Conditions That May Warrant Supplemental Oxygen

18 July 2022

Jaime Allen

You may think of supplemental oxygen as being only for older adults who are in poor health overall. However, there are plenty of other people who can benefit from supplemental oxygen, too. Here are a few conditions that may make supplemental oxygen important — either constantly throughout the day, or periodically as needed.

Asthma

Asthma attacks can make it really hard for you to breathe. Usually, an attack is treated with a rescue inhaler, which delivers a steroid that quickly reduces inflammation in your airways. But sometimes, this inhaler is not quite enough, and you may still struggle to breathe for a few minutes after taking it. Supplemental oxygen can be really useful in this situation. You can take a few breaths of oxygen when your airway is still partly closed, and it will ensure you're getting enough oxygen — even if you can't take in that large a volume of air yet. For someone with severe asthma, simply knowing that you have oxygen on-hand to use if needed can give you a lot of peace of mind.

Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a condition in which you stop breathing temporarily at night. Your airway may become partially obstructed, leading to a pause in your breathing. This results in poor quality sleep. There are a lot of treatments for sleep apnea. Most people often use a CPAP machine to keep their airway open, or they may wear a special dental appliance that puts the mouth in a position where the airway stays open. Sometimes, though, these treatments are not quite enough or they don't work sufficiently. You may benefit from also wearing an oxygen tube to ensure that when you do breathe, you get more oxygen into your lungs.

Allergies

Do you have bad seasonal allergies that make it hard for you to breathe at times? They may not lead to full-blown asthma attacks, but they may cause a lot of congestion that makes it hard to inhale deeply. Having oxygen on hand for this can be really helpful. When your symptoms act up, you can take an allergy pill and then inhale some oxygen while you're waiting for it to kick in. 

If you fall into any of the categories above, you may want to have a supplemental oxygen tank on-hand. You may only need it now and then, but when you do need it, you'll be glad it is there.

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