For the selection and use of an oxygen concentrator, I need to consider the following aspects. 

It is said that the 14.5 billion brain cells in the human body require a lot of oxygen.

Without oxygen for 30 seconds, brain cells are destroyed.

When the oxygen supply was stopped for 3 minutes, the damaged cells could not be regenerated.

I heard that all diseases start from hypoxia.”

When it comes to oxygen generators, the knowledge is great. Nowadays, the existence of oxygen generators in middle-aged and elderly families is almost comparable to that of thermometers.

Despite this, there are still many people who do not understand the specific symptoms and population of oxygen concentrators, and there are many misunderstandings as follows:

The oxygen content in the air is about 21%. This content of oxygen is just right for a normal human body, but it is far from enough for most patients and friends who have diseases such as the respiratory system and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. They will often be accompanied by symptoms of hypoxia such as coughing and difficulty breathing. At this time, if there is no timely and effective supplementation of oxygen, it is very likely to cause irreversible consequences.

Therefore, the oxygen generator has become an important auxiliary treatment method for patients and friends to conduct home oxygen therapy, and its role should not be underestimated.

·So, how to choose an oxygen concentrator? Why choose this and not which? This is all important.

We assume that the current oxygen concentration of molecular sieve oxygen generator is 93%+3, which is a constant standard in the industry. It can be seen that there are oxygen generators with different oxygen flow marks of 1L, 2L, 3L, 5L, 8L, and 9L on the market. From this perspective, define the user population and performance of different oxygen flow oxygen generators.

1L oxygen generator

Home oxygen therapy for health care

For people:

Sub-health groups, students, pregnant women, office workers, etc.

Small size, low noise, and low price are the advantages of 1L oxygen generators, but at the same time, the oxygen flow is low and cannot achieve therapeutic effects on hypoxic diseases. Non-iatrogenic oxygen supplement suitable for infants, sub-health groups, students, pregnant women and other groups, and can be used for office workers to relieve stress and fatigue. It is specially designed for home oxygen therapy and health care, which can improve the symptoms of hypoxia in the body and brain, especially for the health care effect of oxygen therapy for middle-aged and older people.

2L oxygen generator

Home oxygen therapy for health care

For people:

Sub-health groups, students, pregnant women, office workers, etc.

Compared with 1L, the 2L oxygen generator has a certain oxygen health care effect, but it does not belong to the category of medical equipment. It is especially suitable for mental workers and sub-healthy people. Good models can also be used for oxygen inhalation by pregnant women.

3L oxygen generator

Home oxygen therapy

For people:

Patients with chronic diseases such as hypertension and hyperlipidemia, patients with bronchitis, etc.

3L oxygen generator can meet the standard of medical oxygen, 1-3L oxygen flow can be adjusted, individual brands, such as Haier medical grade oxygen generator CP303 oxygen flow can be adjusted to 5L, suitable for elderly health care oxygen, can target high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia , obesity and other chronic diseases, as well as emphysema, pulmonary heart disease, bronchitis and other diseases, is an important auxiliary means of home oxygen therapy.

5L oxygen generator

Home oxygen therapy

For people:

Severe patients with emphysema, cor pulmonale, moderate-to-high COPD, etc.

The scope of application of the 5L oxygen concentrator is even wider. In addition to meeting severe cases such as emphysema, pulmonary heart disease, and moderate-to-high chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, it can also meet the needs of people who supply oxygen for a long time, and can also be used for patients with sudden wheezing. effective relief.

8L, 9L oxygen generator

Home oxygen therapy

For people:

It is mostly used for special patients who have been inhaling oxygen for a long time and cannot be separated from oxygen.

It can be seen that the choice of home oxygen concentrator cannot be sloppy, because it is directly related to the safety and health of users. To sum up four points:

1. Oxygen health care and oxygen therapy should be treated differently: it is recommended to choose a 1L or 2L oxygen generator for oxygen health care. If it is used for patients, it is recommended to choose a 3L or 5L molecular sieve oxygen generator, with adjustable oxygen flow and oxygen concentration (93%+3) constant.

2. Purchase an oxygen concentrator with an oxygen concentration of 90% at the maximum flow rate: The division of oxygen concentration in this article is a molecular sieve oxygen concentrator with a constant oxygen concentration of 93%+3. When purchasing, be sure to look carefully Oxygen production method of the oxygen generator. It should be mentioned here that when the oxygen-enriched membrane oxygen generator is selected, its oxygen concentration is 90%, 60%, and 30% at 1L, 2L, and 5L, respectively. Obviously, the oxygen concentration of this 5L oxygen generator is It is 30%, which is no different from air and has no therapeutic effect.

3. The oxygen flow is adjustable, the oxygen flow of the 3L oxygen generator is adjustable between 0-3L, and the oxygen flow of the 5L oxygen generator is adjustable between 0-5L. We can adjust the oxygen concentration by adjusting the oxygen flow of the oxygen generator.

4. Molecular sieve oxygen generator is the most advanced oxygen generator at present, and it is the only oxygen generator with international and national standards. Its oxygen concentration is fixed, always at 93%+3.

As for why the oxygen flow should be controlled after inhaling oxygen, this question should be discussed in connection with the "oxygen concentration". First of all, establish a correct concept for everyone: high flow ≠ high concentration. In fact, the higher the oxygen flow, the lower the oxygen concentration is likely to be.

Why? For example, taking a molecular sieve oxygen generator as an example, the oxygen concentration is 93%+3, and the oxygen concentration of an oxygen generator with a general specification of 3L can reach more than 90% when the oxygen flow is 0~3L/min. If the flow continues to increase, for example, to 5L/min, the oxygen concentration will drop to <90%. Xiao Erdo gave a simple indication, as shown in the figure:

Schematic diagram of oxygen flow and oxygen concentration change of molecular sieve oxygen generator

Therefore, high flow ≠ high concentration. So, does oxygen inhalation must chase high oxygen flow?

Of course not, and even chasing high oxygen flow excessively under certain circumstances can be counterproductive.

Taking pulmonary heart disease as an example, the principle of oxygen inhalation for such patients should be low-flow intermittent oxygen inhalation. Patients often suffer from hypoxia due to respiratory tract infections, heart failure and other reasons.

However, if a large amount of oxygen is inhaled to the patient for a long time and at a high flow rate, the result will cause the patient to breathe shallowly and even lead to coma.

Why do patients with cor pulmonale limit oxygen flow when inhaling oxygen? 

It turns out that patients with cor pulmonale often suffer from carbon dioxide retention (referring to the abnormal accumulation and retention of liquid in the body) when hypoxia is combined, which reduces the sensitivity of the center in charge of respiratory function to carbon dioxide stimulation or loses "consciousness".

In this case, only by relying on hypoxia can we "wake up" the excitement of the respiratory center and maintain a certain respiratory function. Once a patient with cor pulmonale over-inhales oxygen, the stimulating effect of hypoxia on the respiratory center is bound to be eliminated, allowing the patient to breathe. It will become weaker, which will further promote the reduction of carbon dioxide excretion, and a large amount of it will remain in the blood, which will eventually cause the patient to suffer from respiratory paralysis. If the rescue is not timely, the patient may quickly lose consciousness and his life will be seriously threatened. 

From this point of view, for patients with pulmonary heart disease, continuous large-scale oxygen inhalation should be avoided. It is recommended to adopt continuous small-volume nasal oxygen inhalation. 

This is also true for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), who should also follow the principle of low-flow continuous oxygen inhalation. 

Because COPD is caused by pulmonary ventilation disorder. In layman's terms, it means that the gas in the lungs, such as carbon dioxide, cannot be excreted, and the oxygen from the outside cannot enter. This also explains why many patients have difficulty breathing. symptom. Appropriate hypoxia at this time can excite the respiratory center, speed up the respiratory rate, and promote the excretion of carbon dioxide. If a large flow of oxygen is inhaled at this time, once the hypoxia is relieved, the respiratory rate will slow down, which will further increase the accumulation of carbon dioxide, and severe cases are likely to develop other lung diseases.

For patients with pulmonary heart disease and COPD, the following points should be noted when performing home oxygen therapy:

1. Pay attention to control the oxygen flow. It is generally 1 to 1.5 liters per minute, and the flow rate should be adjusted before use. Because high-flow oxygen inhalation can aggravate the accumulation of carbon dioxide in patients with COPD, causing pulmonary encephalopathy.

2. Reasonable selection of oxygen inhalation time. For patients with severe chronic bronchitis and emphysema, with definite pulmonary function abnormality and oxygen partial pressure below 60 mmHg, oxygen therapy should be given for more than 15 hours a day; some patients usually have no or only mild hypoxia. Blood pressure, short-term oxygen supply can relieve the discomfort of "shortness of breath" during activity, tension or fatigue.

3. Pay attention to oxygen safety. The oxygen supply device should be shockproof, oilproof, fireproof and heatproof.

4. Pay attention to the humidification of oxygen. The humidity of the oxygen released from the compressed bottle is mostly lower than 4%. The low-flow oxygen supply generally uses a bubble-type humidification bottle, and 1/2 of the cold boiled water should be added to the humidification bottle.

5. Nasal catheters, nasal plugs, humidification bottles, etc. should be disinfected regularly.

When is the best time to inhale oxygen? This is also a problem. 

Before answering this question, we must first be clear about what time of day people are most prone to hypoxia.

Blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) is an important physiological parameter of the respiratory cycle, which changes continuously throughout the day. Typically, blood oxygen saturation is low before bed and after lunch. 

For many middle-aged and elderly friends, the period of low blood oxygen saturation is naturally a dangerous period of hypoxia. Oxygen supplementation during this time period can effectively relieve hypoxia at night.

Therefore, oxygen supplementation before going to bed at night and oxygen supplementation after lunch are the most suitable times for oxygen inhalation. 

Oxygenation before bed

Oxygen supplementation before going to bed can solve the problem of hypoxia at night. For middle-aged and elderly people, oxygen inhalation before going to bed has the best health care effect, and can effectively prevent accidents that occur at night and in the early morning (Note: Heart disease and cerebral thrombosis have the highest incidence at night and in the early morning). Even for middle-aged people who affect sleep, due to the sedative effect of oxygen, sleep can also be effectively improved.

Taking COPD patients as an example, the oxygen inhalation time is longer. Putting the oxygen inhalation time at night can not only achieve oxygen inhalation and sleep at the same time, but also ensure that the patient's activity time during the day is not squeezed, reducing bed rest. With time, the risk of pulmonary embolism, muscle atrophy, etc. caused by long-term bed rest is greatly reduced. 

Oxygenation after lunch

Why is it said that oxygen supplementation after lunch is also a good oxygen supplementation period?

Because this time period itself blood oxygen saturation is low. In addition, after eating, the gastrointestinal workload increases, and the amount of blood flowing into the stomach increases, while the blood supply to other parts, such as the brain, will be insufficient, resulting in hypoxia. Therefore, after lunch is also a good time for oxygen supplementation. 

Of course, the time and frequency of each oxygen inhalation are also particular, and the doctor's advice should be followed to avoid blindly pursuing long-term high-concentration and high-flow oxygen supply.