Home Oxygen Therapy
The air you breathe every day contains 21% oxygen. Home oxygen therapy delivers close to 100% pure oxygen. Because it is a pure concentration of oxygen, home oxygen is considered to be a drug and must be prescribed by your doctor. Oxygen is not addictive and causes no side effects when used as prescribed.
Your doctor may prescribe oxygen if your lungs are not getting enough oxygen to your blood (a condition called hypoxemia). Breathing prescribed oxygen increases the amount of oxygen in the blood, usually reduces shortness of breath and other symptoms, and helps increase survival. Prescribed oxygen may also help protect your heart. People with asthma, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, occupational lung disease, lung cancer, cystic fibrosis, or congestive heart failure may use oxygen therapy at home.
Home oxygen can help promote your independence and make it easier and safer for you to complete daily living activities. Only patients with blood oxygen levels below critical levels will benefit from home oxygen.
This means that some determination of arterial oxygen level must be made by the prescribing physician before oxygen can be rationally prescribed. Some people may need to use supplemental oxygen 24 hours a day, while others may only need oxygen during exercise or sleep.
Life Supply responds to the needs of every patient individually by providing the oxygen system most appropriate for his or her lifestyle. Oxygen concentrators, portable oxygen systems, liquid oxygen and high pressure cylinders are provided according to the physician's prescription and with consideration for the activity level of each patient. Life Supply monitors how well each respiratory patient follows the prescribed course of treatment to help ensure compliance with liter flow and hours of use. Regularly monitoring patient compliance increases the likelihood that patients will receive the maximum benefit from the prescribed therapy.
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