An oxygen concentrator is an oxygen supplement device that is like an oxygen tank but more mobile. So if you want to know what is a portable oxygen concentrator, well it’s not much different than an oxygen tank. But using an oxygen concentrator has several benefits than an oxygen tank.
Covid and breathing issues
There are several different lung problems, which cause chronic breathing issues for people. Either that or any other kind of disease that causes breathing problems as a side effect. Chronic illnesses and conditions are tough to get around because they stay with you for a long time. You cannot simply choose to wait for the disease to get cured or rest until you get better. You have no choice but to go about the general business of chores and tasks, and an oxygen concentrator can be helpful in this situation.
One of the best examples of usage of oxygen concentrators could be during the pandemic. As per the reports, many Covid-19 positive patients, whose immune systems weren’t strong enough have acquired chronic breathing issues. Thus, medical practitioners recommended them to use oxygen concentrators so that they not only heal fast, but their regular life is also not hampered.
Oxygen Tank Oxygen Concentrator
| Heavy | Lightweight |
| Not portable | Portable |
| Require monitoring and refill | Do not require monitoring and refill |
| Limited oxygen supply | Unlimited oxygen capacity |
Oxygen Tank vs Oxygen Concentrator
An oxygen tank is an easy-to-find device often used in hospitals for people in in-patient care. It is like any other gas tank, heavily built, airtight, and bigger for long use, all reasons for its immobility. While a portable oxygen concentrator is a lighter, more convenient device to lug around with you in your daily day-to-day activities. This is just the main outlook of how they work and are built differently. There are other several benefits a portable oxygen concentrator has that differentiates it from the traditional oxygen tank that uses limited liquid oxygen or compressed oxygen stored inside it.
Portable Oxygen Concentrator
How does it work?
Unlike a traditional oxygen tank, a portable oxygen concentrator is a modern solution to your oxygen requirements. After the ‘what is a portable oxygen concentrator’ question, comes the question of how it works. All the benefits an oxygen concentrator has are derived from the very way it works. The device is not a refillable storage tank unlike an oxygen tank, it is rather a device that takes oxygen from its environment, purifies it enough for you to be able to breathe it in. It is an exceptionally great solution to the tank that only stores oxygen particles, and has to be monitored so that it can be refilled whenever you run out.
Instead of heavy material that is almost impossible to casually carry around, it is made in extremely mobile appearances. You can easily wear them like backpacks around your shoulder, easy to carry and move around. By eliminating the need for using oxygen directly stored inside, the device makes it entirely easy for you to use it without any worry about refilling when you run out. There’s no need to monitor the progress while you carry it everywhere with you, even in cars and small spaces due to its compact size.
Benefits
Aside from all these obvious and downright clear benefits a portable oxygen concentrator offers, there is more to it than just those benefits due to how it works. Let’s look at the additional benefits this device brings to you:
- Due to the continuous supply of oxygen without any hindrance, the oxygen concentrator allows you to sleep and work better without any breathing-related stress
- You can exercise longer, and as much as you like without running short of breath and worrying about not having your oxygen supply beside you
- Patients using the portable oxygen concentrator have higher survival rates, probably due to its flexibility of use
- Better increased stamina allows for an active lifestyle that you can achieve without having to worry about having any issues with breathing
- The improved oxygen supply improves not only your cognitive abilities, but your overall mood as you do physically better, and it is directly related to your mental well-being.
Where to buy
At last, the question of where one can buy a portable oxygen concentrator is answered as well. If you are a healthcare subscriber your healthcare specialist will have anything you need and require in terms of medical care. Like anything that is as limitless in use and innovative as this portable oxygen concentrator, the tool is expensive to buy, especially if you are looking at a new machine. But there are ways you can find cheaper options, such as used versions, lower battery life, and other accessories that you can choose intentionally to pay less for the device.
If your doctor deems you in need of it medically, you can use your medicare subscriber to pay for it. Certain features go in the criteria for your doctor to put in POC as necessary for you. But if that criteria matches, your medicare has to provide it for you.
In the end, it all matters whether you need a portable oxygen concentrator or not. We hope this helped answer your question of ‘what is a portable oxygen concentrator’. You need to now decide if you do need it, and how are you going to acquire one that you can afford.
