Oxygen Therapy for COPD

When you have COPD, your lungs take in and let out less air than they once did, it becomes harder to breathe. You can also have COPD when the walls of your airways are inflamed or if your airways start making more mucus so that they get clogged.

The big question for you and your doctor: Is it so hard to breathe that you need oxygen therapy? This treatment gives you extra oxygen so that breathing is easier and you stay more active. Even if you don’t need the therapy now, you may need it later.

How Does Oxygen Therapy Work?

It’s a way to get more oxygen into your lungs. You might hear your doctor or nurse call it “supplemental oxygen.” When you go on oxygen therapy, there are several ways that supplemental oxygen may be supplied:

Tubes: You'll likely start with what’s called a nasal cannula. This is a device that includes two small tubes that fit in your nostrils and a longer air tube attached to an oxygen tank. This is the most common oxygen therapy approach.

Facemask: A facemask that covers the nose and mouth is for people who need much more oxygen or have trouble using the nasal tubes.

Oxygen Concentrator: The concentrator can be small enough to carry with you or wheel around.  If you’re on oxygen therapy, you can use the oxygen concentrator. They work by filtering other gasses, so you breathe in only oxygen.

Benefits of Therapy

When you get extra oxygen into your system, it can help you have fewer bouts of being breathless. You may find yourself sleeping better. It can also:

*Boost your energy and ability to exercise

*Help you focus better on tasks

*Improve your mood

*Lower your chance of heart failure (when your heart doesn’t pump enough blood to your body)

Who Needs Oxygen Therapy?

As your COPD gets worse, you may become a good candidate for oxygen therapy. Your doctor may have you do some tests to see how well your lungs work. The tests measure how much oxygen is in your blood. Two common blood-oxygen tests are:

*Arterial blood gas test: This is done like a standard blood test. Some blood is taken from your arm and oxygen levels are then checked in a lab.

*Oximetry test: It’s much different. You wear a special device on your finger that shines a light through your skin. The amount of light absorbed by the red blood cells that carry oxygen indicates how much oxygen is in your blood.

If the tests show that you don’t have healthy oxygen levels in your blood, you may be put on therapy. Sometimes, it’s just a temporary solution. If your case is more advanced, you might need oxygen therapy 24 hours a day.

Epilogue

COPD is a progressive disease. That means it usually gets worse over time. Oxygen therapy can at least reduce breathlessness. It can also restore some of your quality of life.

If managed well, oxygen therapy can ease your breathing. If you’re willing to travel with a oxygen concentrator, it can allow you to do more and live more normally, even with a serious lung disease.