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The benefits of oxygen can be felt by anyone, not just those suffering from a medical condition and requiring supplemental oxygen. We can all find easy ways to increase our oxygen levels naturally through breathing exercises, general exercise, getting more fresh air and eating a balanced diet of foods that help increase oxygenation in our blood.
Increasing your oxygenation levels and being fit and healthy has shown to be important for your health as optimum oxygen levels can improve wound healing, vision, mental clarity and intelligence, boost your immune system, help fight cancer cells, reduce stress levels, improve your heart and respiration and help you to lose weight.
For those people who use supplemental oxygen at home there are also long-term benefits:

  • Prolongs life by reducing heart strain
  • Decreases shortness of breath
  • Makes exercise more tolerable
  • Results in fewer days of hospitalization
  • Improves sleeping
  • Improves quality of life

There are millions of people diagnosed with COPD around the world and 15% of these are prescribed oxygen. The number of COPD patients coming into the market is increasing and is expected to continue to increase for many more years. COPD patients are also increasingly being prescribed oxygen until the end of their life expectancy combined with the fact that COPD is being diagnosed earlier in life due to an increased awareness of the condition means that many more people will be requiring oxygen for longer periods of time.
For those people who suffer with any type of lung condition they may have difficulties when travelling by air. This is due to the reduced air pressure in the aircraft cabins as well as the lack of mobility for long periods of time. Air pressure in an aircraft cabin is lower than air pressure at ground level and feels like being at 6000 to 8000 feet on a mountain. At high altitudes blood oxygen levels fall in everyone, and some people may feel a little breathless. In most people this has no health effect, but if you already have low blood oxygen levels because of your lung condition, then the extra dip that happens while you are in the plane can cause breathlessness and discomfort for you.
Essential Tips to remember before flying:

  1. Ask your doctor well in advance for a letter to take in your hand luggage with details of your condition and medication.
  2. Be sure to take your inhalers in your carry-on bags. One of the most common problems is that people pack their inhalers in the luggage that goes into the hold.
  3. If you get breathless when walking, make sure you have help at airports.
  4. Try to move about every hour. Sitting for too long can lead to blood clots in the legs.
  5. Drink plenty of water and non-alcoholic drinks during the flight..

At OxygenWorldwide we wanted to know if in our 25 years of existence with oxygen users had died from the use of medical oxygen. We are glad to state that we have not found any proof of death related to the use of medical oxygen.