Oxygen Therapy
How Oxygen Therapy Can Help with Lung Health
Chronic respiratory diseases can make breathing more difficult because over time, the tiny air sacs in your lungs become damaged or destroyed. This can exacerbate feelings of breathlessness and make doing some activities more difficult.
Oxygen therapy can help alleviate your symptoms and improve your quality of life. For example, oxygen therapy can help improve your energy, concentration, mood and ability to exercise. Using your oxygen as prescribed can also protect your heart health and increase your life expectancy.
Not using oxygen therapy as prescribed can raise your risk of heart problems and lead to high blood pressure in your lungs.
Not everybody with chronic respiratory problems needs oxygen therapy, and not everyone who uses oxygen will need to use it all the time. Your doctor will run diagnostic tests to determine how much oxygen you need and how often you should take it.
In this Article
How to Use Oxygen Safely
Fire safety is really important when using oxygen because oxygen can make fires burn more quickly. There are some simple steps you can take to make sure you are being safe in and outside your home:
- Keep your oxygen canisters at least five feet away from gas stoves or any open flame, like fireplaces, wood stoves, and candles.
- Do NOT smoke and stay away from anyone else who is smoking when you are using your oxygen.
- Do not use electric razors, hair dryers, curling irons, and other devices when you are using oxygen because they could cause a spark.
- Do not use oil or petroleum-based moisturizers—like Vaseline, Chapstick, or Vicks—on your face or chest. Instead, use water-based products.
- Have working smoke detectors in your home and check them every month. Keep a fire extinguisher too, and make sure you have an escape plan in the event of a fire.
It’s also important to handle your equipment carefully and follow the manufacturer’s instructions for safe use.
- If your equipment breaks, don’t try to fix it yourself. Call the manufacturer or your doctor.
- Use the correct tank or bag to transport your equipment.
- Make sure your oxygen tank is secured upright in a tank holder so it doesn’t tip over and break. If you don’t have a tank holder, lay your tank flat on the floor.
- Tread carefully around tubing, which can be a trip hazard.
- Ask the fire department and your gas, electric, and phone companies to be designated as a “priority service listing.” If there’s a power or phone outage, this will help you get re-connected more quickly.
Keep emergency contact information near a phone and familiarize yourself with your oxygen supplier’s safety checks.
How Oxygen is Stored
Oxygen comes in two forms: gas or liquid (which is then converted into gas). It can be stored in tanks, cylinders or concentrators.
| Types of Oxygen Systems | ||
| Types of Oxygen Containers | Gas Oxygen | Liquid Oxygen |
| Portable Tank | Portable tanks come in all sizes and can weigh between 1 and 8 pounds. Smaller tanks can be worn over the shoulder or carried, and larger tanks are transported in a wheeled cart. | |
| Stationary Tank | Stationary tanks are large and heavy and stay in your home. Stationary tanks are useful as a backup if the power in your home goes out, or if there’s a delay in the delivery of your oxygen. | Liquid oxygen is stored in a large reservoir that sits in your house. You use it to fill up your portable oxygen concentrator. However, many companies are no longer offering liquid oxygen because it is more expensive, so this isn’t used much anymore. |
| Oxygen Concentrator | A concentrator removes nitrogen from the air around you to make oxygen. It can be large or small. Large concentrators weigh between 22 and 70 pounds and run on electricity. So it’s important to have a backup system in the event of a power outage. Portable concentrators weigh between 4 and 9 pounds. Some portable concentrators run on batteries or electricity. It’s important to keep your portable concentrator charged at all times. |
You can carry liquid oxygen with you in a portable concentrator. Portable liquid oxygen concentrators can be helpful for people who need a high, continuous flow of oxygen. They do not need electricity to work. |
How Oxygen is Delivered
Oxygen is most commonly delivered through a face mask, nasal cannula or oxygen reservoir cannula.
- An oxygen face mask fits over your mouth and nose.
- A nasal cannula is a piece of tubing with two little prongs that sit just underneath your nose.
- An oxygen reservoir cannula is a little bigger than a nasal cannula. It uses a small reservoir of oxygen that connects to two nasal prongs.
Oxygen can also be delivered via a pulse dose or continuous flow system.
1. Pulse Dose System
A pulse dose system can be used with an oxygen tank or a portable oxygen concentrator. It releases a puff of oxygen—also known as a bolus—when you breathe in. Different pulse dose systems release different volumes of oxygen.
Pulse dose oxygen helps preserve the battery life of your tank or concentrator because it only releases oxygen when you inhale. And if you use pulse dose with your oxygen tank, it will also help your tank last longer.
However, pulse dose oxygen systems cannot deliver very large volumes of oxygen. So if you need several liters of oxygen per minute, a better option is a continuous flow system.
2. Continuous Flow System
Unlike a pulse dose system, continuous flow oxygen releases oxygen all the time, when you’re inhaling and exhaling. It can be used with an oxygen tank or a portable oxygen concentrator. It is often used at night when you are sleeping.
Continuous flow oxygen will use up your battery and the amount of oxygen in your tank slightly faster than a pulse dose system. So if you’re going to be out of the house for a while, make sure you bring enough oxygen and back up batteries with you.
Traveling with Oxygen
Just because you wear oxygen doesn’t mean you can’t travel! You just need to plan ahead.
Before you travel, you should notify the following people about your plans:
- Your durable medical equipment (DME) company. Some DMEs will deliver oxygen to your destination(s), or they will let you know where you can pick up and return tanks along your route.
- Your travel provider. This is especially important if you are flying. Be sure to contact your airline at least two weeks in advance of your trip and ask them about their guidelines for bringing oxygen on board. Different airlines will allow different portable oxygen concentrators—remember, you cannot bring an oxygen tank on a flight.
- Your healthcare provider. Your doctor will tell you how much oxygen to use when you’re traveling, and he/she can also provide you with prescriptions for antibiotics or extra nebulizer medication, just in case.
What You Can Do Today
Talk to your healthcare provider or Wellinks care team about the benefits of oxygen and what you should or should not expect from using oxygen as prescribed.
Pay attention to times that you are short of breath and start using your pulse oximeter to check your oxygen saturation.