Portable Oxygen Concentrator POC
When someone oxygen dependent wants to fly it takes an extraordinary amount of planning. Being oxygen dependent means being attached to a supply of oxygen wherever you go 24hrs. A day, 7 days a week.
For starters, someone who is flying with oxygen must get a prescription from their physician. They must arrange with their oxygen provider to have tanks available at their destination. They must make airline reservations with a carrier that provides oxygen tanks on board - not all do - and notify the airline 48 hrs in advance that they need oxygen service. For a game plan. Oxygen dependent travelers can't bring their own oxygen tanks on board an airplane. And oxygen dependent travelers are charged an additional fee for each leg of the trip.
It is estimated that 1.6 million Americans are oxygen dependent. Last year only 5 percent of the oxygen dependent population traveled by air, primarily due the hurdles and lack of access to oxygen.
The accessibility hurdle is slowly being addressed. Last year the Federal Aviation Administration made air travel a bit easier for those who need oxygen therapy. The FAA approved a new oxygen serving device called a Portable Oxygen Concentrator (POC) for use on airplanes. The special regulation became effective last august, but at this point not all airlines accept the portable oxygen concentrator or POCs. As of this writing, March 2007, only two brands of portable oxygen concentrators or POCs have been approved by the FAA: Inogen One and AirSep Lifestyle.
The cost of both portable oxygen concentrators are covered by Medicare and most private insurers. An Inogen One system costs about $5,500. AirSep Lifestyle retails for $4,995, is slightly larger than the Inogen One, but its battery life is only 50 minutes. A newer AirSep portable oxygen concentrator model with a 2.5hr. battery life will be available in the near future and will sell for about $5,495. The Portable Oxygen Concentrator AirSep can also be rented through Air Systems Medical, 1-800-659-5748.
"I think the portable oxygen concentrator is the wave of the future," states Dr. Allen Parmet, an occupational and aerospace physician based in Kansas City, Mo., who is a former U.S. Air force flight surgeon and aerospace professor and the last medical director of Trans World Airlines. He recommends portable oxygen concentrators in his private practice. "I don't have any patients who are on oxygen bottles now."
Parmet said the Air Force has been using portable oxygen concentrators for years on such planes as the Harrier jet and B-1 bomber. Portable oxygen concentrators, which supplement home oxygen concentrators, which can be nearly 30 inches tall, weigh 50 pounds and generate a lot of heat and noise. What's new for oxygen users are the state-of-the art compact portable oxygen concentrators.
Portable oxygen concentrators are allowed onboard planes because they do not contain oxygen or gases; they produce 90 percent pure oxygen to the user by filtering out nitrogen from the air electronically. The portable oxygen concentrators can be plugged into a wall outlet, an auto's cigarette lighter or operate from a rechargeable lithium-ion battery like those used in laptop computers (so you'd need extra batteries for long flights).
One of the FAA approved portable oxygen concentrators is the AirSep LifeStyle, which weighs 9.75pounds, stands 5.5 inches tall, 7.25 inches wide and 16.31 inches long. On a plane, the AirSep LifeStyle portable oxygen concentrator fits under the seat in front of the passenger and a clear plastic tube carries oxygen from the portable oxygen concentrator to a nasal canula.
Medical oxygen cylinders, which generally weigh 14 to 15 pounds, cannot be used in planes because they are classified as a hazardous material, Oxygen is a gas.
One patient, James Goolsby, 75, from Griffin, Ga., said his portable oxygen concentrator has "given me a life I thought I'd never experience again."A Disney world junkie (he and his wife have been there 76 times), Goolsby said he'd have to load as many as 10 oxygen tanks in the trunk of his car to get him through a visit. "Now I need only the portable oxygen concentrator and a few extra batteries."
Betsy Blake, 52, a former sales executive from Opelika, Ala., said her travel was curbed by oxygen dependency and a bout of pneumonia, not to mention the worry of not having oxygen tanks delivered to various hotels at the right time. By replacing her home oxygen concentrator, which she said looked like R2-D2, the Portable Oxygen Concentrator has given her new freedom, noting that she went to the Holy Land in January and is going to Honduras to do volunteer work at an orphanage in July.
AirSep LifeStyle Portable Oxygen Concentrator (POC) is very low maintenance just cleaning the filters.
For oxygen dependent folks who haven't entered the travel fray - it's often a struggle to find an airline reservations agent who's familiar with policy - you must know and do certain things, whether you need oxygen services aboard or use the new portable oxygen concentrator, POC:
- You must get a letter from your doctor that prescribes the proper oxygen flow settings for the portable oxygen concentrator and whatever else the airline needs to know about your condition and medical equipment needs.
- If you use oxygen cylinders, you must make arrangements with your oxygen provider to have oxygen tanks at the right place and time.
- Be aware that neither the Air Carrier Access Act nor the Americans with Disabilities Act require airlines to provide oxygen service, or even to allow you to board with a portable oxygen concentrator. For example, regional jets such as American Eagle and United Express do no provide oxygen service, nor do they allow portable oxygen concentrators at this time. Southwest Airlines does not provide oxygen service, but does permit portable oxygen concentrators. United Airlines provides oxygen service, but does not allow portable oxygen concentrators - while many other major carriers do. "At this time, we are not accepting customer furnished portable oxygen concentrator devices," a United spokeswoman said. "We do allow customers to bring their own portable oxygen concentrators as checked baggage." It is imperative to phone your travel agent or airline or check airline web sites to determine their medical oxygen policies.
- Be aware that the Transportation Security Administration must screen all medical oxygen equipment before you're permitted into the sterile area. You can find TSA's policy at tsa.gov/public click on travelers and consumers.
Cruise lines have their own policies for passengers who require medical oxygen. It's best to start making arrangements when you make your reservations.
There's no doubt that more and more oxygen dependent people will be traveling with portable oxygen concentrators, the wave of the future. It's all about the ease of access and less hassles, Portable Oxygen Concentrators.
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