How Portable Oxygen Concentrators Improve Quality Of Life
Oxygen is one of the primary components responsible for the effective functioning of the body’s basic structural and functional unit of life, called the cell. The cells that make up the body utilizes oxygen for the production of energy for effective metabolism.
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The oxygen you breathe through the process of respiratory enters the bloodstream via the lungs. The bloodstreams will then transport it to all parts of the body as an energy stimulating factor for their functions’ effectiveness. The mitigation of the flow of oxygen in the body may sporadically result in a process that will shut down the entire system.
There are, however, a variety of medical conditions that will cause the mitigation of the level of oxygen in the bloodstream, and they include Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis, asthma, heart failure, and pneumonia. Health care specialists usually recommend oxygen therapy to people with this medical condition to supply them with supplemental oxygen to forestall the shortage of breath and increase the level of oxygen in the bloodstream.
The traditional device used for people with medical conditions that mitigate the oxygen level in the bloodstream is a tank of liquid or gas oxygen. They are heavy, limiting (they restrict one to a particular position), and expensive. Further, the oxygen tank is always filled with compressed oxygen to provide you with continuous oxygen, which will halt if the tank becomes empty, which is another obvious disadvantage.
However, these disadvantages have been eradicated by the advancement of technology. A new portable oxygen machine, called a portable oxygen concentrator, can be used to supply you with oxygen. These machines come in forms and characteristics that will eradicate the disadvantages caused by the traditional oxygen tank because this new portable device will provide those with various medical conditions that lower the oxygen level with the oxygen they create rather than depending on a tank of oxygen for its supply. They are also cheaper, smaller (easy to carry about), and do not restrict the user to a specific position because one can move about without the device malfunctioning.
The benefits that come from using a portable oxygen concentrator over an oxygen tank for oxygen therapy includes the following:
Portable and easy to carry when traveling
One of the significant factors that make people prefer portable oxygen concentrator over oxygen tanks is because they do not restrict them to one position due to their small sizes, unlike the heavy and large size oxygen tanks. Hence, a portable oxygen concentrator will continue to supply you with oxygen even when you travel by any means—such as air, road, or water transportation.
Transportation by air exposes one to the reduced air pressure that may hinder many lung diseases from traveling by air without supplemental oxygen. You can not receive supplemental oxygen from a machine as large as a gaseous or liquid oxygen tank in an airplane. On the contrary, you can receive oxygen from a portable oxygen concentrator in an airplane because it is smaller in size and can be carried into the airplane; all you have to do is to disconnect yourself from it if your medical condition is not severe, and put it in your luggage or carry-on bag. But if your medical condition can not tolerate the absence of oxygen for a few minutes, you will not have to remove it and be ready to have a thorough search by the Transportation Safety Administration.
Furthermore, you can also carry your portable oxygen concentrator when traveling by road in a car. This machine also comes with an A/C adapter; you can recharge it using your car charger.
Doctors may recommend it for the treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
One of the most common types of chronic lung disease is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, typically because it deteriorates with time and can not be cured but maintained. Shortness of breath, which is synonymous with Shortness of oxygen, is among the symptoms of COPD; hence the individual with this medical condition will need oxygen therapy. The use of gaseous or liquid oxygen tanks will restrict your movement for as long as you receive oxygen therapy.
It is usually preferable to make use of a portable oxygen concentrator because the concentrated oxygen they provide does not threaten the health of the individual the way compressed oxygen from oxygen tanks do. They are rechargeable and work with a battery that lasts for about twelve hours; hence you can carry them from one place to another to perform tasks.
Improve the individual's quality of life
The use of a portable oxygen concentrator for your oxygen therapy comes with several benefits such as comfort and freedom of movement when receiving the supplemental oxygen, rather than being ostracized from your daily activities and fun because you are fixed to a bed when you use a gaseous or liquid oxygen tank.
It will also give you a chance to socialize outside of your bed and home and give you sound sleep without the fear of Shortness of breath that may occur when the oxygen tank becomes empty.
You can be a beneficiary of these benefits if you purchase a portable oxygen concentrator several times lesser than a gaseous or liquid oxygen tank. The average cost to purchase an oxygen concentrator ranges from about $2,000 to $6,000, depending on the size and amount of oxygen it can accommodate. However, Medicare will offer coverage for the expenses of purchasing a portable oxygen concentrator, although most of the time, they usually require your doctor’s prescription or recommendation before they will affect this coverage.
Oxygen is primarily the fuel that enables the production of energy to the body cells, which are the structural and functional unit of life for effective metabolism. If there is an alternation to the supply of oxygen due to some medical conditions, such as pneumonia, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, your doctor will recommend oxygen therapy. Which involves the use of two types of machines, oxygen tanks and portable oxygen concentrator between which portable oxygen concentrator is the most preferred.
The benefits of using a portable oxygen concentrator have been listed above, all of which point at one benefit, which is the improvement of one’s quality of life.
