Whats a safe smoking distance from an Oxygen Concentrator?

Do you think the oxygen stays in the tube after the machine gets turned off?

Basically, I'll turn the machine off at around 9 or 10am. Everyone gets home at around 6 or so and they smoke at around 8 or 9. Has the machine been off for a sufficient amount of time then so I don't have to worry about being walking oxygen?

FishOil wrote:Do you think the oxygen stays in the tube after the machine gets turned off?

Basically, I'll turn the machine off at around 9 or 10am. Everyone gets home at around 6 or so and they smoke at around 8 or 9. Has the machine been off for a sufficient amount of time then so I don't have to worry about being walking oxygen?

Who cares, Oxygen isn't explosive and it doesn't burn, worry about the fools smoking in your airspace. If not close your door and move a dresser in front of it so they can't get in. Jim

FishOil wrote:Do you think the oxygen stays in the tube after the machine gets turned off?

Basically, I'll turn the machine off at around 9 or 10am. Everyone gets home at around 6 or so and they smoke at around 8 or 9. Has the machine been off for a sufficient amount of time then so I don't have to worry about being walking oxygen?

Unless someone sticks a cigarette into the tube, don't worry about the O2 left in the tube.

Once you turn the O2 concentrator off for a few minutes, you and your clothing should drop to the same flammability level as a normal human.

Do you have your own room you can keep the cigarettes out of 24/7?

In terms of flaming death, I'd be happy enough with:

1) No smoking in the O2 room ever.
2) The smokers can smoke in the next room even if the concentrator is on. I'd keep the concentrator, CPAP, and tubing a few feet from the door. If they've been smoking, keep them out of the room until the cigarette has been out for 10 minutes or the concentrator has been off for 10 minutes.
3) When you turn the concentrator off and disconnect from the CPAP, stay in the room for a minute or two, if practical. Stay away from fire or cigarettes for 10 minutes. If you have to leave the room early, just be extra careful to stay away from fire for a few minutes.
4) After 10 minutes, smoke a cigarette yourself, juggle flaming torches, etc. to your heart's content. I don't think you're in any more risk than the rest of the population in terms off flaming death.

There's nothing magical about 10 minutes. The risk should drop pretty quickly, but the fire department document said 10 minutes, so I'll assume you're pretty much safe by that time. I'd expect you to be pretty safe at a minute or two, and keep becoming less flammable over time.

Ask your doctor why he prescribed oxygen. Do you have a lot of trouble breathing or some other kind of problems? Did you have a really bad sleep study? Is he some kind of specialist?

archangle wrote:

GumbyCT wrote:In 0% oxygen, cigarettes, charcoal, or cotton clothing don't burn.
In 20% oxygen, cigarettes, charcoal, or cotton clothing burn slowly or may even go out.
In 100% oxygen, cigarettes burn like road flares. Charcoal goes off like fireworks. Cotton clothing burns furiously. Vaseline may spontaneously ignite.

Add enough oxygen, and human flesh will actually catch fire. I've seen claims for this at anywhere from 25% to 40% at one atmosphere. I'm honestly not sure how much O2 it takes, and don't intend to experiment. It seems doubtful this is going to be an issue with the equipment you have, but if I had an oxygen concentrator, I'd want someone competent to explain the risks and safety protocols to me. I'd also want to know why I needed supplemental oxygen.

archangle wrote:

FishOil wrote:Do you think the oxygen stays in the tube after the machine gets turned off?

Basically, I'll turn the machine off at around 9 or 10am. Everyone gets home at around 6 or so and they smoke at around 8 or 9. Has the machine been off for a sufficient amount of time then so I don't have to worry about being walking oxygen?

Unless someone sticks a cigarette into the tube, don't worry about the O2 left in the tube.

Once you turn the O2 concentrator off for a few minutes, you and your clothing should drop to the same flammability level as a normal human.

Do you have your own room you can keep the cigarettes out of 24/7?

In terms of flaming death, I'd be happy enough with:

1) No smoking in the O2 room ever.
2) The smokers can smoke in the next room even if the concentrator is on. I'd keep the concentrator, CPAP, and tubing a few feet from the door. If they've been smoking, keep them out of the room until the cigarette has been out for 10 minutes or the concentrator has been off for 10 minutes.
3) When you turn the concentrator off and disconnect from the CPAP, stay in the room for a minute or two, if practical. Stay away from fire or cigarettes for 10 minutes. If you have to leave the room early, just be extra careful to stay away from fire for a few minutes.
4) After 10 minutes, smoke a cigarette yourself, juggle flaming torches, etc. to your heart's content. I don't think you're in any more risk than the rest of the population in terms off flaming death.

There's nothing magical about 10 minutes. The risk should drop pretty quickly, but the fire department document said 10 minutes, so I'll assume you're pretty much safe by that time. I'd expect you to be pretty safe at a minute or two, and keep becoming less flammable over time.

Ask your doctor why he prescribed oxygen. Do you have a lot of trouble breathing or some other kind of problems? Did you have a really bad sleep study? Is he some kind of specialist?

Thanks this is what I wanted to know. Yes I went to a sleep specialist. He sent me to get 2 sleep studies. One to diagnose, one to try cpap. I usually have trouble falling asleep at home, so I had trouble at the study too. The 2nd time when they put a mask on me, I had trouble breathing with it on. I mentioned this in my other thread. I felt like I couldn't take a deep breathe so it was hard to fall asleep. The technician told me its probably just anxiety, he kept trying different pressures and oxygen levels until he found one that KIND of made me feel better. Which is why I have BiPap I guess, I could breathe easier with that, not perfect still though.

When I last saw my doctor, he told me that I was definitely a hard patient to work with, and that it was gonna take longer to get my machine. He said he had hoped I could have taken one more study but that my insurance wouldn't cover it. So a couple of weeks later I got my BiPap and Oxygen. Thats all I know. Why is everybody so surprised I was given oxygen? Is that not common or something?

FishOil wrote: Thanks this is what I wanted to know. Yes I went to a sleep specialist. He sent me to get 2 sleep studies. One to diagnose, one to try cpap. I usually have trouble falling asleep at home, so I had trouble at the study too. The 2nd time when they put a mask on me, I had trouble breathing with it on. I mentioned this in my other thread. I felt like I couldn't take a deep breathe so it was hard to fall asleep. The technician told me its probably just anxiety, he kept trying different pressures and oxygen levels until he found one that KIND of made me feel better. Which is why I have BiPap I guess, I could breathe easier with that, not perfect still though.

When I last saw my doctor, he told me that I was definitely a hard patient to work with, and that it was gonna take longer to get my machine. He said he had hoped I could have taken one more study but that my insurance wouldn't cover it. So a couple of weeks later I got my BiPap and Oxygen. Thats all I know. Why is everybody so surprised I was given oxygen? Is that not common or something?

As I said before, I'm not a qualified expert on oxygen concentrators. Just a well edumocated science type. That's what I'd do if I had been put on an oxygen concentrator without much training from the provider who should have instructed me.

I'll also comment that I read about how the Apollo 1 astronauts burned to death in their capsule with 100% O2 when I was a young kid and that left me a little twitchy about careless oxygen use.

"Why is everybody so surprised I was given oxygen? Is that not common or something?"

It seems odd for a 24 year old to need BiPap plus oxygen unless there's some more serious underlying medical condition. Especially if it's your first CPAP. If we're getting too personal, no problem, but the more we know, the better our advice. Plus, we're a curious bunch, to be honest.

There's also a LOT of bad sleep medicine out there. It wouldn't surprise me if someone simply screwed up and put someone on oxygen who didn't need it because they didn't know what they were doing. Or you got someone else's prescription. It sounds like you probably did actually get treatment intended for you.

What kind of problems were you having before you got into BiPap plus oxygen?

By the way, your particular BiPap machine is a good one that will give your doctor a lot of good info to track how well your therapy is doing and adjust it.

How are you adapting to sleeping with the machine?

archangle wrote: It seems odd for a 24 year old to need BiPap plus oxygen unless there's some more serious underlying medical condition. Especially if it's your first CPAP. If we're getting too personal, no problem, but the more we know, the better our advice. Plus, we're a curious bunch, to be honest.

What kind of problems were you having before you got into BiPap plus oxygen?

By the way, your particular BiPap machine is a good one that will give your doctor a lot of good info to track how well your therapy is doing and adjust it.

How are you adapting to sleeping with the machine?

I made another thread indicating the problems I've had so far. viewtopic/t67226/Problems-with-my-BiPap ... dvice.html

Before getting my BiPap and oxygen, I slept for like 12-13 hours if nothing woke me up, and I'd be tired all day otherwise. Of course, nothing much has changed yet, but I wrote about it in that thread. Should I copy and paste that here?

It's not getting too personal, I want all the advice and information I can get.

When I last saw my doctor, he told me that I was definitely a hard patient to work with, and that it was gonna take longer to get my machine. He said he had hoped I could have taken one more study but that my insurance wouldn't cover it. So a couple of weeks later I got my BiPap and Oxygen. Thats all I know. Why is everybody so surprised I was given oxygen? Is that not common or something?

People are not so much surprised as currious since the additional Oxygen is not usully seen in a majority of cpap/bipap setups.

When you see your sleep Dr again. something you might check would be if it was Obstructive, or Central events you were having. Obstructive Sleep Apnea is treated with CPAP, or BiPap's a lot without the addition of other things like additional oxygen. However sometimes you get the wierd crap. At your Age my guess is that you have something going on with Central Sleep Apnea or other crap. My own experance was failing on CPAP, Bi-Pap, and a ASV unit over the course of 3 sleep studies. In the End my Sleep Dr put me on a Bi-Pap in addition to a oxygen concentrator. This was due to the fact that I did just as well on a Bi-Pap as a ASV unit. Yet the ASV cost a lot more. In either case I would need to additional Oxygen to keep my SPO above 92.

Of course I do have Asthma, and almost all of my events are Central in nature. Currently I run a AHI of 11-16 and a AI of 2-6 everynight while being treated.

If you have not done so, it might be a good idea to request a copy of your sleep study's and start checking your nightly AHI and AI.

FishOil wrote:When I last saw my doctor, he told me that I was definitely a hard patient to work with, and that it was gonna take longer to get my machine. He said he had hoped I could have taken one more study but that my insurance wouldn't cover it. So a couple of weeks later I got my BiPap and Oxygen. Thats all I know. Why is everybody so surprised I was given oxygen? Is that not common or something?

I'm not surprised you were given oxygen. I am surprised that your doctor didn't tell you about it or explain why.

I am very surprised that no one talked to you about safety. Maybe the machine you got isn't capable of producing high enough concentrations to be dangerous, but I wouldn't count on it.

Then again, maybe I shouldn't be surprised. Many people have CPAP equipment dumped on them and don't get the education they need to make it work. This contributes to the 50% failure rate, and untreated OSA is a life threatening condition. So I suppose the only differences between leaving someone with a plain CPAP machine and mask they don't know to use and doing the same with an oxygen concentrator are how long it takes you to die and whether or not you take your house with you when you go.

I would get on the phone with the doctor immediately and ask why you were put on oxygen? What if there was a mix up with your order and you're not even supposed to be on oxygen?! Ask questions!!

Fishoil, I'd ask the doctor to order an overnight recording pulse oximeter test for you to do one night at home...using the bipap machine and NO supplemental O2. For one night.

For that overnight test at home to be of any value, you'd have to use your bipap all night. Whether you're awake or asleep, keep the mask on and the bipap going, while doing the overnight pulse oxi test. If you're lucky, the results might show that the bipap therapy alone keeps your O2 up just fine, without adding supplemental O2. It would certainly be simpler for you if the bilevel machine alone can take care of you fine.

Anecdote: A lady I know here in town had a sleep study. Two night study - first night all diagnostic. Her O2 was dropping down into the mid forties. They started her on O2 during the study. No CPAP (since this was an all night diagnostic study only), just the O2. She was diagnosed with OSA. She was sent home with a doctor's Rx for supplemental O2 at night. The DME brought the O2 concentrator to her home the very next day and she started using O2 at night.

A week later she returned for the second night of the sleep study - the titration night when CPAP would be used and a pressure would be found to prevent apneas/hypopneas. They continued using the supplemental O2 during her titration study. Found that she needed a CPAP pressure of 16 to prevent her apneas. They never tried just the CPAP with no supplemental O2. After all, the doctor had already prescribed O2 for her from the initial sleep study, and the doctor did not order O2 to not be used during the titration night. So, she gets titrated with the supplemental O2 going, too, right from the get-go throughout the titration.

Now when she went home, her prescription was for CPAP @ 16 cm H2O and was to continue the supplemental O2.

Lady has a tiny little bedroom and now she had a honking big O2 concentrator in there, along with a CPAP machine.

I know her well, so I asked her if she wanted to try a one night experiment. She was game. She came over to my house to spend one night... to sleep one night, using her CPAP machine without any additional O2, while wearing a recording pulse oximeter I had. Using just her CPAP machine, and with no supplemental O2, her SpO2 never dropped below 94 or 95 during the entire night.

I suggested she ask her doctor to order an "official" overnight recording pulse oxi test, which she did ask for. Most DMEs will provide a one night pulse oxi test at the patient's home at no charge if a doctor orders it. Got same result we got at my house ...using just her CPAP and no supplemental O2, her O2 stayed up fine. She had the DME pick up the unnecessary O2 concentrator, and has done great ever since, using just her CPAP.

Fishoil, you may really need supplemental O2 at night in addition to your bipap. Especially while you're still trying to get your bipap therapy optimized. When you do finally get comfortable with bipap and are able to use it effectively all night, you might want to ask for an overnight recording pulse oxi test at home ... just to see if bipap alone keeps your O2 up. Would make life simpler if it does.

No need to copy that other thread. It sounds like it should stay separate. We can discuss that over there, and stick to O2 in this thread.

I'm going to take a stab in the dark and say trying O2 is a good idea for you. If your sleep is that bad, it may make sense to try everything at first. Especially if your insurance approved and the copay isn't killing you.

If the doctor is finding it hard to find the right CPAP/Bilevel treatment for you, it may help to add oxygen. Maybe with experience, your doctor can get the correct CPAP setting and you won't need the O2 later. Maybe you really need it and will need it for the rest of your life.

archangle wrote:

GumbyCT wrote: This extremely EXTREME. LMAO

As previously mentioned O2 is not itself flammable or how could you have a pilot light or even light a match? After all the room is FULL of O2, is it not?

O2 aids in combustion but is not explosive.

I have seen many people smoking while wearing their nasal canula with the O2 ON. Not smart, I agree, but please let's avoid pure panic.

It's a question of oxygen concentration.

In 0% oxygen, cigarettes, charcoal, or cotton clothing don't burn.
In 20% oxygen, cigarettes, charcoal, or cotton clothing burn slowly or may even go out.
In 100% oxygen, cigarettes burn like road flares. Charcoal goes off like fireworks. Cotton clothing burns furiously. Vaseline may spontaneously ignite.

No, oxygen itself doesn't burn. It can turn barely flammable substances into highly flammable items. Or even turn things that won't burn at normal oxygen levels into highly flammable substances.

Look again at the video of what liquid oxygen does to a cigarette. Normal cigarette, excess oxygen. (Yes, LOX is more concentrated than 100% atmospheric oxygen, but the difference is just the oxygen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t48QWjtoVfw

You tickle the daylights outta me. Is he using Liquid Oxygen or Medical O2? You need to get some....

sleep.

My DME inspects my room to make sure "I" have a fire extinguisher (and I just have room air, the normal kind not the kind you see on youtube) but you have not once mentioned this to FO.

FO I would say that until you are properly trained you should be sleeping in a fire suit, at the very least. Or don't close your eyes.

I can't tell if thats sarcasm Gumby. BTW, theyve smoked a good 15 feet away in the next room a few times and nothing bad has happened. Never while its on though, always hours and hours after its been turned off.

double post...