Addressing Common Concerns Younger Patients Have about Wearing Oxygen
When most people think of those who need oxygen, they conjure up images of an elderly person who is severely ill. However, even young people can have health issues, such as lung disease, that will require that they have a ready supply of oxygen with them at all times. If you happen to be the young patient that is prescribed oxygen therapy, you may be a little caught off guard and more than a little concerned about how oxygen therapy will change your life. Here are a few of the common questions and concerns you may have and the answers you will want to know going forward.
Will keeping oxygen with you change your ability to be active and mobile?
Oxygen therapy has changed tremendously from what it once was when patients had to tote around large tanks and battery supplies. You can now receive your needed oxygen from a device known as a portable oxygen concentrator, which harvests oxygen from the atmosphere as needed and has batteries that can operate for as long as 12 hours at a time.
How can you keep people from treating you weird when you are in public?
You may not be able to control how people react to you as a younger person with oxygen when you are in public, but you can control what you portray. Some patients find that by being friendly and outgoing about their condition, people they come in contact with react positively. Therefore, try not to be afraid of going out in public and doing your regular activities. If people have questions or seem curious, offer them information and go on about your day.
Will you be able to travel with your oxygen therapy equipment?
One of the biggest concerns many young patients have is if they will be able to travel as usual, either on public transportation locally or on airplanes. The answer to this is yes. You will be able to take your oxygen therapy equipment with you when you travel, regardless of the means of transportation you choose. You will have to let ask about specific policies when you are traveling by air or ocean, but in most cases, you will find that traveling with your necessary equipment will not be that big of a deal at all.
When you have to have oxygen to sustain a normal quality of life as a young adult, it can definitely be scary. However, with new innovations and technologies in portable oxygen treatment, oxygen therapy does not mean that your young freedoms will be compromised. Talk to your physician or oxygen device company such as Home Medix Inc about any further concerns you have as a new oxygen therapy patient.
Share