Oxygen therapy is a treatment that provides you with extra oxygen to breathe in. It is also called supplemental oxygen. It is only available through a prescription from your health care provider. You may get it in the hospital, another medical setting, or at home. Some people only need it for a short period of time. Others will need long-term oxygen therapy.

You may need oxygen therapy if you have a condition that causes low blood oxygen, such as:

• COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
• Pneumonia
• COVID-19
• A severe asthma attack
• Late-stage heart failure
• Cystic fibrosis
• Sleep apnea

Your doctor will refer you to a specialist clinic if they think your symptoms can be helped by home oxygen therapy.

To check the amount of oxygen in your blood, you may have a blood test and an oxygen sensor may be attached to your finger or earlobe (a pulse oximetry test).

You may also be asked to breathe into a device that checks how well your lungs are working. This test is called spirometry.

The main ways of using home oxygen therapy are through:

• short tubes placed in your nostrils – this is called a nasal cannula
• a mask over your nose and mouth

Some people may need a tube inserted into an opening made in the front of their neck (a tracheostomy) or a tube placed in their mouth and down their windpipe.

 

There are 3 types of devices that can be used to give you oxygen:

• an oxygen concentrator
• large oxygen cylinders
• portable cylinders

An engineer will install the equipment and explain how to use it safely.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/home-oxygen-treatment/