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 pose challenges.
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,[1] and some cruise ships restrict them,[2] 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.[3] Imagine trying to lug multiple oxygen tanks through a crowded train station. For some 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. Many portable oxygen concentrators (POCs), including all of our Inogen One models, meet FAA acceptance criteria for POCs used onboard aircraft, 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[4] or on a boat.[2]
Portable oxygen concentrators provide a safe source of oxygen-enriched air to provide medical oxygen as prescribed by a physician. Whether operating from battery power or plugged in, portable oxygen concentrators continue to produce oxygen as long as the unit has power.[5] Additionally, many portable oxygen concentrators are lightweight and easy to carry.
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Traveling is always a little stressful, but for someone with COPD who depends on supplemental oxygen; it can create a unique challenge. Holiday travel is particularly busy—therefore, it requires special attention. There are a few tips that may help you manage your holiday travel with supplemental oxygen this year.
Many people with COPD and other respiratory diseases or illnesses have to use both oxygen concentrators and nebulizers in the management of their disease. However, if these medical devices have been prescribed to you for the first time, you might not understand the difference between the two. Learn the difference between an oxygen concentrator and a nebulizer, as well as how each device can help you maintain your respiratory health.
Bronchitis is a respiratory illness that causes inflammation of the tubes that carry air to the lungs—also known as the airways or bronchial tubes. When the airways become irritated, swollen and inflamed, less air is able to travel to and from the lungs and mucus begins to form in them. This generally causes an irritating cough that may be accompanied by shortness of breath, more mucus production and other bothersome symptoms.[1] There are two types of bronchitis: acute and chronic; the symptoms can be quite different for acute vs. chronic bronchitis. Read on to take a look at how these types of bronchitis differ.[1]
One of the most frequently asked questions about lung disease is also one of the most baffling: Why do people with COPD experience shortness of breath despite a normal oxygen level reading? What is normal oxygen saturation? Low oxygen saturation and a higher heart rate are common in COPD patients, so why would a person with an oxygen level of 95% still experience breathlessness? Because COPD seldom exists in a vacuum, we must look beyond the lungs to find the answer.
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