The process of getting older can be both blissful and inconvenient, for several reasons.
While certainly, it is true that with age comes wisdom. It is equally true that with age comes a bevy of medical needs and conditions to manage, some of which can hinder your quality of life.
One of the most common things needed as we age is oxygen. Oxygen is something that we all need, it just happens that we sometimes need a little more as we age. Now, portable oxygen machines are available to give you the freedom and mobility you desire, while getting the proper oxygen you need to keep you at your level best.
Here, learn about the various benefits derived from the usage of a portable oxygen machine.
Life On Oxygen: An Overview
Oxygen is one of those things that you take for granted. That is, until you don't have it anymore.
Living life normally, there is about 21% oxygen in the air we breath, with the remainder of our air being made up of mostly nitrogen, but also a handful of other gases.
This is enough for most of us, but for people with certain conditions or have had medical procedures done to them, it may not. These conditions include COPD and other conditions which affect your lung capacity, increasing your need for pure oxygen.
The feeling of gasping for air is terrifying. It evokes feelings of helplessness and great stress. But these instances do not have to be as prominent if you get yourself prescribed oxygen.
Oxygen helps in the prevention of heart failure for those with COPD. But even besides that, supplementing your breathing with oxygen can improve your alertness and sleep habits, as well as your stamina. Supplemental oxygen can give someone the ability to have a quality of life they thought was long gone.
- When Would I Get Prescribed Oxygen?
Typically, you would expect your blood oxygen levels to be somewhere between 95% and 99% for a healthy individual with no medical issues.
Physicians normally recommend oxygen if your levels dip consistently below 88%, the threshold at which breathing troubles can start to become apparent.
These lower levels of oxygen content in your blood can be the result of a chronic lung condition, such as COPD, or another acute ailment or procedure.
- The Drawback Of At Home Oxygen
While supplemental oxygen undoubtedly assists you in your breathing, they are rather limiting in terms of your mobility and ability to live a regular life.
Supplemental oxygen in the home typically comes with many feet of tubing. This oxygen tubing is connected to a large compressor that supplies your oxygen. It all works fantastic....if you wish to never leave the house again.
Yes, in-home oxygen systems are bulky and come with extremely long tubings that are often hazardous. Additionally, they're a falling risk, something elderly persons are particularly vulnerable to. This can result in accidents and falls that require substantial attention and wound care.
But this only nibbles around the edges as to why in-home supplemental oxygen only serves you to a certain point. The simple fact that you cannot leave your home with the oxygen oftentimes renders users completely chained to their at-home compressor. This means no more going out or doing outside activities, something that is vital in the later years for both mental and physical wellbeing.
This also likely means decreased time spent with friends and loved ones, thus involuntarily sequestering yourself from the rest of the world whether you want to or not.
This is precisely where the benefits of getting a portable oxygen machine come into play. In essence, it can give you your life back.
How A Portable Oxygen Machine Can Benefit You
For starters, the benefits of a portable oxygen machine mirror that of an in-home oxygen machine. With that said, there are even more perks than the in-home version!
The quality of life with supplemental oxygen, in general, has a gauntlet of benefits. And that's just from a physical standpoint.
- Better Mortality Rates
That's right, oxygen has the ability to prolong your life. Oxygen therapy has been shown to prolong lifespans, particularly those who have COPD. Perhaps most notable is the fact that it tends to prolong your life if you use it continuously, not merely at night or during certain hours.
The purchase of a portable oxygen machine would allow you to go out of the home and still receive oxygen, thus making your life that much longer. Certainly worth it just from that fact alone!
- COPD Relief
Oxygen has been shown time and again to relieve shortness of breath, otherwise known as dyspnea, and many of the symptoms that are commonly associated with COPD or other chronic lung illnesses. These symptoms can include depression, breathlessness, and fatigue, among others.
If you or someone you know has COPD, you will note that the disease is often connected to a bunch of complications such as hypertension of the heart, or pulmonary hypertension, as well as some forms of heart failure. Supplemental Oxygen also helps to reduce these common complications.
It has also been shown to reduce the progression of symptoms as time goes on, and overall reduces the need for frequent hospital stays connected to COPD and related conditions.
- Better Adapted For Exercise
Those with poor breathing or difficulty breathing usually cannot handle exercise at a strenuous level, thus limiting their ability to exercise at all in many instances. Research has shown that the usage of oxygen during exercise can improve your endurance and pain tolerance.
Additionally, you can heighten your performance peaks and hopefully reduce symptoms over time as well.
This is yet another perfect reason for a portable oxygen machine, as they are the only kind of device out there that will allow you to exercise and freely move about either inside or outside.
Getting Your Life Back: The Main Point
While many of the reasons for using oxygen before are great, most of them tend to discuss the overall benefits of oxygen, either in-home or otherwise.
But when it comes to portable oxygen machines, there is one simple reason why you should consider them if you require oxygen all the time. That reason is getting your life back.
You may be able to rationalize it at first. But, if you are dependent on oxygen for your breathing, you will eventually notice yourself making excuses to stay at home. You will end up not doing the activities you would normally do outside.
This can inevitably isolate you from your family, your friends, and your favorite activities. Such drastic reductions in the things you love can result in depression, something common among elderly in addition to the need for oxygen.
So if you use oxygen, consider a portable machine, because you can truly get your life back.
If you liked this article, be sure to check out the rest of our blog for more great healthcare information.
Copyright MedOnTheGo.com. All Rights Reserved. eCommerce Software by 3dcart.