Therapeutic Benefits of Home Oxygen Therapy for Children

There are many reasons a child or infant may require home oxygen therapy services. For most children, the use of home oxygen equipment is commonly associated with an acute respiratory infection. In rare cases, however, some children may require oxygen therapy for a long term health complication.

Oxygen therapy provides a method by which your child's body is supplied with the appropriate amount of ventilation and oxygenation in the tissues. Without proper ventilation and oxygen levels, children may suffer from adverse complications including that associated with hypoxia. In a more mild reaction to loss of oxygen concentrations, children and infants may suffer from a condition known as hypoxemia.

In children who suffer from a mild to moderate case of hypoxemia, the symptoms are quite evident. Loss of this oxygen saturation can lead to symptoms of irritability, headache pain and even extreme restlessness. When hypoxemia is associated with illness, this degree of restlessness may lead to longer recovery periods. With prolonged hypoxemia, especially that below 92% saturation, your child may even be at risk for abnormal growth and development.

If your child's pediatrician has prescribed the use of home oxygen therapy in response to your child's illness, it is important to know why this use of home therapy has been prescribed. In addition to managing the application and use of home oxygen therapy, you will also need to know how to manage the secondary use of equipment and management of symptoms. For example, because home oxygen is a treatment using cold, dry gas, your child will also require humidification. Without proper humidification, your child may experience adverse side effects simply related to the use of home oxygen therapy. Symptoms or adverse reactions to home oxygen therapy may include pain, irritation within the nasal cavity, and even abnormal nasal discharge. While older children tend to manage home oxygen therapy without the need for humidification, infants and very young children may require a humidifier in conjunction with home oxygen treatment.

As your child recovers from illness, the use of home oxygen therapy will decrease. In most cases, the sudden removal of oxygen supplementation can not occur. Instead, your child's pediatrician will need to wean your child from use by titrating the dose of oxygen until, ultimately, your child has normal oxygen gas saturation levels and is sustaining those levels without supplementation.

In any complication that involves respiratory complications in infants and children, it is important to understand what the treatment options are. In many cases, when your child's blood gas levels fall too low, the pediatrician will recommend the use of home oxygen therapy. Understanding why oxygen therapy is necessary, and what humidification supplements are needed, will ensure your child recovers more effectively from illness.