Oxygen Smart

One way of highlighting the importance of oxygen would be to quickly outline what our bodies need to stay alive and more interestingly how long we can survive in their absence This list would have the following:

1. Food – You can last a few weeks without any food before dying.
2. Water – A few days
3. Oxygen – A few minutes.

In each of these cases severe bodily damage occurs before death creeps in and this means that in the case of oxygen there is precious little time available before irreparable damage is caused. Oxygen occurs in a natural state in our environment mixed in the air we breathe. At sea level and in the absence of pollution, oxygen represents approximately 21% of the air around us.When our respiratory system is working properly this amount of oxygen is perfect for our health and oxygen requirements. There are however many cases where chronic lung damage is present and a shortage of oxygen intake happens, causing insufficient oxygen saturation. There are various potential causes for this, the most common one is Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, which in turn is caused mainly by smoking. In these cases long term oxygen is prescribed. (Note: The Federal Drug Administration classifies oxygen as a drug and it must therefore be prescribed).

It is a long term therapy because supplemental oxygen will have to be supplied from that time onwards – it is a “forever” scenario.

The oxygen is delivered directly to the patient through a nose cannula or oxygen mask at a prescribed flow rate and in a much purer form. When COPD is present the lungs have been damaged so the inhalation process brings insufficient oxygen – and the exhalation process does not clear out all the air. Imagine a glass that holds a pint of water, but you can never pour in a full pint as it already has half a pint. You can only drink half of what is there – and yet you need a full pint to quench your thirst. Something similar to this happens with the air and the lungs, and the result is insufficient oxygen saturating the blood.

The way to increase oxygen blood saturation is by supplying an increased amount of oxygen – so instead of 21% pure oxygen in the air that is breathed in, concentrated oxygen at 90% plus is given. Some patients are prescribed with oxygen on a 24 hour basis and others for shorter periods depending on the diagnosis.

There seems to be an increase in the number of people who have to receive extra oxygen. This may be a few hours a day or when exercising or even full time. The projections are that the numbers will grow as the general population gets older. Baby boomers are aging and many have smoked (something?) in the past. In fact many of us have smoked – some more, some less. Some with high levels of health and lung related damage, others with less.

The fact of the matter is that an extremely high percentage of people who need supplemental oxygen do so for a smoking related reason. In many cases they are or have been smokers, and in other cases (and this from every point of view including social responsibility) it is worse as they have been second hand smokers. Not all smokers will need supplemental oxygen but a vast majority (the percentage is somewhere in the nineties) of those who need additional oxygen have been smokers.

As research for this article (not scientific research but simple observation) I was walking the streets of San Francisco and was surprised at the number of people of limited income who were receiving oxygen from small delivery systems. Portable oxygen machines of one sort or another were being used by many more people than I had imagined. One or two were actually stealing a puff or two from a cigarette. Anyway, these units were in general terms unobtrusive and for the most part passed unobserved. Note: Higher income people were not walking the streets at that time.

Aside from the obvious smoking related criticism, the interesting thing that I observed was the quality of the oxygen delivery systems. They were small, easy to carry. Some in small hip bags, others in trolleys and even others in supermarket trolleys with the rest of the owners earthly possessions. They were obviously providing a solution to their owners supplemental oxygen needs.

This, the bringing of a solution to a patients oxygen supply needs, is paramount for all current and future patients on long term oxygen therapy. From the point of view of an individuals health and what can sometimes be seen as even more important, quality of life, being able to breathe with the assistance of a mobile delivery system makes all the difference.

Obviously prevention should be a major factor in any health issue, but it doesn’t eliminate the need to find solutions to actual needs – whatever the origins.

The solutions for those on supplemental oxygen are there – compressed oxygen cylinders, liquid oxygen tanks or oxygen concentrators – and are bound to get even better.

In the long term, and seeing that so much of the need for extra oxygen is smoking related, it must be solved by education. In many parts of the world smoking is now not only frowned upon but actually legislated against. Many smokers are dropping the habit and socially it is no longer acceptable.

However new smokers are appearing constantly on the scene and in large numbers.

And these smokers are not 25 year olds or 40 year olds or 60 year olds. They are our youngsters – teenagers. Those who can’t vote or drink alcohol or have a drivers license. They do know that smoking “can” affect their health, but the “can” disappears under a self justifying “may”, which in their language means “not to me it won’t”.

Education is the only real way to reduce the number of future victims of insufficient oxygen. This doesn’t mean no laws, but that the focus should be on the positive and not on the limiting.

Parents of teenagers know that the peer pressure, the normal process of finding themselves and their limits, will mean a confrontation of some sort with the parent’s – so those who argue: “its the parent’s responsibility” are being simplistic. Our society with all its good things also has many things that limit self development and entice our young into other non- beneficial actions.

We must search for those things in life that motivate us, our young and future generations, to be the best possible “I’s” and “we’s” that we can.

And never doubt for a moment that we can!