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I just looked it up. The problem is there is less oxygen abive 8,000 feet. That is why oxygen masks drop if the cabin bevomes depressurized. I don’ t see how a depressurized cabin can cause hernia strangulation.
The higher we go, the less oxygen there is available to breathe. This happens because air density decreases with altitude.
Thus, air molecules spread out more, decreasing their density and – with that – there is less oxygen available for each breath of air. All this makes it increasingly harder to breathe for us. At 18,000 feet, the amount of oxygen halves compared to what we normally have at sea level. As a matter of fact, going much higher than 8,000 feet without the help of modern technology can cause altitude sickness, also known as hypoxia. Hypoxia can lead to dizziness, headache, difficulty thinking, unconsciousness and eventually death.
Thankfully, modern jet airliners are engineering miracles. Apart from getting us across the world safely in a matter of hours, they also act as a flying pressure chamber, controlling the air entering and exiting the pressurized cabin. The aircraft’s cabin pressurization system helps create – alongside other technologies such as the air management systems – the necessary pressure that you and I would need to breathe comfortably during a flight that typically takes place at a cruising altitude of around 36,000 feet.