Should i use oxygen

You should not use an oxygen concentrator at home unless it has been prescribed by a health care provider. Giving yourself oxygen without talking to a doctor first may do more harm than good. You may end up taking too much or too little oxygen. Deciding to use an oxygen concentrator without a prescription can lead to serious health problems, such as oxygen toxicity caused by receiving too much oxygen.

Even though oxygen makes up about 21 percent of the air around us, breathing high concentrations of oxygen may damage your lungs. On the other hand, not getting enough oxygen into the blood, a condition called hypoxia, could damage the heart, brain, and other organs.

Find out if you really need oxygen therapy by checking with your health care provider. If you do, your health care provider can determine how much oxygen you should take and for how long. Oxygen concentrators take in air from the room and filter out nitrogen. The process provides the higher amounts of oxygen needed for oxygen therapy. Two common tests can show if you need extra oxygen: a pulse oximeter that clips onto your finger, or a blood gas test taken from an artery in the wrist.

Testing shows that some people recover in just a few weeks, and up to half recover in two to three months. For these patients, continuing oxygen therapy is not helpful.

If they stop, they do just as well as patients who continue home oxygen therapy without being tested. For people on Medicare, oxygen therapy costs hundreds of dollars a month. You have to pay one-fifth of the bill yourself, or with your extra health insurance.

The use of home oxygen has almost doubled over the past ten years. About half of patients do not get a follow-up test after two to three months. So they do not know if they should continue or stop the treatment. If you do not need oxygen therapy, why spend the money? This allows your lungs to gather up to three times more oxygen than you would get by breathing oxygen at normal air pressure.

The extra oxygen moves through your blood and to your organs and body tissues. HBOT is used to treat certain serious wounds , burns , injuries, and infections. It also treats air or gas embolisms bubbles of air in your bloodstream , decompression sickness suffered by divers, and carbon monoxide poisoning.

The U. There are risks to using HBOT, so always check with your primary health care provider before you try it. The information on this site should not be used as a substitute for professional medical care or advice. Contact a health care provider if you have questions about your health. Oxygen Therapy. On this page Basics Summary Start Here. Learn More Related Issues Specifics. See, Play and Learn No links available.

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