Everything You Need to Know About the Portable Oxygen Concentrator

If you are considering purchasing a Portable Oxygen Concentrator, there are some crucial points that you need to be aware of in order to prevent any unnecessary challenges that could escalate into life threatening situations.

What is a Portable Oxygen Concentrator?
A portable oxygen concentrator - frequently referred to as POC by medical professionals - is a portable device utilized to supply life giving oxygen therapy to COPD patients at considerably greater levels than the levels of ambient air. POCs are comparable to standard home oxygen concentrators, with two major exceptions; they are much smaller in size and they are engineered specifically to provide users with highly desired mobility.

Portable oxygen concentrators allow you the capability to get out and live. You can essentially move about like normal. You can go outside, go to the park, ride in your car, get on the bus, go on train rides and you can even fly on airplanes provided that your portable oxygen concentrator meets FAA requirements.

How Much Does a Portable Oxygen Concentrator Cost?
As with anything, the prices vary with the manufacturer. The good news is; your insurance or Medicare benefits will more likely than not, cover your costs. To get that question answered properly, you need to talk with your primary health care provider. They are best suited for pointing you in the right direction.

Why Use a Portable Oxygen Concentrator?
The answer is simple; oxygen concentrators restrict you to being housebound and essentially tethered to your oxygen for these reasons. The average weight of one of the home units hovers around 30 to 40 pounds, many they are even heavier; meaning they weren't made to be easily moved outside the home.

In addition, they require being plugged into a standard AC outlet. If you do opt to leave your residence with a home unit, you are forced to lug around a heavy tank that needs frequent refills. Anyone who has lugged or is lugging one of these barbells around will tell you that it is an immense inconvenience and a lot of work. As you can see, times have changed and the portable oxygen concentrator trumps the home units by far.

What About Maintenance?
First and foremost, it is strongly recommended that you read your owner's manual in its entirety. This critical step should be a given but most people refrain from doing so. Keep your filters clean as specified by the manufacturer's instructions. Only acquire a unit that comes with an oxygen sensing device. If your current unit doesn't have one, you can either upgrade or have your unit tested for oxygen output at a rate of at least every ninety days.

A sensor automatically monitors the output level of oxygen produced by the concentrator and alerts you when that levels are out of specifications. Probably the biggest issue is keeping your concentrator clean from the build up of dust in the intake. Other than that these units are simple to maintain and will offer years of service.

What About Safety?
In general, to operate properly, all portable oxygen concentrators need good, clean air to start with. That means you should always operate your concentrator in well-ventilated areas. To be clear; don't operate your concentrator around heat sources, fires, flammable materials or smoking environments.

What About Flying?
A frequent question asked by people diagnosed with COPD and in need of oxygen therapy is, "Can I still fly?" The answer is, "Yes!" Not only can you fly, you can fly with confidence. The FAA Federal Aviation Administration has worked to insure that your travel will be safe and enjoyable.

The current FAA guidelines for flying with a portable oxygen concentrator are as follows. You are required to carry sufficient batteries to last one hundred and fifty percent of the estimated length of your flight. You are also be required to have your O2 prescriptions written within ten days of the first leg of your flight.

The best thing to do if you have any questions and to confirm any possible changes in the FAA guidelines or the rules of the airline, is to check with the airline well in advance of your scheduled flight. Never assume! This insures that you will be able to board without any unnecessary delays or hitches.

PLEASE NOTE: not all portable oxygen concentrators are authorized by the FAA. This is a crucial point to be aware of. This is another good reason why it is imperative that when seeking a portable unit, that you go through a qualified healthcare provider and not just some Johnny come lately sales representative.

The FAA has advised all concerned parties that they have currently approved eleven portable oxygen concentrators for traveling. Those units are as follows.

AirSep Freestyle
AirSep Lifestyle
Delphi Medical Systems RS-00400
DeVilbiss Healthcare's iGo
Inogen One
Inogen's Inogen One G2
International Biophysics Corporation's LifeChoice
Invacare XPO2
Oxlife's Independence Oxygen Concentrator
Respironics EverGo
SeQual Eclipse

If you have a unit that is not on this list, unfortunately, you'll have to upgrade in order to fly. If you are considering acquiring a portable oxygen concentrator, make sure that you select a unit approved by the FAA. Overall, the quality of life provided by the portable oxygen concentrator is well worth the time you have taken to research this matter.