Oxygen Concentrators - Some Safety Tips

!±8± Oxygen Concentrators - Some Safety Tips

If you or any of your loved ones have ever suffered from respiratory problems, particularly of the chronic kind, then you know that traditional methods of mitigating against some of the associated discomfort involves cylinders of compressed oxygen that pose as great a risk as the condition itself. Oxygen concentrators are now the modern accepted way of dealing with most chronic respiratory problems without the added risk of fire or imminent explosions.

What oxygen concentrators basically do is to filter out the nitrogen from normal air and provide the user with a stream of nearly pure oxygen for intake. This helps relieve shortness of breath, a common side effect of chronic respiratory conditions.

The workings of the oxygen concentrator may seem straightforward and risk free, but there are some basic rules that can help you make sure the device is used in a safe manner.

1. Where NOT to place the device:

Make sure the device is placed in an open area. As discussed above, oxygen concentrators work by removing nitrogen out of normal air, supplying oxygen and then releasing the nitrogen back into the surrounding atmosphere. If the device is placed in an enclosed area, its efficiency is greatly reduced since the very air it seeks to compress and convert to pure oxygen is made up of nothing but nitrogen. This means the patient does not enjoy the full benefit of the machine, and in turn the machine deteriorates faster, since the cylinders are forced to process air with nitrogen concentrations of above the normal 79%

The device also generates heat as it operates. This heat can turn out to be a fire hazard should the device be in an enclosed area where heat buildup is a real factor.

Another point relating to location is that naturally the risk of heat build up near an oxygen concentrator is just as real even where the device is placed in an open area but close to equipment or machines that generate high temperatures.

A final word on location of the device - the device should not be placed near any naked wires. At the end of the day, the device is producing near pure oxygen and the risk that a spark can set off a fire is greatly increased.

2. Back-up

Where the patient greatly relies on the oxygen concentrator for their health, you should have an alternative method of supplying oxygen should there be a problem with the device. This can be in the form of a compressed oxygen cylinder.

Another important thing to do is to inform your local electricity supplier of the fact that you rely on the power supply for medical purposes. This can shorten response time in-case of a power interruption.

Whereas it is quite easy to obtain your own oxygen concentrator, actually there are several online sites that not only sell, but also ship oxygen concentrators to your doorstep. This is a medical device and consultations should be made with your doctor before making the purchase.

Oxygen Concentrators - Some Safety Tips

Lowest Price Electric Razor Scooter Parts Prices Skydive Milwaukee

Nasal Cannula

!±8± Nasal Cannula

The nasal cannula used for oxygen supply application

Nasal Cannula

Precor 5.33 On Sale Shop For Arching Floor Lamp Best Prices Dutailier Upholstered

Chronic Bronchitis Symptoms - Smoking Facts About the Early Symptoms of Emphysema

!±8± Chronic Bronchitis Symptoms - Smoking Facts About the Early Symptoms of Emphysema

Chronic bronchitis symptoms can easily be dismissed as a nagging smoker's cough. The characteristic productive and persistent cough experienced by many smokers is one of the early symptoms of emphysema. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) symptoms include both the productive cough associated with chronic bronchitis and the shortness of breath that results from emphysema. The smoking facts on emphysema reveal that damage to the lungs cannot be reversed and you must quit smoking cigarettes to avoid complications and worsening of the disease.

Smoker's Cough vs Chronic Bronchitis Symptoms

Anytime you are coughing and bringing up mucus it is a clear sign that there is something wrong in the respiratory system. A smoker's cough is the term used to describe the productive persistent cough that occurs (usually in the morning) in smokers. It occurs as a result of damage to the lungs.

The way the body normally keeps the respiratory tract clean is by trapping foreign particles and dust in mucus that is secreted by the lining of your respiratory passages. Tiny hair like structures called cilia use a sweeping motion to move mucus and trapped debris out of the air passages. It is a self cleansing mechanism that works 24 hours a day without any conscious effort from you.

Smoking however, damages this system and destroys these fine hair like particles. Without cilia to sweep that mucus out of there it builds up overnight. The only way that you can remove it is by coughing. This is why smoker's cough is worse in the morning.

If you have smoker's cough your ability to protect your respiratory tract from infection is compromised. Because of this you will be more prone to upper respiratory infections. An infection in the upper respiratory tract is what causes bronchitis. The word bronchitis literally means inflammation of the airways.

Acute and Chronic Bronchitis

If you get acute infection in your airways, the symptoms will most likely be a fever, tightness in your chest, and a build up of mucus in the airways which will cause wheezing and a productive cough. This will resolve itself as your body fights the infection, disables the invading pathogen and then heals itself and restores everything back to normal functioning.

In contrast, chronic bronchitis is not an infection but is caused by inflammation. Symptoms occur because of damage to the self cleaning mechanism of the air passages. The lining of the air passages become chronically inflammed as a reaction to the constant irritation caused by cigarette smoke. The cilia are destroyed and cannot do the required "sweeping" necessary to keep the air passages clean. Debris becomes trapped in the mucus and accumulates there. As it builds up the airways become obstructed stimulating your cough reflex and as a result you cough and cough until the mucus is expelled.

If you develop chronic bronchitis, the symptoms will be coughing up yellow or green sputum along with shortness of breath. There will not be any fever or malaise because no infection is present and the symptoms will not get better over time, in fact they will get worse.

The constant obstruction of the airways with mucus eventually leads to emphysema making it difficult to get good gas exchange in the lungs. As a result the main symptoms of emphysema are shortness of breath and fatigue.

Once emphysema and chronic bronchitis are present together you have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (or COPD). Symptoms include the combined symptoms of emphysema and chronic bronchitis (shortness of breath and productive coughing) because once the lung damage starts both conditions will always be present together.

With all of the damage to the lungs there is a real risk of infection and any infection of the airways can become an infection of the lungs or pneumonia. Pneumonia that occurs in lungs already damaged and filled with mucus is much more likely to be fatal than if it occurs in normal lungs.

If you are a smoker and you have a persistent cough, do not dismiss it as an allergy, a chest cold or even smoker's cough. Chronic bronchitis symptoms such as a productive cough are a sign that there is already damage in your airways and that you are on your way to developing emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

If you have chronic bronchitis symptoms and continue to smoke cigarettes your lung function will get worse. Chances are you will progress to develop emphysema and chronic obstructive lung disease. While medical interventions can help to control and relieve some COPD symptoms, the disease process itself cannot be stopped unless you quit smoking cigarettes.

Chronic Bronchitis Symptoms - Smoking Facts About the Early Symptoms of Emphysema

Heartsaver Aed Decide Now Last Minute Ijoy Massage Chairs

Small particals, Nano pollution, toxins in the arrangement through lungs

!±8± Small particals, Nano pollution, toxins in the arrangement through lungs

Small particals, Nano pollution, toxins in the system through lungs can cause any sort of health problem. We must protect and prevent with glutathione use Immunocal to help protect and prevent disease. www.immunotec.com Ultrafine particulate pollutants induce oxidative stress and mitochondrial damage. Li N, Sioutas C, Cho A, Schmitz D, Misra C, Sempf J, Wang M, Oberley T, Froines J, Nel A. Department of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA. Abstract: The premise for this study is the increasing awareness that various PM components induce pulmonary inflammation through the generation of oxidative stress. Coarse, fine, and ultrafine particles (UFPs) were collected by ambient particle concentrators in the Los Angeles basin in California and used to study their chemical composition in parallel with assays for generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and ability to induce oxidative stress in macrophages and epithelial cells. UFPs were most potent toward inducing cellular heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) expression and depleting intracellular glutathione. HO-1 expression, a sensitive marker for oxidative stress, is directly correlated with the high organic carbon and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) content of UFPs. The dithiothreitol (DTT) assay, a quantitative measure of in vitro ROS formation, was correlated with PAH content and HO-1 expression. UFPs also had the highest ROS activity in the DTT assay. Because the small size of UFPs allows ...

Small particals, Nano pollution, toxins in the arrangement through lungs

Low Price Hendrix Guitar Strap Similac Soy Sensitive Buy

Oxygen Concentrator - How It Works

!±8± Oxygen Concentrator - How It Works

The purpose of an oxygen concentrator is to take in air from the surrounding area and concentrate the air to nearly pure oxygen. Oxygen concentrators are designed to be used by people with medical conditions or diseases that make it difficult for them to breathe. Concentrators are a more effective option than previous oxygen devices. Unlike machines that used tanks of oxygen, concentrators never need to be refilled. Instead, they can take in air from any environment. In addition to being more effective, they are also more safe. While tanks of oxygen can combust under heavy pressure, this isn't an issue with concentrators. As a result, it's possible to take certain models of oxygen concentrators on airplane flights.

While the process a concentrator performs is very advanced, it is fairly easy to understand. When a concentrator is turned on, it starts absorbing air. What many people don't realize is that standard air is made up of as little as twenty percent oxygen. The reason that there's such a lower percentage of oxygen in the air is because the majority of the air is nitrogen. The nitrogen content of standard air can range between seventy and eighty percent. In addition to nitrogen, a small percentage of various gases make up the rest of normal air's composition. Once a concentrator absorbs standard air, the air is forced into compartments. These compartments contain aluminum silicate. This substance is used to filter nitrogen from the air. Once the nitrogen is filtered, the leftover air is nearly pure oxygen. Depending on the specific concentrator, the oxygen delivered to the patient can be around ninety-five percent pure.

Although a concentrator can be used for a wide range of conditions, COPD is the most common. The big issue with this condition is that it can prohibit the blood in someone's body from getting enough oxygen. When this happens, it can lead to organ damage. Fortunately, patients with COPD can avoid a lot of bad effects of this condition by using an oxygen concentrator. By using this type of device throughout their regular routine, they can avoid not being able to get enough air. And because they will have enough oxygen in their system, they will feel more focused and generally in better health. As an additional benefit, an oxygen concentrator can also be used at night. If someone with COPD uses this type of machine while they sleep, they will find that they feel much more rested when they get up in the morning.

Originally, oxygen concentrators were only designed to be used in homes. The reason is because the technology inside of these machines took up a lot of space. As a result, the concentrators were quite large. However, it's now possible to compress the same technology into a much smaller space. This means that there are now oxygen concentrators that are portable. Because portable oxygen concentrators can weigh as little as five to ten pounds, it's possible to take them on a trip or anywhere else.

Oxygen Concentrator - How It Works

Whelen Led Lights Sale Off Low Price Scott Tissue Toilet Paper