When you have COPD, or any other lung disease requiring supplemental oxygen, preparing for holiday travel is a little different. We are here to help make your travel as easy as possible this season.
Traveling for the holidays can be joyful and exciting or, if you have a lung disease like COPD, it can require a lot of careful planning. If you use supplemental oxygen, planning for travel can be particularly tricky.
Traveling with compressed or liquid oxygen tanks requires an eye to detail when it comes to planning and comes with some restrictions. These oxygen tanks are not allowed on airplanes, and some cruise ships restrict them, too, so any traveling with this type of oxygen may be restricted to car or train.
Since compressed and liquid oxygen tanks can only hold a finite amount of oxygen, you must ensure that you will have enough oxygen with you so that you do not run out. This may mean bringing several large, unwieldy tanks with you to get you through the trip. Imagine trying to lug multiple oxygen tanks through a crowded train station. For many people, this makes holiday travel more trouble than it’s worth.
Traveling with a portable oxygen concentrator, on the other hand, is an entirely different experience. If you have a portable oxygen concentrator, many of the anxiety-inducing travel complications associated with supplemental oxygen no longer apply. Many portable oxygen concentrators, including all of our Inogen One models, are FAA approved, meaning you can bring them with you on any airplane. You can also bring a portable oxygen concentrator with you in the car, on a train or on a boat.
Because a portable oxygen concentrator pulls from the surrounding atmosphere, purifying and concentrating the air to provide medical oxygen to you, you can enjoy an endless supply of oxygen as long as your unit has power. Additionally, many portable oxygen concentrators are small and easy to carry. Our Inogen One models range between 2.8 and 4.9 pounds, and are quite small, so making your way through an airport or train station is significantly easier than attempting to roll a heavy oxygen tank behind you. If you need to travel with supplemental oxygen, a portable oxygen concentrator is the ideal way to go.
Traveling is always a little stressful, but for someone with COPD who depends on supplemental oxygen, it can be a unique challenge. Holiday travel is particularly busy—therefore, it requires special attention. There are a few tips that can help make traveling with COPD a little less stressful and a lot smoother and safer. Here’s how to get through your holiday travel with supplemental oxygen this year.
Packing your oxygen equipment for travel may seem overwhelming, but it can be easy with the right equipment and accessories. You will need your oxygen delivery device, whether it is a tank or a portable oxygen concentrator, along with tubing and nasal cannulas. If you use an oxygen tank, you will need to bring multiple tanks, as well as finding an oxygen provider in the place you travel to that can refill or replace your tank when your oxygen runs out.
If you use a portable oxygen concentrator, like the Inogen One, just bring your Inogen One unit, an extra battery, your AC charger and DC adapter and you are ready to go. Carry all of your portable oxygen concentrator gear in any of Inogen’s specially designed carry bags, and consider using our lightweight Inogen One G3/G5 Cart if you use the Inogen One G3 or G5 for ease.
Right now, travel is especially complicated with the COVID-19 pandemic. For COPD patients and other high-risk populations, travel is not recommended[1] at this time. However, if you must travel for the holidays, it is recommended that you take the following steps:[1]
Inogen was founded with the goal of making oxygen therapy easier and better for patients. We wanted to improve patients’ freedom, independence and mobility while using oxygen, and with that goal in mind, we developed some of the smallest, easiest to use portable oxygen concentrators on the market. Our products make daily oxygen therapy easier, and traveling with the Inogen One is easy, too. All of our Inogen One models are FAA approved, and fit easily under an airplane or train seat, or at your feet in any vehicle. Because they are so quiet, small and lightweight, our Inogen One models are ideal for travel. Find out more about how we can improve your life on oxygen therapy by contacting us today. With Inogen, you can continue to travel while getting the oxygen you need.
Oxygen. Anytime. Anywhere.
[1] “COVID-19: Holiday Celebrations.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 19 Nov. 2020, www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/holidays.html.