Oxygen. Medical

[Dave Lehnert]

Family member was just placed on Oxygen. Looking for tips and best way to use.
Has an oxygen machine at home and portable tanks about 3 feet tall. Think they last about 4 hrs each.

My question is how do you handle going on Trips over a few nights or just out all day?
If tanks last 4 hours each seems like one would have to haul around a car full of tank.
Guess the electric unit could be taken and used in the hotel.

At first I assumed one could refill the portable tanks off the electric unit but was told that is not possible.

[Don Kingston]

there are several kinds of portable machines that can be had and used in a home outlut plug and in a cigarette lighter in a car.check on which kind can be used on an airplane. Not all can be used. They also have shorter bottles to use. And yes to go some where just grab a few bottles and off you go.

[Paul F Franklin]

My Mom was on oxygen for quite a while. She had a lox tank outside that she used to fill the small tanks for errands, family visits, etc., and a concentrator for home use. Supplier would exchange the lox tank once a month or so, maybe more often.

When traveling by air, you make arrangements with the airline to have oxygen on board; you do not bring your own. Her oxygen supplier will know how to make arrangements in a distant city for a rental unit to be delivered for temporary use. Type of unit(s) will depend on duration of trip, activities, etc. It's a little nerve racking because you are depending on a lot of other folks to get the job done, but she never had a serious issue on any of the 5 or 6 trips she took.

[Stephen Tashiro]

Medical oxygen tanks usually have regulators with various settings. Most modern tanks have a regulator with a setting that does not emit a continuous flow of oxygen. Instead the regulator detects the slight drop in pressure as the patient begins to inhale and only emits oxygen when the patient breathes-in. You have to understand the markings on the dial to be able to select this type of oxygen-conserving setting. The oxygen conserving setting lets the tank last longer, but some patients cannot use it for various reasons. For example, they may habitually let the nose tubing drop too far away from their nose. Invest in an oximeter that can be clipped on the patients fingertip to measure the blood oxygen level.

People sometimes test to see if oxygen is flowing from a tank by putting the nose tubing in a glass of water or by trying to feel the stream of oxygen. Those methods don't work to test whether oxygen is flowing on an oxygen-conserving setting.

Some modern oxygen tanks have valve stems that can be turned by hand, but in my city, rented tanks don't have this feature. An useful tool to have is an "oxygen wrench" for turning the valve on tanks on and off - although you can accomplish this task with pliers or a crescent wrench. It is important to turn the valve of an oxygen tank off when it is stored. Merely turning the regulator off will not keep oxygen from leaking out of the tank.

If the oxygen is paid for by Medicare then it is important to know whether the prescription is for oxygen 24 hours a day or only for part of the day. To get a prescription for 24 hour oxygen, patients often have to have a "sleep test". This is simple affair that involves wearing a non-invasive device that records the patients blood oxygen level during the night. In my city, the test is usually done by the companies that rent the oxygen.

The tall oxygen tanks are awkward. Is the patient using a wheelchair?

If the oxygen machine doesn't have a "bubbler" on it, consider having one put on if the patients nose is getting dry.

A big hazard from home oxygen machines is the hazard of tripping over the tubing. For example, it's common to have 50 ft of tubing attached to a home machine, so the patient can make a trip to the bathroom without changing to portable oxygen.

The nose tubing usually gets unsanitary treatment - its gets dropped on the floor or put on a table. Change the nose tubing often.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Ok - I can tell you how MY oxygen works, with my doctor and my supplier and my Medicare part B and my Medicare Advantage - - but - it's probably not the same as your relatives situation, or any one else - - or it may be the exact same thing.

Concentrator - the big machine that sits in the living room with a 50 foot hose on it that reaches just about the whole house. It stays stationary in the house.
Bottles - I'm on the large (2' tall) E bottle for when I go out.
That's the one you see people dragging around on the little two wheeled cart.

At 2 liters per min, the bottle will last about 5 hours. That's for a continuous flow.
Pulse flow - which means it will dispense a "puff" of O2 when you breathe will extend that time to about 20 hours or so - -at the 2 liter per min setting.

Settings go from 1 liter per second to 5 liters per second - on my continuous flow regulator.

A therapist will test you and submit the results to both the insurance company and the doctor.
Rough short and simple description of the testing is - they stick you on oxygen and measure your blood oxygen level with a pulse oximeter.

The flow of oxygen - at each setting from 1 liter per min - MUST be enough to maintain your blood O2 level above 89%.
If it is at this setting - with continuous flow - then they repeat the test with a pulse flow regulator, and again, you have to test above 89%. (I should say I have to - the individual doctor can set that limit, my doctor wants 89% or better).
If your lucky enough to be good to go with a pulse flow, then you can get the smaller more portable, M-series size - anywhere from 8" high to 1" high

Portable Oxygen Concentrater - -In order to get on, I have to test out @ above 89% blood oxygen level on a pulse flow regulator at a setting of 3 liters per min. Once that happens, I can move from the large "E" tank to the smaller "M" series tanks, then eventually to the portable battery powered concentrator.
My part B and insurance company consider the battery powered portable a "luxury" item and say I have to buy it myself, but, they won't ok me to have one, even with a prescription.

For travel - check with the oxygen provider.
With mine, I take the large concentrator and a couple/three bottles in the car. I tell the company where I'm headed and they have a couple bottles there waiting for me when I check in the hotel.
I can also fly - - but - -not with the bottles & not with the large stationary concentrator. As above, I make arrangement ahead of time and what I need is supposed to be waiting for me when I arrive.

Actually --- checking with the O2 provider is probably the best thing to do since there nothing really concrete about any of the health care stuff anymore.

My plan gets me the stationary concentrator and up to 12 bottles - E size - of O2 a month for $100. I pay $19.99 and the insurance pays the rest.
A battery powered portable concentrator - considered a luxury item by my Medicare part B and my Advantage plan is a luxury item and not covered.
If I want one, I have to pay for it myself or pay the rental fee.
Those run anywhere for $999.00 to $7,999.00. Batteries run about $600.

Like I said above - that's roughly my coverage/cost - and as with anything else health care related, who knows what - if any - costs & arrangements there could be.

[Dave Richards]

The published volume of an E-cylinder of oxygen is 660 Liters so you can figure out roughly how long it will last at the flow set on the flowmeter or control. It is common for patients who are traveling to carry a liquid oxygen tank. they are smaller than an E-cylinder and can be carried with a shoulder strap or they can be placed on a small luggage carrier. One popular model is the Companion T. It has a capacity of 1058 liters of gaseous oxygen (about 1.28 liters of liquid oxygen)

There are D-cylinders which are about half the size of the E. If using cylinders, the intermittent output regulators are more efficient because they only provide flow when the patient draws a breath.

I would avoid cylinders with interchangeable regulators/flow controls. I spend too much time repairing them. The 'Grab-n-Go variety are nicer.

No matter which variety of oxygen container is used, exercise caution. A full E-cylinder of oxygen is pressurized to about 2000 PSI. If they get knocked over and the valve breaks, it'll become a missile. I've seen the steel ones go through concrete walls. And liquid oxygen is very dangerous and can cause frostbit in very short order.

[Jerome Stanek]

My SIL had to be on it so we got her a portable unit that will run for 8 hours on a charge and has a car adapter and an ac adapter. It is FAA approved so she can use it on a plane. I am not sure but she may be willing to sell it as she no longer needs to be on O2 after her heart valve replacement

[Robert Engel]

Have you checked into a portable oxygen generator?

[Rich Engelhardt]

oops---I should have been more clear up above.

For air travel, the FAA will not allow bottles -of any size -on the plane.
You'll have to use one of the battery powered concentrators.

[Dave Lehnert]

Thanks to everyone.
Some info I did not know and helps a lot.