In some cases, this treatment may be carried out long-term at home and will require referral to chest specialists to allow you to discuss further treatment and to monitor you when you are on it. You may be treated with therapy called non- invasive ventilation (NIV), sometimes referred to as bi-level positive airways pressure (BiPAP), to help the body get rid of the carbon dioxide. If the body is no longer able to compensate then you may become extremely unwell and hospital admission may be required. It is important for those who care for you to know that you have had or have type 2 respiratory failure.

In some cases people compensate for these high levels of carbon dioxide and can be monitored and managed at home. This may be due to an infection or may be due to diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This build-up of carbon dioxide is due to the lungs being unable to clear it sufficiently from the body. This is an excess of carbon dioxide in your blood. How is type 2 respiratory failure treated? In the community, we use capillary testing where a small amount of blood is taken from your ear lobe. In hospital, this is usually done by an arterial blood gas sample, where a sample of blood is commonly taken from the artery in your wrist. Type 2 respiratory failure can be diagnosed from a blood test.

How is type 2 respiratory failure diagnosed? The onset of symptoms can be sudden (acute) or can happen more slowly (chronic).

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People may experience a number of symptoms including:

What are the symptoms of type 2 respiratory failure? This page focuses on type 2 respiratory failure, which is where the carbon dioxide is not removed sufficiently from the body. Respiratory failure occurs when the respiratory system fails to provide the body with adequate amounts of oxygen and/or fails to remove the carbon dioxide. The lungs allow gas exchange to happen, moving oxygen into the body and carbon dioxide out of the body. The main function of our lungs is to get oxygen into the body and to release carbon dioxide.

Carbon dioxide in blood