Using Portable Oxygen Therapy While Walking and Jogging

Using Portable Oxygen Therapy While Walking and Jogging

One of the things portable oxygen concentrators are made for, besides traveling and being able to leave your home while receiving oxygen therapy, is being able to exercise outside the home. Some people with chronic lung diseases don’t need oxygen therapy while they are doing normal everyday activities and aren’t exerting themselves. Their blood oxygen level manages to stay above the line that would require for them to use an oxygen concentrator every day, normally.

If you want to be able to go jogging or walking for exercise, around your neighborhood, in a park or a recreation center, you might need to use oxygen therapy if you have a lung disease. This is because when you do a lot of moving, your muscles require more oxygen than normal. If your lungs aren’t bringing in enough oxygen to your blood stream, which is usually the case with those who have moderate to severe COPD, you won’t be able to supply enough oxygen to your organs and muscles while you exercise. This can be very dangerous and cause an exacerbation, or a flare-up and worsening of your condition and even a stay in the hospital.

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Scott Ridl

Why Women Need Better Testing for COPD

COPD in Women - Why Women Need Better Testing for COPD

Overall, COPD is now the third leading cause of death in the United States, trailing closely behind heart disease and cancer. A startling and increasing number of women have been dying from this disease, the numbers quadrupling over the last 30 years. Since 2000 more women than men have been dying from COPD.

Why are so many more women dying from COPD than men of the same age?

For one thing, COPD is one of those diseases that can be severely misdiagnosed, or completely overlooked until much later, when it has finally become obvious. You might not even suspect that anything is wrong, until it has progressed into the severe stage. After you’ve been diagnosed, you may have already been walking around with it for years.

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Scott Ridl

The Future of Portable Oxygen Concentrators

The Future of Portable Oxygen Concentrators

All cells in the human body need oxygen to survive. In order for cells to get the oxygen they require, it must be transported via the airways that make up the respiratory system. Normally, the lungs absorb a satisfactory amount of oxygen from the room air, alone; however, some conditions and diseases can prevent enough oxygen from being absorbed by the lungs. In the majority of these situations, the airways are blocked either from mucus or a physical narrowing. This constriction prevents adequate air from reaching the alveoli, otherwise referred to as air sacs. These alveoli in the lungs are necessary to deliver the required oxygen to the cells.

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Scott Ridl

The Four Stages of COPD

Four Stages of COPD: Mild, Moderate, Severe and Very Severe

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is currently the third leading cause of death in the United States, preceded only by heart disease and cancer. It also encompasses two types of chronic lung diseases – emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

Healthcare officials have broken COPD into 4 stages: mild, moderate, severe and very severe. The stages are determined by tests administered by your doctor, such a spirometry tests and arterial blood gas tests. From these tests, your doctor will be able to tell you at which stage it has advanced to, and how it should be treated. The earlier it’s caught, the easier it will be to treat it and hopefully stop it from progressing.

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Scott Ridl

Customer Question: Will Medicare Pay for My Oxygen Concentrator?

Will Medicare Pay for My Oxygen Concentrator?

Oxygen concentrators can be very pricey. You might be able to make payments, such as 90 days same as cash, or other payment plans like Paypal for you oxygen concentrator. You can also try having medicare cover at least part of the cost of the oxygen concentrator that your need.

Medicare is for those who are over the age of 65, and for those who have a special medical condition or a disability. It also requires that you have worked for a certain amount of time during your life, so you would have paid medicare taxes long enough to be granted access to it. Your premium (the amount you pay) also depends on certain factors. You can go to the official medicare website for more information: https://www.medicare.gov.

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Scott Ridl

Information on EWOT for Exercising with Oxygen Therapy

Information on EWOT for Exercising with Oxygen Therapy

Many people have been prescribed using oxygen therapy while they exercise, because they aren’t bringing in enough oxygen while performing strenuous physical activities. Not getting enough oxygen while exercising can be very dangerous and become life threatening very quickly. The more you move, the more oxygen your body is using up. If you’re not bringing in enough oxygen to meet those needs, you will be in a lot of trouble.

Some people who don’t need oxygen therapy and haven’t been prescribed oxygen therapy by their doctors, are using oxygen while they exercise, simply because it’s what is best for your body. Exercising with Oxygen Therapy (EWOT) involves a non medical grade oxygen concentrator that they breathe from, while riding a stationary bike, or jogging on a treadmill or while using an elliptical.

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Scott Ridl

How to Attach a Humidifier to an Oxygen Concentrator

How to Attach a Humidifier to an Oxygen Concentrator

Humidifiers are not always necessary, and for some people who have to use an oxygen concentrator, they are there for comfort. You may have purchased your oxygen concentrator without a humidifier, only to find that your nasal passages and throat get very dry when you use it. This can cause a lot of discomfort, and even damage to your nasal passages.

You might find that you only need a humidifier during the cold months of the year when the air is very dry, or if you’ve moved to an arid part of the country. You might also require one if you have to use your oxygen concentrator while you sleep. When many people sleep, their throats or nasal passages become dry anyway, and the addition of oxygen therapy (air blowing into your nasal passages) In any case, you can purchase a humidifier bottle that is compatible with your oxygen concentrator.

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Scott Ridl

Flying with FAA Approved Portable Oxygen Concentrators

2014 FAA Approved Portable Oxygen Concentrators

What’s the point in having a portable oxygen concentrator, if you can’t take it with you anywhere you would want to go? The main reason why portable oxygen concentrators exist, is so you can receive the oxygen therapy you need, while maintaining the freedom you had before you started using one. You need to be able to leave the house, exercise, and go on vacation with your family this summer. You shouldn’t feel left out of the fun.

If you want to go on vacation in the Summer of 2014 and you have to get there by air, don’t worry. Every one of our portable oxygen concentrators are approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for use on any flight traveling to or from United States soil. Oxygen tanks are definitely not allowed on board commercial flights, and that’s why portable oxygen concentrators are the better choice for those who want to do some traveling.

You always have to call the individual airline first and see what their requirements are, before booking your flight. Each airline has its own stipulations about the use of portable oxygen concentrators. The amount of battery life they require you to bring along will vary, depending on their policies, as well as how long you will need to use it while on board. Most of the time, you will need a lot more than what you will actually be using, and that’s because they want you to be covered in the event of delays or emergencies.

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Scott Ridl