Oxygen therapy facts for kids
Oxygen therapy, also called supplemental oxygen, is when doctors give extra oxygen to someone as a medical treatment. This helps people who don't have enough oxygen in their blood. It can also help with conditions like carbon monoxide toxicity or severe headaches.
Sometimes, people with long-term lung problems, like severe COPD or cystic fibrosis, need oxygen for a long time. Oxygen can be given in different ways, such as through small tubes in the nose (a nasal cannula) or with a face mask. It can even be given inside a special room called a hyperbaric chamber.
Oxygen is super important for our bodies to work properly. But too much oxygen can sometimes be harmful, causing problems like lung damage. High amounts of oxygen also make fires much more dangerous. Doctors aim for a specific oxygen level in the blood, usually between 94% and 96%. For some conditions, like carbon monoxide toxicity, they try to get the oxygen level as high as possible. Normal air has about 21% oxygen, but oxygen therapy can increase this to 100%.
Using oxygen in medicine became common around 1917. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines, which means it's considered a very important medicine. Oxygen therapy is one of the most common treatments given in hospitals today.
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Why Doctors Use Oxygen Therapy
Oxygen is used as a medical treatment for both long-term (chronic) and sudden (acute) health problems. It can be given in hospitals, in ambulances, or even at home.
Helping with Long-Term Conditions
One common reason for giving extra oxygen is for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This condition often affects people who have smoked for a long time. They might need extra oxygen to breathe, especially if their condition gets worse. Oxygen therapy can help them live longer.
Doctors also sometimes prescribe oxygen for people who feel very breathless. This can happen with serious heart or lung problems, advanced cancer, or certain nerve diseases. Even if their blood oxygen levels are normal, oxygen can sometimes make them feel more comfortable.
Helping with Sudden Health Problems
Oxygen is used a lot in emergency medicine. This includes in hospitals and by emergency medical services (like paramedics).
In emergencies, high amounts of oxygen are given for serious situations. These include helping someone who needs resuscitation, has had a major trauma, a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis), major bleeding, shock, or severe hypothermia.
Oxygen is also given if someone's injury or illness causes their oxygen levels to drop too low. In these cases, doctors try to keep oxygen levels between 94% and 96%. For people with COPD, the target is usually 88% to 92%. Giving too much oxygen to very sick people can sometimes be risky. If oxygen levels are above 96%, doctors might stop giving extra oxygen.
For some people, high-concentration oxygen is used at home to stop severe cluster headache attacks. This is because oxygen can help narrow blood vessels.
If someone gets oxygen for a short-term illness, they usually don't need to keep using it after they recover. Doctors will check to see if it's still needed.
Possible Side Effects of Oxygen
While oxygen therapy is very helpful, there are some situations where it needs to be used carefully.
Oxygen should generally not be given to someone with paraquat poisoning unless they are having severe breathing problems. This is because oxygen can make the poison more harmful. Oxygen therapy is also not recommended for people with lung damage from certain cancer treatments.
Giving high levels of oxygen to very young babies can cause a condition called retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). This can lead to blindness because it causes new blood vessels in the eye to grow too much.
Oxygen can also affect blood flow. In rare cases, people receiving oxygen therapy in a hyperbaric chamber might have seizures. However, this is usually not a lasting problem.
Oxygen first aid has been used for years to treat diving injuries. If a diver gets decompression illness, they are often put in a hyperbaric chamber and breathe 100% oxygen. Giving oxygen soon after a diving injury can help a lot.
Oxygen and COPD
Doctors need to be careful when giving oxygen to people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), especially if they tend to hold onto too much carbon dioxide. Giving too much oxygen can sometimes make their carbon dioxide levels even higher, which can be dangerous. This happens because oxygen can change how their lungs breathe.
However, in emergencies, the benefits of giving oxygen usually outweigh these risks. So, emergency oxygen is almost always given when needed.
Fire Risk with Oxygen
Highly concentrated oxygen makes fires burn much faster and hotter. Oxygen itself doesn't burn, but it helps other things burn very easily. This means there's a risk of fire or explosion when concentrated oxygen is near things that can burn.
A famous example was the Apollo 1 spacecraft fire in 1967, where three astronauts died because of a fire in a pure oxygen environment.
Because of these risks, equipment used with concentrated oxygen must be very clean and free of oils or grease. Hospitals often have "no-smoking" rules to keep fire sources away from medical oxygen. Things like candles, cooking, or even smoking can be very dangerous near oxygen.
How Oxygen is Given
Oxygen is given using different devices. First, the oxygen usually goes through a pressure regulator to lower its pressure. Then, a flowmeter controls how much oxygen is given, measured in litres per minute (lpm).
Low-Dose Oxygen Delivery
Many people only need a small increase in the oxygen they breathe. This can be done with several devices:
- A nasal cannula is a thin tube with two small prongs that fit into the nostrils. It gives low amounts of oxygen, usually 2–6 litres per minute (LPM).
- There are also different face masks. A simple face mask is used for 5–8 LPM. Air-entrainment masks, also called Venturi masks, can give a very exact amount of oxygen.
- A partial rebreathing mask has a bag attached and can give more oxygen, usually 40–70% at 5–15 LPM.
- Non-rebreather masks have a reservoir bag and one-way valves. They deliver almost 100% oxygen when used at 8–10 LPM or higher. These are used for serious medical emergencies.
- Demand oxygen delivery systems (DODS) give oxygen only when the person breathes in. This saves oxygen, which is helpful in emergencies.
High-Flow Oxygen Delivery
When someone needs a lot of oxygen, up to 100%, different devices are used:
- The non-rebreather mask is common. It has one-way valves that stop exhaled air from going back into the bag.
- A humidified high-flow nasal cannula can deliver up to 100% oxygen through the nose. This allows the person to talk, eat, and drink while getting oxygen. It's often more comfortable than a face mask.
- In special situations, like on airplanes or during anaesthesia, tight-fitting masks are used.
Positive Pressure Oxygen Delivery
If someone can't breathe on their own, they need help to push oxygen into their lungs.
- A basic pocket mask can be used by a first aider to give artificial respiration with extra oxygen.
- Many paramedics and hospital staff use a bag-valve-mask (BVM). This is a squeezable bag attached to a face mask. The healthcare worker squeezes the bag to push oxygen into the lungs.
- Automated devices called resuscitators can also deliver measured amounts of oxygen. These are similar to the machines used for general anaesthesia during operations.
Oxygen for Delivering Medicine
Oxygen is also used with a nebulizer to deliver liquid medicines as a fine mist into the lungs. The oxygen pushes the medicine into tiny droplets that the person can breathe in. This is a common way to give medicines for breathing problems.
Special Oxygen Masks with Filters
Some oxygen masks have filters to stop exhaled air from spreading germs. These masks are designed to be closed, so very little air from the room gets in, and very little exhaled air gets out. This helps prevent the spread of infections, especially in hospitals.
These filtered masks also deliver higher concentrations of oxygen, sometimes close to 99%. They also stop nebulized medicines from escaping into the air, protecting healthcare staff.
Oxygen on Airplanes
In the United States, airlines have rules about oxygen devices on planes. Some airlines provide oxygen cylinders for a fee. Others allow passengers to bring approved portable oxygen concentrators. Passengers always need to check with their airline beforehand and notify them about their equipment.
Images for kids
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Non-rebreather mask
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Nasal cannula
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Oxygen piping and regulator with flow meter, for oxygen therapy, mounted in an ambulance
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Pin-indexed Oxygen Regulator for portable D-Cylinder, usually carried in an ambulance's resuscitation kit
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Pin index medical oxygen cylinder valve
See also
In Spanish: Oxigenoterapia para niños
