Effects of oxygen inhalation on responses to cold exposure

¹ Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, State University of South Dakota School of Medical Sciences, Vermillion, South Dakota, and Division of Cardiology of the Chicago Medical School at Mount Sinai Hospital, Chicago, Illinois

The effects of oxygen inhalation on shivering and thermal and metabolic responses to exposure to cold (10 C) were determined in ten healthy male subjects. The results showed that oxygen breathing reduced shivering and promoted a feeling of greater comfort. The ventilatory response to cold was diminished, and oxygen consumption was significantly lower during the later periods of the cold exposure. Carbon dioxide production was reduced and the mobilization of nitrogen during the initial periods of cold exposure was also noted. Since body temperatures and their rates of fall were not significantly altered by oxygen inhalation, a shift to more efficient metabolic heat production seems indicated.