For those of you who have oxygen cylinders at home, it is important to know how to store this tool properly. Because the storage of oxygen cylinders in any place can pose a danger. One of them is the explosion of oxygen cylinders that can trigger a fire.
Oxygen cylinders, especially portable ones, can indeed be used as breathing aids for people with certain diseases who are undergoing treatment at home, such as asthma, COVID-19, or others. sleep apnea.
This oxygen cylinder also has several advantages. Besides being more practical to use than an oxygen concentrator in the form of a machine, its small size makes it easy to carry when the patient is forced to travel.
Who Needs Oxygen Cylinders?
There are several conditions that require a person to get oxygen therapy directly from a special container, such as an oxygen cylinder. Examples are people who are exposed to COVID-19 with severe symptoms or COVID-19 patients who experience happy hypoxia.
Patients with severe COVID-19 symptoms generally experience shortness of breath and a drop in oxygen saturation below 90–95%. This condition must be addressed immediately by giving Corona drugs, infusion therapy, to oxygen therapy before it has the potential to cause serious complications.
Apart from COVID-19, there are also several other medical conditions that require the availability of oxygen cylinders, including:
- Asthma that often recurs and has severe symptoms
- Sleep apnea
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Heart failure
- cystic fibrosis
- Coma
- stroke
- Breathing failure
Although it can be done at home, the use of oxygen cylinders itself must still receive instructions and evaluation from medical personnel. It is important to pay attention to avoid unwanted things, such as an oxygen cylinder explosion.
Safety and Security Using Oxygen Cylinders
Even though having an oxygen cylinder in your home can save lives, that doesn't mean it's not without risks. The potential for explosion to fire is still one of the common risks due to lack of attention when storing oxygen cylinders.
Therefore, so that the existence of this tool does not cause harmful effects and can be used safely and appropriately, there are some tips that can be done when you store oxygen cylinders at home, namely:
- Keep oxygen cylinders away from places that give off fire and heat. The safe distance to place the oxygen cylinder from the ignition source is about 1.5–3 meters.
- Keep your distance and keep the oxygen cylinder away from cables or electrically charged equipment, especially electric tools that can start a fire.
- Keep liquids and other flammable objects away from oxygen cylinders, such as fuel and alcohol.
- Do not clean the oxygen cylinder with flammable liquids, such as alcohol, but use clean water.
- Make sure everyone in the house knows and follows the rules for not starting fires, such as smoking or using burnt aromatherapy, where you store oxygen cylinders.
- Try not to lay the oxygen cylinder just like that, so that this tool is not ejected when a leak occurs.
- Do not attempt to repair any damage to the oxygen cylinder yourself. It's safer to call a technician from the company where you bought the oxygen cylinder.
When you want to use an oxygen cylinder, you must make sure that the connection between the hose and the tube does not leak. After that, you also have to make sure that the oxygen in the cylinder is functioning properly.
Likewise, if oxygen cylinders are used for children, immediately consult a doctor if during use of oxygen cylinders there are several symptoms, such as:
- Hard to breathe
- When you breathe, the nostrils appear to widen
- Additional sounds when breathing, such as snoring, or wheezing
- Loss of appetite
- Lips, gums, or eyelids appear dark or bluish
- Easily angry and hard to sleep
- The body looks lethargic and weak
Even though you have undergone oxygen therapy through an oxygen tube at home, it doesn't mean you don't need the help of medical personnel, yes. You still need to regularly seek treatment and see a doctor so that the disease you are suffering from can be treated properly.
If you still have questions about tips for storing oxygen cylinders at home, you can also ask your doctor.
TAG: shortness of breath, hypoxia