Are You Enjoying The Benefits Of A Portable Oxygen Concentrator?

Portable oxygen concentrator have become increasingly popular for people with supplemental oxygen needs since they were introduced a few years ago.  This type of oxygen supply system takes oxygen from the surrounding air and as the name indicates, concentrates the oxygen and delivers it to the user.

Portable Oxygen Concentrators (POC's):

As the term "portable" indicates, they are small, lighter oxygen systems for personal use.   As they are powered by electricity they are designed to receive energy through electric outlets and many also have a battery  set up. One of their immediate benefits is that they are have increased the duration of the oxygen supply as well as being relatively easier to carry.

POC's, as with their elder cousins the home oxygen concentrators, extract and separate oxygen from ambient air.

(Usually the air we breathe is composed of various gases - 78% nitrogen, 19% oxygen and the remaining other gases in much smaller quantities. There is some fluctuation on the amount of oxygen in the air at any given time - in high altitude for example the percentage of oxygen is less than at sea level.  Pollution also plays an important part.  Some studies show that the amount of oxygen in our atmosphere is reducing every 15 years (approximately) by 0.8% - and this is due to both pollutants and to deforestation).

These units provide a constant supply of oxygen for patient use at the required flow rate. Their size and weight makes them easier to carry and most have a dual system where they can be either plugged in (including cigarette lighter ports in cars) or have a battery with up to 8 hours of oxygen, depending on the flow rate. With additional batteries the time usage is increased.

Benefits of POC's

Mobility, mobility, mobility.

And this is a major benefit. Since they became available many people have found that they can now enjoy many more activities than previously - you can go fishing, get out of the house more often, go for a drive, shopping.  Obviously there are things that are still limited but the number of  activities you can consider are now much greater.  This is why they say that being on long term oxygen therapy is no longer a sentence, but a lifestyle.

Most people who haven't at one time or another been restricted and limited to the home can imagine the sense of freedom that mobility brings.  Travel opportunities have opened up - by car, train, bus and even air travel.  Things have improved in such a way that recently the Federal Avaition approved some portable oxygen concentrators for all airlines (domestic or foreign) that use US airspace.

The benefit of being able to pursue, safely, many more activities, derives into one much greater. The recovery of freedom.  Freedom to move and the rush that come from feeling and knowing this freedom is yours.

Many people who today use POC's have found that they are doing things they thought were impossible and as they experiment with this new found freedom, their creativity and positive attitude to life is expanding. The positive attitude strengthens the immune system, which in turn makes for better health.