Stop coaching breathing: treat hyperventilation by talking patients back to normal ventilation

Stop coaching breathing: treat hyperventilation by talking patients back to normal ventilationA young woman looks like a classic case of hyperventilation.Her respiratory rate is high, her hands tingle, her fingers cramp, and she tells you she 'can't get enough air'.In that moment, how often do we reach for the same script?'Slow your breathing.''Breathe in for one second, and out for two.'We now broadly accept that paperbag rebreathing is unsafe and out of date.But once we have decided what not to do, what should we do next?The uncomfortable truth is that the more we try to teach breathing, the more the patient often inhales.What they need is not breathing coaching.What they need is conversation.