain a lot of acid; when it is lost from the body, the balance is tipped towards alkaline chemistry.
Significance
In certain chronic conditions in which the cause of an acid-base imbalance is known, the disorder may have little significance if it is stable.
Extreme acid-base disorders need to be addressed at two levels. The first is to safely correct the acid-base disorder to a level optimal for a person's condition. The other is to correct the underlying disorder leading to the imbalance.
References
- "Physiology," 4th Ed; Linda Costanzo; 2009.
- "Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine," 17th Ed; Anthony S. Fauci et al.; 2008.
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