I just ran into these informative instructions on how a person should use oxygen if they are pursuing home therapy. There is information about what kinds of oxygen are available for people to use.  Oxygen comes in compressed and liquid form as well as through an oxygen concentrator.  The oxygen is sent from the cannister or concentrator to your body through a cannula, mask or through a transtracheal catheter.  One of the most important safety tips the site gives is that one should not smoke or be near open flames with the oxygen. This is pretty clear to most people, but some people might not think of it, so it’s important to know.  In any event, there are some other useful tips that anyone using oxygen should keep in mind, both about how to use the oxygen and safety tips regarding it. Take a look here.

Many people in the world have difficulty breathing at night and don’t get enough oxygen while sleeping. There are many reasons for this, and there are quite a few solutions as well. Perhaps the most common treatment is with what is called “Nasal CPAP”. CPAP means Continuous Positive Airway Pressure, and works in the following way. It is administered with a mask which the patient puts on and is connected to a tank. It then pushes air into the lungs and airway, providing a continuous pressure of air. This way, the person gets enough oxygen and a good breathing rhythm.  The original CPAP systems have one particular pressure that they work at, much like a prescription drug that comes in one dosage only. Newer ones have “variable pressure” settings. These ones have computer software that will be able to tell how the user’s airways are functioning and can increase or decrease the pressure as necessary.

Before I embarked upon this project, I had never heard of a spirometer, nor would I have really understood what sirometry was all about.  But after looking at this little synopsis, I have a pretty good idea.  Spirometers measure the amount of air a person exhales in one breath as well as how quickly that air was released. It is very exciting and a very useful test to administer. It is important to test this once in awhile to check lung function. Of course, everyone has different amounts that can be exhaled.  Just think about how much a 4′11″ person could exhale and how much a really tall basketball player could exhale.  But there is a range that is normal.  And if the value is particularly low, then the person may have a disease of the lungs. If a person has such a disease, then the test can be administered over the course of the treatment in order to monitor the effectivness of the medication or therapy.

The University of Colorado has posted their regulations on the use of oxygen tanks in university buildings. The probably reflect the regulations found in many other universities as well as businesses around the country, where oxygen tanks might be used.  It’s a little tough to figure out what kind of oxygen tanks they are directing their regulations at, but prescription ones seem to predominate. The regulations state that the user should be fully familiar with the manufacturer’s directions and follow them exactly. Users are also not allowed to carry more than one at any given time or place. And one of the most important rules is that it should not be brought anywhere near an open flame or fires at any time, and that they should be kept at least 10 feet away at all times. Read the full regulations.

Ever thought of using one of those ionic air purifiers? I was looking around and I found this article, that says that these purifiers aren’t quite as safe as we might have previously thought them to be. These devices work by charging part of the device with ions. This creates a kind of magnetic suction that draws dust, hair, and other small particles to that part of the machine. Then you can just pull it out and clean it off, or otherwise change the filter. Well, there is a study out that says that this produces ozone, which is a form of oxygen, but isn’t safe for people to breathe. In fact, it produces more ozone than a photocopier does. And over the course of a day, it can raise the ozone levels in a room to become much higher than outside, thereby eliminating a lot of the benefits the user got from pulling the particles out in the first place. The levels can become so high that it actually breaks the regulations about that. One way to mitigate the problem is to make sure the room is well-ventilated and not to run the machine for long periods of time.

Sometimes, if you or your child or parent are having a lung illness (pneumonia, for example) medication will have to be administered directly into the lungs. This is to say that the medication wont work very well if simply ingested, mainly because people swallow medication, bypassing the lungs entirely. This requires a person to inhale the medication, which is hard for most people to do. Thus, there is a device called a nebulizer, which basically breaks up the medication into tiny particles so that one can inhale it easily, the way one might inhale dampness on a really humid day. There are nebulizers that only hospitals use and there are those that one can work with in the safety of the home. This page has directions on how children should be given nebulizer treatment at home. The gist of it is that one should make sure the machine can do its job right and keep an eye on the child to make sure there are no bad effects and that the machine keeps working right. Take a look at the article, because it’s apt for people of any age.

I just read a guide from a university health center about how to use an inhaler.  An inhaler is an important health device for many people, including people with asthma as well as other people with repiratory and lung illnesses.  So it’s good to know exactly how to use one.  Many people, it turns out, use it improperly, so they don’t get the benefits they are supposed to.  User should shake the inhaler before each use. If it hasn’t been used before, or hasn’t been used in two weeks, it should be “primed” by spraying it 3 times into the air (away from the face).  Breathe out as much as possible and then depress the inhaler button. Breathe in deeply and slowly, and hold in breathe for 10 counts.  The inhaler should also be cleaned fairly regularly, so that it doesn’t clog up. Do so by taking the medicine canister off the mouthpiece and rinse the mouthpiece in warm water. I can’t give you all the details, but read the full instructions here.