Choosing the Right Oxygen Concentrator for You

Choosing the Right Oxygen Concentrator for You

Scott Ridl

If you’ve been diagnosed with moderate to severe COPD and your doctor has prescribed the use of oxygen therapy, you should consider purchasing an oxygen ...

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Choosing the Right Oxygen Concentrator for You

Choosing the Right Oxygen Concentrator for You

If you’ve been diagnosed with moderate to severe COPD and your doctor has prescribed the use of oxygen therapy, you should consider purchasing an oxygen concentrator to do the job. Oxygen concentrators make life more simple and enjoyable for people who need to use oxygen therapy, especially if they need constant oxygen, or if they need it for many hours out of the day.

An oxygen concentrator doesn’t require a refill of oxygen, which can be expensive in the long run, as well as an inconvenience and even a safety hazard – it draws in the air from anywhere you are and filters the oxygen, or concentrates it, so you are getting the dose of oxygen that you need.

You should know, however, that not all oxygen concentrators are created equal. If you’ve decided that an oxygen concentrator is best for you, since it is more convenient and cost effective in the long run, you will need to shop around for the one that is best for you. Start by asking yourself some questions:

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Scott Ridl
Talking to People About Oxygen Therapy

Talking to People About Oxygen Therapy

Scott Ridl

If someone has never seen an oxygen concentrator before, they will likely be very curious about it. Sometimes, because of a lack of understanding and/or ...

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Talking to People About Oxygen Therapy

Talking to People About Oxygen Therapy

If someone has never seen an oxygen concentrator before, they will likely be very curious about it. Sometimes, because of a lack of understanding and/or knowledge, someone might look at it and think that you have some sort of communicable disease, or assume that you only brought it on yourself with years and years of smoking. People who think this way are simple misinformed and it might help them understand if you are educated enough to explain it to them.

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Scott Ridl
Preparing for Long Term and Short Term Travel With Oxygen

Preparing for Long Term and Short Term Travel With Oxygen

Scott Ridl

Using oxygen therapy doesn’t need to hinder you from going where you want or need to go, even if it’s a long journey, and if ...

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Preparing for Long Term and Short Term Travel With Oxygen

Preparing for Long Term and Short Term Travel With Oxygen

Using oxygen therapy doesn’t need to hinder you from going where you want or need to go, even if it’s a long journey, and if you need constant oxygen therapy. However, vacationing with a portable oxygen concentrator on long trips on a boat, airplane, bus, train or a car does require a small amount of preparation.

You should first visit your doctor to make sure you are healthy enough to travel and receive the necessary vaccinations. You might also be required to show the bus line or airline the oxygen prescription from your doctor. As a basic rule, you should always call the public transportation company ahead of time and let them know you are using an oxygen concentrator.

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Scott Ridl
Why You Should be Tested for COPD

Why You Should be Tested for COPD

Scott Ridl

It’s well known among the medical community that Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) can go for years undetected. In the early stages, COPD is very ...

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Why You Should be Tested for COPD

Why You Should be Tested for COPD

It’s well known among the medical community that Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) can go for years undetected. In the early stages, COPD is very subtle. It’s estimated that 2 out of 3 people with COPD have it, but don’t know that they have it. The signs and symptoms don’t become apparent until they have progressed to the moderate or even advanced stages of the disease. The signs of the early stage can be easily overlooked, or written off as something else.

It also doesn’t help that many people don’t have health insurance and don’t qualify for medicaid or medicare because of income or age, so they put off going to the doctor for as long as they can, or they don’t properly communicate how they feel to their doctor. Many people go through a denial and willfully-ignorant stage because they don’t want to face the fact that something serious might be going on.

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Scott Ridl
In-depth Look at the Respironics EverFlo Q Oxygen Concentrator

Introduction to the Respironics EverFlo Q Oxygen Concentrator

Scott Ridl

If you’re in the market for a home oxygen concentrator, the EverFlo Q by Respironics is one with many happy customers. Respironics is a brand ...

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Introduction to the Respironics EverFlo Q Oxygen Concentrator

In-depth Look at the Respironics EverFlo Q Oxygen Concentrator

If you’re in the market for a home oxygen concentrator, the EverFlo Q by Respironics is one with many happy customers. Respironics is a brand that has been known to produce many of the best oxygen concentrators and CPAP and BiPAP machines, as well as other equipment for oxygen therapy, and the EverFlo Q is their top of the line home oxygen concentrator.

You will be pleasantly surprised at how light and sleek it is for a home oxygen concentrator. It’s only 31 pounds, which is only about 11 pounds heavier than the average portable oxygen concentrator. The thickness of the EverFlo Q is 9.5 inches, with a height of 23 inches and a width of 15 inches, so it’s short enough to fit underneath most table tops. If you would need to transport it to a new location, you will be able to do so with ease because of its compact size and light weight. It also features a wide handle along the top of the machine, which makes it easy to grab and roll it with you from room to room, or wherever you need to go indoors.

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Scott Ridl

How Cured Meats Might be Bad for Your Lungs

Scott Ridl

Here is another reason you might want to skip the bacon and sausage at breakfast – according to recent medical studies, eating cured meats increases ...

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How Cured Meats Might be Bad for Your Lungs

Here is another reason you might want to skip the bacon and sausage at breakfast – according to recent medical studies, eating cured meats increases the risk of developing COPD, and there is evidence that it can also cause the condition to worsen. If you already have an increased risk of developing COPD due to your history as a smoker and genetics, then you will definitely want to cut down your consumption of cured meats, or cut it out of your diet completely.

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Scott Ridl
New and Fun Ways to Get Exercise if You Have COPD

New and Fun Ways to Get Exercise if You Have COPD

Scott Ridl

Many people dislike working out, but they find the motivation to do it, whether they are trying to lose weight and tone up, or keep ...

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New and Fun Ways to Get Exercise if You Have COPD

New and Fun Ways to Get Exercise if You Have COPD

Many people dislike working out, but they find the motivation to do it, whether they are trying to lose weight and tone up, or keep their heart and lungs healthy. Some people don’t bother to start exercising until they’ve been diagnosed with some disease that is combated by exercise, and that’s okay, too. Better late than never is how we can look at exercise.

Of course, before you start any new exercise program, you should consult with your doctor and follow their advice. If you’ve been diagnosed with COPD, your doctor might have already told you to get a certain amount of exercise per week and may have also given you some types of exercises that would be good for someone with a lung condition.

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Scott Ridl
The Link Between Heart Attacks and COPD

The Link Between Heart Attacks and COPD

Scott Ridl

A study from the Columbia University Medical Center suggests that even a mild lung condition can have an effect on the health of your heart ...

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The Link Between Heart Attacks and COPD

The Link Between Heart Attacks and COPD

A study from the Columbia University Medical Center suggests that even a mild lung condition can have an effect on the health of your heart and put you at an higher risk for cardiovascular disease. Severe Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease or COPD is already known to cause a significant amount of strain on the heart, but in general, there is still more research that needs to be done on exactly how much damage mild COPD can cause on the heart.

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Scott Ridl
An In-depth Look at the Benefits of Oxy View Glasses

An In-depth Look at the Benefits of American Medical Glasses

Scott Ridl

Wearing a nasal cannula might seem burdensome enough, especially when you first start using oxygen therapy, but with the addition of wearing prescription glasses, it ...

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An In-depth Look at the Benefits of American Medical Glasses

An In-depth Look at the Benefits of Oxy View Glasses

Wearing a nasal cannula might seem burdensome enough, especially when you first start using oxygen therapy, but with the addition of wearing prescription glasses, it can start to feel there are just too many things on your face. You might also feel a little self conscious in public and worry that people are paying more attention to your nasal cannula than you while you are talking to them. If you are bothered by having to wear your nasal cannula, especially if you have to use constant oxygen, along with your glasses, getting a pair of American Medical Glasses might be the answer to your problems.

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Scott Ridl
CDC Anti-Smoking Campaign Might Make a Big Difference for COPD

CDC Anti-Smoking Campaign Might Make a Big Difference for COPD

Scott Ridl

The relatively new anti-smoking campaign put out by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) can potentially make a big impact on how Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary ...

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CDC Anti-Smoking Campaign Might Make a Big Difference for COPD

CDC Anti-Smoking Campaign Might Make a Big Difference for COPD

The relatively new anti-smoking campaign put out by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) can potentially make a big impact on how Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease will continue to be the #3 cause of death among people in the United States, and #4 across the globe.

People have known that smoking is bad for you for a long time. Cigarettes were referred to as “coffin nails” as a slang term in the early 20th century, and smokers cough was a known problem, but yet people have been continually smoking, and the media has depicted beautiful people smoking in movies and in magazine ads.

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Scott Ridl