My neighbor uses oxygen to weld! What in the world is medical oxygen?

Dag nab it! I just was released from the hospital after a couple of days of treatment for COPD, which  was diagnosed several years ago. But now the doctor is sending me home with oxygen which he says I need to use 24/7
Is this possibly you? And now there are so many questions. One of those questions just might be, what the heck is supplemental oxygen anyway?
Glad you asked! Here is a quick answer to the question.


What is oxygen?


To begin oxygen is an element.  Oxygen is very abundant on earth.  Two elements, nitrogen and oxygen make up 99% of air. In medical circles, this combination is referred to as "room air'.
So if someone is on room air, they are not using supplemental oxygen.


In this room air, you will find that 78% of it to be Nitrogen and 21% is Oxygen. So if you are breathing room air you are getting 21% oxygen.
There are several processes for separating oxygen from nitrogen. The oxygen is then stored in a single element state. Thus giving you pure supplemental oxygen.


Oxygen is non flammable but does support combustion. If you are able to stop oxygen from being in a fire it will stop. Example: cover a jar with a burning candle in it and it will go out as soon as the oxygen is used up.


 Oxygen gas is produced by photosynthesis and removed by combustion and respiration.
That big word photosynthesis is what plants, trees, vegetation do.


So your prescription is for 2 liter/minuet 2l/m......
For every liter prescribed the actual amount of oxygen you receive is increased by 3%. That means that your order for 2 l/m is raising the amount of oxygen you are getting to 27% .....that is why it is called "supplemental"


Oxygen causes whatever is burning (for example, a cigarette) to burn more quickly.
Oxygen must always be kept away from anything burning or with the potential of causing a spark.


Oxygen is regulated by the FDA as drug and must be prescribed by a physician for medical purposes.


Let your use of oxygen be peaceful and safe


Chet Hiatt

If you use CPAP/BiPAP, and wondered how you tell when new mask, headgear, tubing etc is needed....well here are some helpful pointers.....

All of the kinks got ironed out. Finally you have been enjoying uninterrupted sleep. You have begun to feel rested...can make it through the day without feeling exhausted. Good for you!
But now sometime later you begin to be awakened one or more times during the night. A leak occurs that wakens you.
Here are some possibilities related to soft goods (mask, headgear, tubing) that could be occurring.

• Most commonly, the seal of your mask begins to loose it's softness....it begins to look crushed, flattened....Almost all masks today, whether it be a nasal mask or full face mask, have what is called a double flange. In other words, you will find two layers of silicone in the seal. The purpose of the double seal is to support the application of sealing from the inside.                  When you put the mask on .....snug up the straps (uniformly, so all are pulled to the same length) then with the cpap machine running pull the mask whether it be nasal or full face away from your face just a tiny bit. This allows the flow of air to fill the cushion a bit and helps the mask seal properly. It is a good idea, if waked during the night with a leak to first simply pull the mask away from your face and let it reseat.

• It was mentioned that the straps to the mask need to be uniformly pulled to the same length. If this is not done, movement (rolling from on position to another) could break the seal and waken you. When the straps (headgear) begin to be stretched a bit and not have the ability to be snugged up, this will also make it more difficult to keep the mask sealed.

• The tubing running from the machine to your mask should be checked for leaks. Little holes can easily become larger ones. You may have noticed that any leak causes the machine to run faster. This is because most machines are leak compensated, meaning that any leak detected causes the machine to run faster so that the preset pressure is attained regardless of leak. If the thin coating of your tube begins to look thin even though no hole, you should get a new one.

Trust you find this information helpful
To your success,
Chet