Which groups of people are suitable for oxygen inhalation?
The State Food and Drug Administration once issued a reminder: Do not abuse oxygen generators. Under what circumstances is oxygen inhalation actually needed? How to correctly choose oxygen inhalation products? How to inhale oxygen reasonably and many other issues all need to be viewed rationally.
Under normal circumstances, healthy people do not need oxygen inhalation. However, once there are changes in the external oxygen environment, such as oxygen deficiency at high altitudes, or internal changes in the body, such as diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), various deteriorating consequences due to oxygen deficiency may occur. As a treatment method that has been clinically recognized, oxygen therapy can increase the arterial partial pressure of oxygen and the level of oxygen saturation. Therefore, it has become an increasingly favored treatment method. Especially in recent years, with the improvement of people's living standards and healthcare awareness, home oxygen therapy has become a trend.
So, which diseases exactly need to receive oxygen therapy, and what precautions should be taken respectively? Let's introduce them one by one below.
I. Fetal distress in utero
When a fetus has signs of oxygen deficiency in the uterus that endangers the health and life of the fetus, it is called fetal distress in utero. After the disease occurs, it will first lead to changes in the fetal heart rate. In severe cases, it may lead to various acute and chronic symptoms, endangering the health and life safety of pregnant women and fetuses.
So, how can pregnant women detect abnormal fetal heart rate and the situation of fetal oxygen deficiency in the uterus?
Pregnant women can conduct self-monitoring. Method: Pregnant women take a sitting or lying position, concentrate their attention, put paper and pen beside them for recording, and press their abdomen by hand to feel the fetus's movements. From the start of fetal movement to its stop is one fetal movement. Count three times a day, once in the morning, noon, and evening, one hour each time, with relatively fixed times. The sum of fetal movements in three hours is multiplied by 4 to obtain the number of fetal movements in 12 hours. If the average number of fetal movements in one hour is less than 3 times, and the number of fetal movements in 12 hours is less than 10 times, or the number of fetal movements increases or decreases by more than 50% compared with previous days, it indicates that there may be oxygen deficiency in the uterus. Immediate medical treatment is needed and oxygen inhalation should be carried out in time.
Oxygen therapy can improve intrauterine oxygen deficiency caused by various reasons, increase the blood oxygen content of the mother, and improve the oxygen environment for fetal growth and development through the transmission of placental blood flow to avoid unexpected situations.
II. Altitude sickness
Because the human body suddenly enters a low-pressure and low-oxygen environment from a normal oxygen environment, various pathological reactions will occur in the body. This is very common in high-altitude areas. Whether it is acute altitude sickness that lasts for about a week or chronic altitude sickness that lasts for up to three months, it will bring various morbid feelings to those with altitude sickness and affect normal life.
In this case, oxygen inhalation can significantly reduce the symptoms of altitude sickness. According to relevant investigations, acute altitude sickness will have obvious symptom relief after receiving oxygen inhalation treatment. For chronic altitude sickness, after continuous oxygen inhalation at night, various symptoms will also be relieved.
III. Respiratory diseases
This is also currently a key area for oxygen therapy. Diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema, acute and chronic tracheobronchitis, chronic bronchitis, bronchial asthma, bronchiectasis, respiratory failure, sleep apnea syndrome, chronic pulmonary heart disease, pulmonary embolism, pleurisy, etc. all belong to respiratory diseases. The effect of oxygen therapy is directly related to the quality of life of patients with respiratory diseases.
Such patients not only need oxygen inhalation when respiratory diseases occur, but also should insist on oxygen inhalation even during the remission period of the disease, so as to improve the blood oxygen content in the body and improve the patient's tolerance to the disease by changing the oxygen environment in the body. Taking patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as an example, patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who adhere to long-term oxygen therapy can greatly increase the survival rate. (As shown in the following picture: Comparison of comprehensive survival rates of the NoTT experiment and the MRC experiment)
IV. Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases
Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases are prone to insufficient blood supply to the heart and brain tissue. Insufficient blood supply will directly lead to a decrease in the blood oxygen content in the body. Some patients will experience severe oxygen deficiency when the disease occurs, which will lead to a sharp aggravation of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
Receiving oxygen therapy can not only provide the best oxygen environment for patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, but also can relieve the pain of patients when the disease occurs and improve the patient's level of receiving treatment when the disease is in a stable period, reduce disease attacks and reduce the probability of readmission.
In addition to the above patients, people who consume a lot of mental energy daily and elderly people in poor health also need oxygen inhalation as appropriate to ensure the normal working state of the brain and avoid uncomfortable symptoms caused by brain oxygen deficiency.
