The two forms of oxygen, regular and treatment oxygen, differ significantly from the compressed gas. You might have heard that the words oxygen and medical oxygen can be used interchangeably in some situations. High-purity oxygen utilized in medicine and created for use in the human body is referred to as supplemental oxygen. High-purity oxygen gas is included in oxygen cylinders. No additional gas can be poured into the cylinder to avoid contamination.
Requirements for Medical Oxygen
To obtain supplemental oxygen, you need a prescription. Safety and ensuring that your patients get the right amount of oxygen for their requirements must be priorities. Due to differences in size and the amount of treatment oxygen required for a specific condition, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Because of this, patients should visit a doctor and get a prescription for LMO (Liquid Medical Oxygen).
Medical oxygen cylinders must also be clean, and several checks must be made to ensure they are exclusively used for oxygen treatment. It cannot be dispensed from cylinders that have been used for other reasons unless they have been completely depleted, meticulously cleaned, and correctly labelled.
Logistical challenges in supplying medical oxygen
Road and rail are both used to deliver liquid oxygen to tankers. Furthermore, an individual cylinder is used for shipping it. Hospitals can get oxygen in both cylinders and tank trucks depending on available storage and daily requirements. Medical-grade oxygen cylinders and tankers must be stored and filled by highly strict and stringent procedures to satisfy safety and purity requirements.
Misunderstanding of the use of regular medicinal oxygen
Numerous circumstances call for the benefit of supplemental oxygen. Therapeutic institutions like hospitals and clinics are often where medical oxygen is administered. It is employed in treating oxygen therapy, anesthesia, and emergency resuscitation of individuals unable to breathe independently.
Medical oxygen in sports
While watching the game, you might notice that the support personnel are giving the athletes playing at high altitudes oxygen. If oxygen supplementation is available during a sporting event, athletes who are not highly adapted will find it easier to breathe. At high altitudes, breathing is challenging due to the distance between oxygen molecules. In addition, the air’s oxygen content remains constant. This implies that each time a person in the highlands breathes, they will receive less oxygen.
Misconceptions concerning oxygen in general
The widespread assumption is that humans breathe only air that is 100% oxygen. This is untrue. You breathe air that contains 78 per cent nitrogen and 21 per cent oxygen. A combination of various gases, including carbon dioxide and hydrogen, makes up the final one per cent. Another prevalent misunderstanding is that some tasks and applications need almost entirely ultra-pure oxygen. High-purity oxygen, for instance, is not utilized for deep-sea diving or other activities. In most of these circumstances, ordinary air or ABO gas is used. These gases are often cooled and filtered to improve user comfort.
The Benefits of Adequate Oxygen for the Human Body
For all living cells in the body, including those who suffer from COPD, COVID-19, cystic fibrosis, pneumonia, asthma, and other illnesses, the proper amount of oxygen is crucial. Drops in oxygen levels may occur. Oxygen treatment with a portable oxygen concentrator is necessary to supplement oxygen at low levels and prevent health issues from worsening.
Author: Alison Lurie
