Partially Compensated

And the tumult of the emotional ocean

Of the myriad things that are truly fascinating about the human body, electrolyte balance got my goat. pH of blood is tender and controlled by many overlapping mechanisms. Our window of possibility is narrow, and we control pH through respiratory and metabolic pathways. One picks up the slack for the other most often, keeping us cradled in our sweet spot.

The same could be true with the healthy balance of household chores - one person leaves a load of groceries on the counter, the other loads a dishwasher, and somehow the relative level of chaos in the kitchen stays constant (just above manageable, well below ideal, and functional).

Medically, this is called compensation. Clinicians read lab values and note which system is driving the bus and which one is compensating - fully, partially, or not at all.

I don’t know where the groceries should go, so I’ll load the dishwasher in a compensatory action.

In full compensation, excess carbon dioxide is mitigated by kidneys tossing more hydrogen and holding onto more bicarbonate ions until the pH of the blood is in the narrow normal range. When it’s inadequate, the effort is there, but the pH is still out of sorts, cascading a range of problems.

The same thing is true of the oceans - did you know? The microcosm of compensation that happens within us happens between us as well, with oceans absorbing carbon dioxide and becoming more acidic than the normal range. I’m no geographer, but I don’t know what the earthly corollary to the kidney might be. I hope there is one out there.