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Oxygen Equipment
Home Oxygen Equipment
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 Not
all home oxygen equipment is the same, and not all patients want
or need the same home oxygen equipment. The truth is, just as other
prescriptions for medicines must be strictly created for a particular
patient, so, too, are prescriptions for oxygen therapy.
Before a person is given home oxygen equipment,
many things are taken into consideration. For instance, whether
or not the patient is active can really factor into what kind of
home oxygen equipment he or she needs. If a person is constantly
going out on walks and to run errands and visit with friends and
travel, etc., that person is going to need a portable oxygen device.
If, on the other hand, the patient is bed-ridden or otherwise spends
most of his or her time at home, a different sort of home oxygen
equipment may be prescribed.
Also, it is important to realize that patients all need different
dosages of oxygen, and not every type of home oxygen equipment can
deliver every prescription.
The main types of home oxygen equipment are:
• Oxygen Concentrators – these machines take the
air from the room and turn it into up to 95% pure oxygen. A downside
of this type of home oxygen equipment is that it uses electricity,
oftentimes as much electricity as an average refrigerator uses.
This can add to the cost of the machine.
• Liquid Oxygen Tanks – these are great because liquid
oxygen is very lightweight which makes it very portable. A downside
is that liquid oxygen evaporates over time.
• Compressed Oxygen Tanks – this type of home oxygen
equipment can actually be rather heavy. They make excellent use
as backup systems
If you use home oxygen equipment, there are many safety tips and
safety regulations that you need to keep in mind. Here are a few:
• Do not increase the flow of oxygen without permission
be your caregiver – just as with other prescriptions drugs,
too much or too little oxygen can be harmful. Follow your prescription.
• In case of an emergency, have a back-up system. For instance,
if you normally use an oxygen concentrator, make sure that you
have another source of oxygen (like a liquid oxygen tank), in
case the power goes out.
• Keep your oxygen tanks upright.
• Do not smoke (or light fires of any sort) near an oxygen
tank, even if that tank is not in use.
• Put up no smoking signs where you store your home oxygen
equipment.
• Keep the phone number of your oxygen supplier handy in
case you have any problems.
• Keep a fire extinguisher ready.
• Let the fire department know that you use home oxygen
equipment.
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