Scott joined American Medical Sales and Rentals in 2008 as a Web Manager and Content Writer. He is a writer and designer. He is extensively trained on oxygen therapy products from leading manufacturers such as Inogen, Respironics, Chart, Invacare, ResMed and more.

Scott works closely with respiratory therapists and oxygen specialists to educate the community about oxygen therapy products, COPD, asthma and lung diseases. He writes weekly columns and is passionate about educating the community on oxygen therapy and respiratory issues.

What is Pneumoconiosis?

Pneumoconiosis is a lung disease that is typically the result of inhaling coal dust. It is also called “Black Lung Disease.” Coal workers who inhale coal dust can develop simple pneumoconiosis, or the complicated form of the disease called Progressive Massive Fibrosis (PMF).

Pneumoconiosis is caused coal dust damaging the delicate lung tissue over time. It is an interstitial lung disease. The walls of the air sacs become inflamed over time and eventually this leads to permanent scarring. This scarring causes the lungs to stiffen, reducing the individual’s ability to take in oxygen.
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Scott Ridl

Facts about Oxygen

Facts about Oxygen

Oxygen is a vital component of the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the atmosphere that protects us from being annihilated by the sun. Oxygen plays a vital role in almost all natural functions in humans, animals, and plant life. Oxygen is maintained on our planet through the oxygen cycle, which recycles gases and uses photosynthesis (through the exposure of plants to sunlight) to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen.

Discovered and studied in the 1770s by Scheele, Priestley, and Lavoisier, oxygen was first named by Lavoisier in 1777. Oxygen has a chemical symbol O and the atomic number 8. A highly reactive element, it readily bonds with other elements, forming compounds called oxides. For example, in water, there are two hydrogen molecules compounded with one oxygen molecule (H20).

Most people do not realize that the air we breathe is only 21% oxygen. Nitrogen makes up about 78% of the air and other gases make up the remaining parts. Oxygen is the third most common element on Earth, making up 47% of the Earth’s crust and 65% of our bodies. The ozone layer, which keeps the harmful rays of the sun to a minimum and helps prevent the loss of our breathable air, is made of up of a compound made up of three oxygen atoms.

Oxygen is needed for many chemical reactions but is a deterrent to other processes. For example, oxygen is necessary to fuel fire, with increased oxygen strengthening the flames and multiplying their force and intensity. But an oxygen-free environment is required for the development of certain growths such as botulism.
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Scott Ridl

Oxygen Concentrator Manuals for Home and Portable Units

Oxygen Concentrator Manuals

If you purchase, own or rent an oxygen concentrator, you might have technical questions or be curious to see the manual. User manuals can be a great resource for product information and trouble-shooting problems with your old machine or becoming accustomed to a new oxygen machine.

The Oxyen Concentrator Store website has manuals for oxygen concentrators, both portable and home, and is likely to have the manual and information that you are looking for.
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Scott Ridl

History of Oxygen Therapy

History of Oxygen Therapy

Oxygen therapy dates back as far as the 1600s, when physicians of the time used atmospheric pressure to aid the healing of various ailments. Henshaw, a British clergyman, found that air pressure could be manipulated by using organ bellows in a sealed chamber. Chronic conditions seemed to benefit from a drop in pressure and acute conditions seemed to heal faster with increased pressure.

Fontaine, a French surgeon, later created a mobile chamber utilizing Henry’s law, which states that the solubility of a gas in a liquid is equivalent to the pressure of the gas over the solution, as long as no chemical reaction occurs. Fontaine’s chamber increased the patients’ blood oxygen levels while they received nitrous oxide anesthesia.
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Scott Ridl

Continuous Flow vs. Pulse Dose Oxygen Concentrators

There are two main types of portable oxygen concentrators: continuous flow and pulse dose. Both types concentrate oxygen from the surrounding air and deliver it to the patient through a breathing tube, but the continuity and volume of flow is different for each type.

Continuous flow concentrators provide a constant, or continuous supply of oxygen to the patient. There is oxygen flowing through the breathing tube the whole time that the machine is on, regardless of what the patient is doing. These devices weigh anywhere from 15 to 30 pounds, depending on the included components such as batteries or a cart.

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Scott Ridl

Portable vs. Stationary Oxygen Concentrators

Portable vs. Stationary Oxygen Concentrators

Oxygen therapy is not a new treatment, but the technology behind today’s oxygen therapy is rapidly advancing. While oxygen tanks used to be the only real option for oxygen therapy, today there are both stationary and portable devices that can convert regular air into concentrated oxygen.

Both stationary and portable oxygen concentrators operate using similar principles. They take in air from the surroundings, separate the oxygen from the other gases, and deliver concentrated oxygen to the patient through a breathing tube. (See our previous post about how oxygen concentrators work.) The two main differences between stationary and portable concentrators are their size and flow rates.
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Scott Ridl

How Oxygen Concentrators Work

Lung disease requires ongoing treatment to help extend your life and make it better. Oxygen therapy helps deliver oxygen to your lungs so your blood can perform all the necessary tasks within your body. Many patients with COPD or other lung diseases rely on home oxygen concentrators to get the correct amount of oxygen. Sadly, many people skip out on travel or vacation because they don’t want their oxygen concentrators to drag them down.

Although you may think that oxygen therapy limits your mobility, this is actually the opposite of the purpose of this form of treatment. It is true that many home concentrators aren’t travel-friendly, but there are alternative forms of oxygen therapy to help get you moving. This is the case whether you take oxygen through a mask or a breathing tube.

Portable oxygen concentrators make it easy to continue your therapy without having to skip out on yet another family vacation. These machines are battery operated, so you don’t need to mess with trying to find an extension cord while enjoying a tropical beach or taking a tour of the Grand Canyon.

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Scott Ridl

Run the Rocks 2012

Run the Rocks 2012

Run the Rocks is a 5K run/walk challenge sponsored by Kaiser Permanente in association with American Lung Association in Colorado. It is a fundraiser to prevent lung disease and promote lung health in all its forms.

The race is on October 14th, 2012 at the world famous Red Rocks Amphitheater. The course traces the roads and parking lots around Red Rocks and finishes with a climb up the stairs. Some of Denver’s finest bands will be playing along the way.

For more information, please click here.

Scott Ridl

Hiking the North Fork Trail – Adventures with Oxygen

Berti G. is considered sick by most healthcare professionals, but it does not stop her from leading the active lifestyle that she chooses to live. Berti still enjoys taking long walks on trails in Colorado like the Narrow Gauge North Fork View Trail, a little over two miles at Pine Valley Ranch Jefferson County Park. Berti was able to get 53 miles from home, the farthest since her set back in May 15, 2012.
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Scott Ridl