Consumer Medicine Information
What is in this leaflet?
This leaflet answers some common questions about Medicinal Carbon Dioxide. It contains only some information, and does not take the place of talking to your doctor or appropriate healthcare professional.
If you have any questions about using Medicinal Carbon Dioxide, ask your doctor.
Keep this leaflet with you as you may want to read it again.
What Medicinal Carbon Dioxide is used for?
Medicinal Carbon Dioxide is an inhalation gas (a gas that is breathed in). It is colourless and odourless. It is supplied as a liquefied gas in a cylinder with a valve to control the outflow of the gas.
It controls how fast and how deeply you breathe in air which contains the oxygen you need for your body tissues to work properly. These tissues produce carbon dioxide when they work and this is absorbed into your blood. The amount of carbon dioxide in your blood depends on how much work your body tissues are doing and the level of carbon dioxide in your blood affects how much oxygen is available in your blood for your body tissues to take up so they can work. The more your body tissues work, the more carbon dioxide there is in the blood, and the more oxygen there is available in the blood for take up by the body tissues so they can work more quickly.
It is used with anaesthetics. This is to make sure your blood levels of carbon dioxide are satisfactory so that you breathe easily during surgery. Medicinal Carbon Dioxide also makes you breathe in deeply so that the anaesthetic is rapidly effective and stays effective throughout the surgery.
It can be used to stimulate your breathing if you stop breathing or if your breathing has been obstructed in some way, but is now cleared. Medicinal Carbon Dioxide can also be used to calm your breathing if you are overbreathing (hyperventilation).
Medicinal Carbon Dioxide may sometimes be used in clinical investigations including procedures to expand an organ inside your body so that it can be examined internally.
It is usually given by a doctor, dentist, ambulance officer or nurse via a mask or nasal prongs.
Your doctor may prescribe Medicinal Carbon Dioxide for another purpose. Ask your doctor if you have any questions about why Medicinal Carbon Dioxide has been prescribed for you.
Before you use Medicinal Carbon Dioxide
If you are not sure if you should be taking Medical Carbon Dioxide, talk to your doctor.
Tell your doctor if:
You are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.
You are breast feeding or plan to breast feed.
If you cannot breathe properly because your airways are blocked, if you are being resuscitated, if your body fluids are abnormally acidic or if you are pregnant you should not use Medical Carbon Dioxide. Please consult your doctor.
High levels of Medical Carbon Dioxide breathed in can interact with anaesthetics and cause abnormal heart rhythms. Medical Carbon Dioxide also interacts with adrenergic substances such as adrenaline and can affect how you absorb many drugs into your body including drugs to control your blood pressure and drugs affecting nerve signal transmission in your body (neuromuscular blocking agents).
Please tell your doctor about any medicines you are taking before starting Medical Carbon Dioxide treatment.
You should not drive or operate machinery while taking Medical Carbon Dioxide.
When you must not use it:
WARNING:
MEDICINAL CARBON DIOXIDE WILL BOOST BURNING AND MAY INCREASE THE CHANCE OF FIRE.
DO NOT SMOKE
DO NOT PLACE NEAR FLAMES or HEAT SOURCES
DO NOT USE OIL OR GREASE
Do not use Medicinal Carbon Dioxide if the cylinder is damaged.
Before you start to use it
Care should be taken when using Medicinal Carbon Dioxide because it is stored at high pressure in the gas cylinder.
During use, should have adequate ventilation in the rooms.
Should wear all the protective equipment like gloves, goggles before opening the compressed gas container.
Secure cylinders by appropriate means (chains, hooks) in order to keep them upright and prevent them from falling over.
Do not use an adaptor or connector to connect devices that do not normally fit.
Never stand facing the valve outlet, always stand opposite the pressure reducing valve some distance behind the cylinder
Check before first use that the tamper evident seal is intact.
How to take Medicinal Carbon Dioxide
Medicinal Carbon Dioxide should only be used under the supervision of your doctor or healthcare professional.
How much to use and how to use it
The amount of Medicinal Carbon Dioxide you need will be decided by your nurse or doctor. It is given by breathing it through a mask or nasal prongs.
Follow all directions given to you by your doctor carefully, and do not modify the flow of Medicinal Carbon Dioxide.
If you do not understand the instructions, ask your doctor for help.
How long to use it?
Your doctor will decide how long you need to use Medicinal Carbon Dioxide.
If you use too much (overdose)
As Carbon Dioxide is most likely to be given to you in hospital under the direction of your doctor, it is very unlikely you will receive an overdose.
However, if this happened, quick action can be taken to maintain your breathing.
If you have any questions then ask your doctor.
While you are taking Medicinal Carbon Dioxide
Things you must not do
You must not smoke, or be near naked flames such as candles, gas stoves etc or sources of fire such as matches or lighters.
Side effects
Like all medicines, Medicinal Carbon Dioxide can have side effects.
If you take 5% Medicinal Carbon Dioxide, your breathing will become more rapid and you will breathe more deeply. Your skin will become pink and warm. You may sweat and feel uncomfortable. After taking Medicinal Carbon Dioxide for a long time, when you start breathing air again you may feel tired, develop a headache, go pale and feel sick or vomit.
You may experience the following side effects.
- Heart problems
- Kidney and liver problems
- Gas embolism (blockage by gas in the artery to interrupt blood supply)
- pain (shoulder and abdominal) or discomfort in the body
- Eye disorder
- Decreasing body temperature
- blood clot in the deep vain
Tell your doctor as soon as possible if you do not feel well while you are using Medicinal Carbon Dioxide.
Some patients undergoing laparoscopy, where Medical Carbon Dioxide is used to expand the organs, sometimes have abnormal heart rhythms. Heart failure due to gas bubbles in the blood has been reported.
Tell your doctor immediately if:
You notice anything that is making you feel unwell or go to casualty at your nearest hospital.
After taking Medicinal Carbon Dioxide
Storage
Medicinal Carbon Dioxide is stored as a compressed gas in cylinders.
For safety, store cylinders in well ventilated areas and not in small enclosed spaces.
Disposal
Do not discard empty or damaged cylinders.
All cylinders are to be returned to the supplier whose details are on the product label.
Product Description
What it looks like
Medicinal Carbon Dioxide is an odourless, colourless gas.
Ingredients
Active Ingredient:
Carbon Dioxide
Excipients:
None
Dosage form
Regulated gas inhalation in prescribed litres per minute (L/min).
Cylinder Packages
As a minimum each cylinder package contains 100 % Medicinal Carbon Dioxide.
Package:
- Steel or aluminium cylinders
- white body
- grey green shoulder
Not all cylinder packages and volumes may be marketed
Sponsor
Air Liquide Healthcare Pty Ltd
Level 4, Suite 4
247 Coward Street
Mascot, NSW, 2020
Australian Registration Number
Carbon Dioxide – AUST R 32742 (Compressed)
This leaflet was prepared on May, 2022.
Version Number: 2
Published by MIMS July 2022