A patients quality of lifestyle is directly affected when they are prescribed supplemental oxygen. Mobility and staying active is probably one of the most important things in an oxygen therapy patient. There has been many major developments with home and portable oxygen concentrators over the last few years that has been very beneficial to patients.
Various tests that your doctor orders will determine the type of oxygen delivery will be best for your needs. A good doctor will know the type of lifestyle any new patients lead and try to accommodate in keeping it close to the same. Once you are prescribed oxygen there is an adjustment period, but it just takes a little time to get used to just like any other change in your life. Depending on the patient and getting through the denial period it should not take that long to adjust to your new device. Selecting the right equipment first is important. You do not want to get used to a certain oxygen machine and need to change it later. There are a few different ways to stay portable while on oxygen therapy.
Liquid Oxygen Tanks Liquid oxygen tanks was one of the first ways doctors kept there patients mobile. This is a method that is slowly slipping away. Before Medicare cuts home care companies would bring and fill up a reservoir with liquid oxygen at your home. For its time it worked to keep oxygen therapy patients on the go. The biggest problem for a patient was leaving there home and feeling confident enough that they had enough oxygen to last the duration of there trip. There are small units for liquid oxygen that would be able to deliver oxygen for many hours depending on the liter flow you are prescribed. This option is slowly slipping away with cuts and oxygen concentrators getting better and stronger.
Oxygen Cylinder Tanks Oxygen Cylinders hold gas oxygen and come in many different sizes. This option is still a popular one today. Cylinders could be filled up by a home care company or you can invest in a home fill system. The Invacare Home Fill System will fill these cylinders in your home while you use your home oxygen concentrator. These oxygen cylinders come in a wide variety sizes. The larger the cylinder the more oxygen it will hold and the longer it will last. Oxygen Cylinders are perfect for getting around town but are not FAA approved and can not be brought on to a plane. Many patients have the same feeling of running out of oxygen when they leave there home with an oxygen cylinder. Once the cylinder is depleted you will need to refill it. Portable oxygen concentrators are taking the place of oxygen cylinders. Eventually, as the prices come down on a P.O.C, cylinders will disappear. That is where we come to our third option, the portable oxygen concentrator.
Portable Oxygen Concentrators A portable oxygen concentrator is a unit that takes the room air and turns it into medical grade oxygen as long as you have power. P.O.Cs can be plugged into a wall, a cigarette lighter or run on batteries. Same as any of the options above, all you need to do is hook up your cannula put it in your nose and you are on your way. As the years go on, portable oxygen concentrators are getting lighter, smaller, and giving oxygen therapy patients more freedom with long battery life. Most respiratory equipment manufacturers believe that portable oxygen machines will be the way of the future. These small units will not only be easy to travel with but as they become more reliable they will take over the use of the larger home oxygen concentrators. Today there are about 11 different portable oxygen concentrators to choose from and many more on the way.
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