Oxygen Smart

When you place these two phrases together, “oxygen therapy” and “quality of life”, it appears that they contradict each other. But many times the normal reaction is to ask the question:

“How can you think of achieving quality of life if you are dependent on supplemental oxygen on a full time basis?”

But is it really a true assumption or even a fair one?

The majority of people who receive long term oxygen therapy will probably agree that when they were first informed that they had to have additional oxygen, they were shocked and felt depressed. This is a perfectly normal reaction.

We take breathing for granted as it is an automatic process and in fact it is when we hold our breath that we have to make a conscious decision. So when we are told that we are incapable of breathing on our own, thoughts of suffocating and living under an oxygen mask and perhaps being bedridden are bound to cross our minds. This logically produces a feeling of despair and dejection. This is normal but it should not be the norm in the long term (or even in the medium term).

One of the things that makes us what we are, human beings, men and women, is that we can choose how we act, how we react, and what we decide to do about it. It is in our nature to make decisions, which is another way of saying we have the freedom of choice. Whatever the circumstances, whatever the trails and tribulations, we can choose how to act. Even if we make the wrong decision, and we do at times, it is still our decision. Attitude is also a decision we take; it is not forced on us by others and much less by circumstances.

So can anyone, or more importantly, can you, have a life with dignity (that spells “quality of life”) even if you are on supplemental oxygen full time?

The answer is yes.

This does not mean it is easy but by the same account, it does not mean it is difficult either. The question should be based on what “quality of life” means to you. We all go through a phase, some never get out of it, where we search for the meaning of life. If life is measured by quantity and by things, as compared to quality and people, then yes it will be difficult to achieve a quality of life because you are dependent on an extra delivery of oxygen.

If, on the other hand, your life is based on quality and people, if the important things in life go beyond the “material world”, then that same oxygen supply and those material things become tools to help you achieve that which is important.

Day to day there will be times of joy and times of ease but also times of difficulty and exasperation. Only you will make the difference, nobody else will. You decide your attitude.

Others may help, and they should be welcome, but the final choice is yours. You will find there are those who will help either directly or indirectly and you can also have the benefits of the new oxygen systems that are making life easier for so many.

A final point, when your thoughts are turned inwards, when you are in an “I” mode, when everything revolves on and around you, then things can get tough – you are highly tempted to feel sorry for yourself.

But if your attitude, your thoughts and your actions are directed at others, then you will find that the quality of your life is good.

Portable oxygen machines and specially portable oxygen concentrators have changed the way many people, who must have continuous or semi continuous oxygen therapy, are now living.

It used to be that mobility for COPD patients was severely restricted. This meant being house bound or overly dependent on a hospital or clinic.

With the advent of much more practical and better quality portable machines, patients mobility has increased dramatically and you can now find people on supplemental oxygen doing many things they wouldn’t have imagined just a few years ago.

This has happened because of the new portable tanks, because of more advanced conserving devices (that regulate the delivery rates) and, perhaps the most important reason of all – the introduction of portable oxygen concentrators.

An oxygen concentrator is a machine that extracts oxygen from the surrounding air, it concentrates it and then delivers it – directly to the patient (in a home concentrator machine it can also be used to refill an oxygen cylinder). At sea level and if air pollution is not an issue, ambient air is composed of approximately 21% oxygen, 88% nitrogen and a smaller amount of various gases. The oxygen concentrator extracts oxygen, concentrates it and delivers it to the patient.

Things You Need To Know:

• You need a power source to operate, which can be both with rechargeable batteries and a plug in option (including for vehicle).
• There is a continuous rumble from the concentrators motor.
• You can adjust the flow level according to your prescription.
• There are different models with different weights the give allow for your mobility.
• Always check your battery durability and as a safety precaution you should have a spare and charged battery.

Portable oxygen concentrators arrived on the scene around 2002 and since then have had a great impact in the portable oxygen delivery area.

The major difference between an oxygen concentrator and an oxygen cylinder or tank, is that the concentrator is not a storage device but a supplier of oxygen. This means that so long as the power source is uninterrupted, oxygen will continue to be delivered for as long as needed. In a tank there will always be the limitation based on the amount of oxygen that is stored, whether liquid or gas.

The new designs have both a direct plug in option (so you can plug them in cars, for example) as well as being battery operated. They are smaller, lighter and therefore easier to carry and have a direct and positive effect on peoples mobility.

It seems as if each new model is smaller and has longer lasting rechargeable batteries.

An important benefit is that they have increased the possibility of travel for patients on extra oxygen, and in fact one of the more important aspects of this is that as of May, 2009, the FAA authorized the use of some portable oxygen concentrators on board airlines that cross US airspace (this means all arriving and departing flights). This change is of great consequence as air travel was a major problem. It is still, however, a good idea to check with your airline before a flight.

Although living and having to depend on supplemental oxygen is not something anyone would willingly choose to do, POC’s (portable oxygen concentrators) have really changed people’s lives. The much greater range of activities that can now be practiced, together with increased mobility in general, have had a very positive impact on long term oxygen therapy patients.

For the many thousands of people who depend on supplemental oxygen it is not something they like or something they had looked forward to doing before they were prescribed with additional oxygen. It is however an ever present fact of their lives.

At this stage wishful thinking is worse than useless – it is an excuse not to accept their current health related situation.

Having said that, for a large percentage of people who live with supplemental oxygen, things are much better than they used to be, and perhaps more importantly, than they had imagined. And this is because of new developments in oxygen delivery systems. The developments that relate to design and technical advances, are much more user friendly.

Today a large, in fact a very large, proportion of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) lead much more active lives than they could have twenty or even ten years ago. Home oxygen units were the first major change. Prior to that patients lived with what could be termed as a clinical oxygen dependency. Now home oxygen units are able to supply their oxygen needs with out major problems.

There are three types of oxygen delivery systems for patients that need additional oxygen, and these are:

1. Compressed oxygen tanks -that store oxygen as a gas.
2. Liquid oxygen tanks – storing liquid oxygen tat is then released as a gas.
3. Oxygen concentrators – These are not storage containers but machines that extract oxygen from the surrounding area; the concentrated oxygen is then delivered to the patient.

The result of these developments is that living with supplemental oxygen is much easier than previously and this in a sort of reverse “Catch 22″, means that patients have much more positive attitudes with their overall health status; this in turn gives them the motivation for a more active lifestyle; which makes living with additional oxygen easier – and so on with the cycle.Perhaps the most important advances in oxygen delivery systems is in the portable oxygen area. These same home delivery systems have their equivalent as portable oxygen machines but with the added advantage of design developments that are reflected in size, weight, oxygen durability, and in the case of portable oxygen concentrators, power durability (with both a plug in option and rechargeable batteries).

The ongoing results – ongoing as new and improved models are still coming out – mean that living with supplemental oxygen, though not something desired by anyone, is today much easier and binging with it much greater mobility. This has meant amongst other things that the range of activities available to patients is so much greater that you can achieve a high quality of life in terms of greater freedom and mobility.