Oxygen is necessary for the cells in your body to make energy and survive. Since a person cannot live without oxygen it is important to address oxygen deficiency in any illness that can cause such a deficiency. Most commonly these are lung and...
Oxygen concentrators deliver low levels of oxygen to a person's lungs and bloodstream. Additional oxygen makes breathing easier and reduces the heart's workload. Oxygen concentrators create 95 percent pure oxygen by removing additional gases from...
Oxygen concentrators are used to supply oxygen to someone who needs higher concentrations of pure oxygen. The concentrators are often used at home and in clinical settings. The machine draws oxygen directly from the room air and does not use...
According to Taber's Medical Dictionary, oxygen therapy is the administration of oxygen for the treatment of conditions resulting from oxygen deficiency. The goal of oxygen therapy is to improve oxygen flow to major organs and tissues, such as the...
Oxygen therapy makes oxygen more readily available to your body by introducing it and other substances into your nose, mouth or through a tracheotomy hole in your throat. According to the American Cancer Society, oxygen therapy introduces...
The body needs oxygen to function properly and receives oxygen via the lungs to be metabolized in all cells of the body. Conditions affecting the lungs such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including emphysema and chronic...
Oxygen therapy helps people increase their oxygen intake to combat breathing difficulty, decrease fatigue and improve sleep. Oxygen therapy can also stretch the lifespan of those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Major organs need...
A non-rebreather mask is primarily used to deliver oxygen to treat hypoxia, wherein the arterial blood oxygen saturation is less than 90 percent. Additionally, oxygen therapy is used to alleviate symptoms associated with chest pain, sepsis,...
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD, is a chronic airway condition in which patients have a chronic cough and expectoration with varying degrees of shortness of breath. An exacerbation means there is a change in the patient's normal...
Although it's not commonly considered as such, oxygen is a drug. Like any drug, oxygen has side effects and potential complications even when administered within a prescribed range. Oxygen can be given through nasal cannula, prongs that fit inside...
About 5.8 million people in the United States have heart failure, according to the Centers for Disease Control, or CDC. The CDC projects heart failure will cost the United States about $39.2 billion in 2010, including health care services, lost...
Air hunger is one of the most distressing of all medical symptoms. Patients who can't derive enough oxygen from the air they breathe typically suffer from this symptom. Oxygen therapy involves supplying an increased concentration of oxygen to the...
Without oxygen, human life cannot exist. Oxygen is vital for normal daily activity and makes up about 90 percent of your energy. Individuals diagnosed with conditions that cause shortness of breath and fatigue, sleep-related breathing disorders,...
Oxygen is an important gas used by the body to make energy. Once breathed inside the body, oxygen goes to the lungs, and from the lungs it mixes with the blood, which then transports it to the rest of the organs and bodily systems. In conditions...
Hypoxia is a condition that prevents enough oxygen from getting into the bloodstream. Physicians often prescribe home oxygen therapy as a means of reducing shortness of breath, protecting the heart and increasing survival. Regular oxygen levels in...
Nosebleeds are a common side effect for patients undergoing oxygen therapy. However, ongoing severe nosebleeds should be brought to the attention of your health care provider to ensure there isn't another underlying cause.
Liver cirrhosis occurs when normal cells and tissues of the liver are replaced by fibrous scar tissue. Common causes include viral infections and alcohol abuse. Liver cirrhosis is associated with a number of complications including pulmonary...
Breathing problems are a common complaint of patients coming into emergency rooms. They frequently stem from heart or lung problems such as congestive heart failure or asthma but can also be caused by other factors such as panic attacks. A number...
If your baby is born prior to 38 weeks he is considered premature, or a preemie. Some women may deliver as early as 24 to 30 weeks of gestation. Their babies will spend many months in the neonatal intensive care unit. Generally, the earlier a baby...
Because breathing is largely an unconscious process, it's only when breathing becomes difficult that a person begins to take notice. The earth's atmosphere is 21 percent oxygen, which is enough to support human life until problems arise. When...
An asthma attack, also called status asthmaticus, is an acute condition requiring immediate medical attention. Symptoms during an asthma attack include the rapidly declining ability to take a breath, a dry cough, severe wheezing and chest...
Infiltration of the blood by microorganisms is common and may occur as a mild, asymptomatic and transient phase in the natural course of some infections. However, an overwhelming and severe invasion of the blood by bacteria, viruses or fungi,...
Community acquired pneumonia in children is an acute lower respiratory tract infection characterized by fever, chills, cough and unusually rapid breathing. The causes can range from viruses such as influenza A and B and adenovirus to bacteria like...
Acute exacerbation of chronic lung disease tends to occur in the context of a particular form of chronic lung disease called chronic obstructive lung disease, abbreviated as COPD. COPD is a lung disease that incorporates aspects of chronic...
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is used to treat a wide variety of health disorders. A hyperbaric oxygen pressure chamber has an air pressure that is elevated to about two and a half times the normal pressure in the air, notes MedlinePlus. This...
Spinal anesthesia involves the direct application of local anesthetic drugs to nerve roots that enter and exit the spinal cord. According to the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, spinal anesthesia is preferred over general...
Continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, machines deliver compressed air throughout the night to keep airways open in people with obstructive sleep apnea. Each CPAP unit has three components: an air compressor that sends out a column of air...
CPAP stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure. CPAP is used by people with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) during the night to help keep their airways open. CPAP can be delivered either by mask or by nasal cannula. OSAS is diagnosed...
Home medical oxygen supplements the oxygen naturally breathed in from the atmosphere. Breathing supplemental oxygen increases the oxygen level in the blood, which is then transferred to the cells and ultimately into energy. Supplemental oxygen...
