It is possible to live life to your fullest potential while incorporating prescribed oxygen therapy into your routine. For some, oxygen therapy may mean wearing oxygen at night, and for others, this may mean wearing oxygen on a continual basis. As you adjust to it, remember that oxygen therapy does not mean that you must stop doing the things that make you happy.
Being on oxygen can improve your quality of life and your Frontier care team is here to help you figure out how to do that.
When your doctor prescribes supplemental oxygen therapy, turn to Frontier Home Medical for the best care and service. We pride ourselves on being oxygen therapy caregivers, in addition to being an equipment supplier, delivery and pick-up provider and health resource.
Frontier is here to provide nothing but the very best service and equipment. We are here to help! Our friendly staff is here to assist with your questions and needs. Please call your local Frontier Home Medical location if you experience any of the following:
We all need oxygen for our bodies to function properly. When you breathe in, the air is cleaned, heated and humidified. The air moves through your windpipe (trachea) and into the bronchi of your lungs. As you inhale and exhale, your chest and ribs expand and contract.
At the end of each airway are clusters of air sacs called alveoli; this is where oxygen gets filtered into your blood stream via small capillaries. Oxygen passes through the alveoli into the capillaries, then into the blood stream and is transported all throughout your body. Oxygen is your body’s fuel to live a healthy life.
Chronic hypoxemia means long-term low oxygen levels. Having hypoxemia is a symptom usually caused from another disease itself. There are several causes of chronic low oxygen levels in your blood stream. Your doctor helps determine what is causing your low oxygen levels and coordinates the best treatment plan.
Having enough oxygen in your body is one of the most important parts of staying healthy, especially when you are experiencing compromised respiratory function. Participating fully in your oxygen therapy can bring a variety of benefits, including:
Adhering to oxygen therapy can be a complex and difficult task with many barriers, including the physical difficulty of using the oxygen, self-consciousness, a sense of social stigma and lack of perceived benefit. How do you overcome this and start benefiting from the use of supplemental oxygen?
Equipment Functionality
The use of oxygen can increase your ability to be active and mobile. Your doctor and Frontier clinicians will determine the modality that is best suited for your needs.
Social Pressure
Some may experience self-consciousness while wearing oxygen—they may even feel guilt or shame. Daily routines with friends and family can help you to overcome social anxiety. Practice makes perfect!
Health Consciousness
Oxygen therapy can be a supplement for you to remain independent. When you have concerns, contact your physician. Close interaction with your medical team—as well as your own involvement with your care—will lead to greater success.
Symptom Management
Remember the bigger picture. Oxygen plays a vitally important part in your life! Allow feeling better to motivate you to continue your oxygen therapy.
In addition to saying that you are medical in need of supplemental oxygen, your oxygen prescription may also include how often you should wear oxygen therapy and how much supplemental oxygen your body needs. Continuous or pulse flow indicates how often; liter flow or pulse dose indicates how much.
This is oxygen therapy that is delivered at a constant rate of flow, called Liters Per Minutes (LPM). It works with CPAP and BiPAP sleep therapy and is compatible with humidification.
This is oxygen therapy delivered in pulse doses, in other words, oxygen is delivered with each breath. Oxygen delivery is an appropriate amount based on activity during sleep, rest or activity. This setting can be good for active lifestyles as that devices may be travel-friendly.
Frontier will be there every step of the way. We will be there to set up the tank and demonstrate its proper function. If you have questions or concerns, contact your local Frontier location.
Oxygen tanks offer reliable oxygen therapy. Never needing electricity and available in portable and at-home sizes, oxygen tanks can deliver the oxygen your body needs. Mounted to a wheeled cart, this oxygen can go where you need to go—plus, it’s is almost silent! For use at home or on-the-go and for continuous flow or pulse dose.
Your oxygen tank has everything you need to start your oxygen therapy. This includes your tank, flow device, cylinder wrench and cart stand. We will also supply a cannula and tubing.
Room air contains about 21% oxygen. Oxygen tanks deliver air with up to 60% oxygen. The compressed gas is sealed and under pressure inside of steel or aluminum containers. Your dose is controlled and adjusted with a flow regulator or conserving device and can last many hours, depending on usage and tank size.
To properly dispense oxygen from your tank, you will need to connect the tank to one of two flow devices: a flow regulator or a conserving device. These both allow your oxygen therapy to be dispensed from the tank at a set flow amount. Flow Regulators are used for continuous oxygen and are available in pediatric, standard and high flow. Conserving Devices are used for pulse dose oxygen and are available in 3:1 and 5:1 conservation flows. 3:1 delivers one compression for every three breaths; 5:1 delivers one compression for every five breaths.
Caution: Do not change settings unless prescribed to do so. If your doctor has prescribed a flow rate change, please contact us.
Oxygen tank durations are based on your Liters Per Minute (LPM) prescription and a full tank of oxygen. Things like temperature, tank pressure and usage can affect the actual duration.
Routine maintenance will be taken care of by your Patient Care Technician at Frontier Home Medical. However, there are a few things you can do to keep your equipment working smoothly:
Offering new levels of convenience, versatility and independence, welcome to the world of oxygen concentrators! An oxygen concentrator produces highly concentrated oxygen gathered from surrounding room air, which contains about 21% oxygen. After it travels through the unit’s filters, the air that comes from the unit now contains up to 96% oxygen. You breathe in the higher concentration of oxygen to increase respiration. Better breathing is better life.
Concentrators are available with multiple functions, various benefits; you can choose a unit designed for in-home stationary use, on-the-go portable use or a unit that does both. Choosing just the right oxygen concentrator for you or your loved one is where Frontier comes in. We will work alongside your health needs, healthcare provider and budget to get you the device to fit your exact needs.
This is the best of both worlds—these oxygen concentrators are designed to work in the home and on the go. With options to plug the device in, run it on battery power or via a car adapter, when you need mobility and flexibility with your oxygen therapy, you’ll find it here.
DEVICE NAME | TYPE OF DEVICE | POWER SOURCE | FUNCTION | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
In Home | On the Go | Wall Outlet | Car Charger | Battery | Continuous Flow | Pulse Dose | |
Inogen One™ G3 | X | X | X | X | X | X | |
Inogen One™ G5 | X | X | X | X | X | X | |
SimplyGo Mini | X | X | X | X | X | X | |
Eclipse 5® | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
Oxlife™ Independence | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
Ideal for in-home use, these concentrators offer great value and benefit when you need oxygen therapy. Each device is very user-friendly, includes wheels and can deliver continuous oxygen.
DEVICE NAME | TYPE OF DEVICE | POWER SOURCE | FUNCTION | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
In Home | On the Go | Wall Outlet | Car Charger | Battery | Continuous Flow | Pulse Dose | |
Companion 5™ | X | X | X | ||||
Perfecto 2™ | X | X | X | ||||
Platinum™ 10L | X | X | X | ||||
Everflo & EverFlo Q | X | X | X |
Great devices when you need to get out of the house! These portable oxygen concentrators will be your go-to for on-the-go. They are lightweight and portable and can provide pulse dose oxygen. Each device has optional bags, accessories and batteries, so you can have your oxygen therapy experience tailored to your own needs.
DEVICE NAME | TYPE OF DEVICE | POWER SOURCE | FUNCTION | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
In Home | On the Go | Wall Outlet | Car Charger | Battery | Continuous Flow | Pulse Dose | |
FreeStyle® 3 & 5 | X | X | X | X | X | ||
FreeStyle Comfort | X | X | X | X | X | ||
EasyPulse | X | X | X | X | X | ||
Mobi | X | X | X | X | X |
In-home oxygen filling stations fill oxygen tanks with gaseous oxygen supplied from an oxygen concentrator. The oxygen concentrator takes room air and feeds oxygen enriched air to the home fill device. The device then compresses oxygen into a cylinder at a very high pressure. Home fills work with concentrators; you cannot breathe oxygen gas directly from it.
DEVICE NAME | TYPE OF DEVICE | POWER SOURCE | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home Fill | Wall Outlet | Car Charger | Battery | |
Invacare® HomeFill | X | X | ||
Respironics UltraFill | X | X |
You can rely on the oxygen experts at Frontier. Our team of respiratory therapists and customer service representatives is here to match you with your best device. We put into consideration how you’ll use the oxygen, your oxygen therapy prescription, your mobility and your budget. Consult with our specialists M-F, 8-5. Frontier is here for your oxygen!
Just like any device, your oxygen equipment will need occasional maintenance. Refer to your device’s instruction manual for specific information on care, service and maintenance. Questions? We’re here for you!
For service assistance, please call your local Frontier location.
Frontier Home Medical will schedule annual maintenance checks with you to service your oxygen equipment (based on its age). Every 12 months, we will ensure everything is working properly.
RUL, or Reasonable Useful Life, is the amount of time that medical equipment is expected to last. For oxygen equipment that amount of time is 5 years and your equipment rental contract is also for 5 years. You may choose to receive new equipment at any time after the end of the 5-year RUL for your oxygen equipment. This would begin a new 36-month rental period. It is recommended that Frontier remain your partner in oxygen therapy even after the 5-year mark.
If you elect not to receive new equipment after the end of the 5-year RUL (and Frontier Home Medical transfers the title of the equipment to you), then all accessories, maintenance and repairs are not covered by Medicare and become your own financial responsibility.
Oxygen is very safe to use when it is used in the proper conditions. Oxygen will not explode or burn, but it will cause anything that is burning to burn hotter and faster. Following safety guidelines will help you create a safe environment for using your oxygen.
Because oxygen molecules can cling to clothing, beards/hair, curtains, furniture and carpeting for up to 30 minutes, you should never smoke near your oxygen equipment.
There are two common methods for obtaining pure oxygen:
Oxygen Tanks: The oxygen gas is compressed and stored in various-sized steel pressurized tanks.
Oxygen Concentrators: Room air is pumped through a fine filter (sieve bed) that traps all but the oxygen, which is allowed to pass through. Available in home and portable versions.
Home Fills: Unit that fills oxygen cylinders with gaseous oxygen supplied from an oxygen concentrator.
You might anticipate that some of the symptoms you had before using the oxygen will start to go away as your blood’s oxygen level returns to normal. The only way to be sure you are getting the right amount of oxygen is to have the oxygen level in your blood measured while using the supplemental oxygen. If new symptoms, such as headaches, confusion, increased sleepiness, etc., appear, you might be getting too much oxygen. Notify your physician.
Oxygen is not addicting. We all need oxygen to live. If your lungs and/or heart are diseased and cannot supply enough oxygen to your body from normal room air, you need to breathe supplemental oxygen. Should your condition improve, you may no longer require supplemental oxygen.
Electrical appliances that get hot or spark during operations should be kept at least 10 feet away from the oxygen system.
You can carry on your normal activities as long as you use common sense while you’re using oxygen–don’t cook on an open flame; don’t smoke; and be careful that your oxygen tubing does not come in contact with hot burners, pots, pans or anything that could cause the plastic tubing to melt. Using oxygen while eating may well be beneficial in reducing the shortness of breath that many patients experience during and after eating.
You can do anything that you would normally do, except for those things that would bring you within 10 feet of an open flame, a burning cigarette or an electrical appliance that sparks. Actually you may find that you will be able to do some activities while using oxygen that you could not do without it.
It is fine to wear your oxygen in the shower and bath. Wearing oxygen can help you avoid fatigue while you complete what could be a strenuous bathing experience, thus making it safer, too. Be sure to vent the bathroom with a fan, an open window or a bathroom exhaust fan. Never expose your oxygen tank or concentrator to direct water or excess steam.
Smoking and oxygen are a dangerous combination. Posting the signs informs anyone entering your home that oxygen is being used in your home and that they cannot smoke. In addition, displaying the signs in prominent locations assists delivery personnel in finding your home and it informs emergency responders that oxygen is being used and stored in your residence.
Your supplemental oxygen is delivered into your nose by way of the cannula (a small, adjustable plastic tube placed under the nose). The cannula is attached to tubing that connects you to your oxygen concentrator or tank.
Do you use a CPAP or BiPAP for sleep therapy? If so, this can be done in conjunction with your oxygen therapy—continuous or nocturnal. Note that portable or pulse oxygen cannot be used with sleep therapy.
CPAP or BiPAP adaptors can simultaneously provide oxygen therapy and sleep therapy. Adaptors with built-in oxygen ports allow for you to get both the oxygen flow and air pressure that you’ve been prescribed.
Frontier Home Medical has some helpful tips on traveling both short and long distances. Remember, before long-distance travel, alert your Frontier team at least 30 days in advance. We will need to assess your oxygen needs while away from home.
Download manuals for oxygen concentrators, portable oxygen concentrators and more. Are you looking for another oxygen device manual not listed here? Email us at FHM@frontierhomemedical.com.
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Frontier Home Medical is fully accredited by the Healthcare Quality Association on Accreditation (HQAA). HQAA is a healthcare accreditation organization providing accreditation for home medical equipment (HME) and durable medical equipment (DME) companies nationwide.