It used to be if you were on oxygen therapy, getting oxygen was cumbersome and limiting.  Oxygen delivery equipment was heavy and hard to lug around – if you could transport it at all.   

Not so anymore. 

A quick walk through the mall on a crowded weekend – where you’re sure to see at least one or two people with clear plastic tubes coming out of their noses – and you’ll realize that people on oxygen therapy can get around and live their lives as they see fit.

Those clear plastic tubes are called nasal cannulas and they deliver oxygen from small cylinders that can last for hours, depending on oxygen usage needs.

Once back home with the now-empty cylinders – trip to the mall completed – instead of replenishing the cylinders with a fresh batch from a supplier, oxygen therapy patients can use a self-fill system that eliminates the need for oxygen cylinder deliveries.  The system allows patients to compress oxygen from a concentrator for portable use, as they need it.  This is a big change from the past when patients had to rely on deliveries and bulky equipment.

It also shifts the responsibility to the patient.  With a self-fill system, “You’re more independent, and you are in charge of your health care needs,” said Dana Patton, manager of clinical services at Henry Ford Health Products [link to http://www.henryfordhealthproducts.com/ ].  “You’re more responsible for your care.”

Another development in oxygen therapy that is making it easier for oxygen users to get around is the portable oxygen concentrator.  Oxygen concentrators are different from other oxygen delivery systems in that they do not require cylinders or containers.  Instead, the oxygen concentrator takes oxygen out of the air and stores it for use.

But oxygen concentrators used to be large devices that you could not easily take with you – say, to go shopping, or get your hair done.

The most recent generation of oxygen concentrators has left that problem behind.  Run on electricity or battery backs, they also plug into your car outlet to power up.  And, depending on the airline, you can even fly with them (make sure to check with your airline for policies.)

“The convenience of a portable oxygen concentrator is that you can use it at home, carry it with you and plug it into your car, A/C or battery pack, and you’re good to go,” said Patton, noting that oxygen users should still always err on the side of caution and have a back-up oxygen source should they need it.