After a Hospital Stay, Here’s What You Should Know About Home Oxygen
Some serious conditions on oxygen, such as pneumonia or heart failure, or an episode of COPD or another lung condition, can make it difficult to breathe. After you leave the hospital, you may still require additional oxygen. You may also be given a prescription for supplemental (additional) oxygen therapy to take home.
Supplemental oxygen therapy gives you more oxygen through a tank or a machine. This allows oxygen to reach your lungs, heart, and other bodily organs. You may feel stronger and more awake as a result of the extra oxygen. It can help persons with COPD (severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) who have low oxygen levels over long periods of time avoid death. After a hospital stay, commencing at-home oxygen therapy for the first time might be nerve-wracking. It will be a distinct experience to receive oxygen therapy at home. We’ll walk you through the ins and outs of at-home oxygen therapy in this post, so you can feel more prepared for this new experience.
However, many people use oxygen treatment for much too long. If you start oxygen therapy, talk to your doctor about when and if you can quit. Also, if your doctor recommends it, get a follow-up test. This is why:
Oxygen Support at home, after a hospital stay
You may have a lot of questions if your doctor recommends home oxygen therapy following a hospital stay. To begin, what exactly is oxygen therapy? What kind of gear will I require: portable, stationary, or tank? Your doctor will prescribe pulse or continuous flow, and the litre flow will be recommended (1-5).
After a serious illness, oxygen therapy can help you heal, but you may no longer require it once you’ve recovered. A pulse oximeter that clips onto your finger or a blood gas test taken from an artery in the wrist can both tell you if you need more oxygen.
According to tests, some people recover in a matter of weeks, while the other half recover in two to three months. Continuing oxygen therapy is ineffective for these people. Patients who discontinue home oxygen therapy without being tested do just as well as those who continue it without being tested.
How to determine if you need oxygen at home or not?
The level of oxygen in the blood should be at least 95%. When your oxygen level is less than 88 percent, home oxygen therapy can help.
Some people just require additional oxygen at specific times. When you exercise or sleep, for example, your blood oxygen level is 88 percent or less, your doctor may advise you to utilise oxygen treatment.
If you’ve started using home oxygen, don’t quit or lessen it on your own. If you believe your oxygen therapy needs to be changed, it’s critical to speak with your doctor. If you don’t use extra oxygen when you need it, you risk major health problems, including strain on your heart and lungs.
It’s crucial to do your homework because the gadget that feels most comfortable to you and fits your lifestyle is ultimately your choice. A portable oxygen concentrator (POC) will suit your needs if pulse flow is specified. It can be difficult to choose the correct portable oxygen concentrator.
The following are some crucial questions to consider:
- Does this gadget match my prescription’s requirements?
- How long does the device’s battery last?
- Is the POC’s size appropriate for your daily activities? The Live Active Five POC was created with your independence and flexibility in mind.
- How pure is the oxygen?
After you’ve done your research and determined whether or not your insurance covers home oxygen, the next step is to find a store that sells the device you want. While ordering directly from the manufacturer’s website is an option, you may prefer to handle the gadget in your hands and get a better feel for it.
Getting Used to Oxygen Therapy at Home
There are several things you can do to make the transition easier when on home oxygen. Make sure you follow your doctor’s recommendations to ensure that your oxygen therapy is as effective as possible.
- Nasal cannulas can be strange at first, especially if you’re new to oxygen therapy. Learning how to use and clean a nasal cannula might be beneficial.
- Diet and exercise will help you gain energy and ensure that your body can mend and fight infection, ensuring that your therapy will be successful. People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) require more energy to breathe, and the muscles they employ may require 10 times the calories of someone without COPD.
- When you’re having trouble catching your breath, try some breathing exercises to help you breathe more effectively. Exercises for dealing with COPD anxiety, breathing workouts for better sleep, and even exercises to assist improve your lung health through jogging breathing methods are all available. Try each one to see which one works best for you.
- Maintain Oxygen Concentrator safety to ensure that your device is in good working order and that you receive the best oxygen therapy possible. When using a POC, there are a few factors to bear in mind: Keep a safe distance from open fires, don’t smoke when using or near a POC, and don’t obstruct the device’s intake vents.
- Maintain Oxygen Concentrator safety to ensure that your device is in good working order and that you receive the best oxygen therapy possible. When using a POC, there are a few factors to bear in mind: Keep a safe distance from open fires, don’t smoke when using or near a POC, and don’t obstruct the device’s intake vents.
The conclusion
You could start to wonder if the oxygen treatment is helping you. The most obvious way to tell is to keep track of your breathing patterns. If you realise that your symptoms are less severe than they were before and that you have a greater tolerance for your regular exercises, your therapy is working. Testing your blood oxygen levels is another technique to see if it’s working. A pulse oximeter or a blood gas can be used to perform this. Do not modify your oxygen therapy without visiting your doctor, even if you start to feel better.
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