Our veteran clinicians share their tips for success for oxygen therapy
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Today's Clinician
Molly Sidelinger
Molly has been with Apria for 10 years, serving our patients in Maine. She has been a Registered Respiratory Therapist for 11 years and recently began her pre-medicine degree to continue her pulmonology path. She's a mom to 5 boys, who keep her incredibly busy. In her off time Molly enjoys spending time with family and friends, cooking, kayaking, fishing, off-road riding, and bowling with her boys.
RESPIRATORY
Q. I need to add a humidifier to my oxygen concentrator but don’t know how, how do I do that?
A. If you have not received a humidifier bottle, call your local branch. They will provide you with the necessary supplies.
If you already have the bottle, place distilled water into the bottle up to the max fill line that will be noted on the side and secure the cap back on the bottle. Your humidifier will come with a tube, connect one end of the tubing to the nipple adaptor on the top of your humidifier bottle, and then connect the other end of the tubing to your oxygen concentrator (you will need to remove your current hose from your concentrator and swap it out with the new hose).
You will get slight bubbling if everything is placed correctly. If you have any question or concern about hooking it up, you can always ask your local branch if anyone is available for a quick telehealth video call to assist you.
Q. I was prescribed NIV by my doctor, what does it do? Is this something I will be on for life?
A. Non-invasive ventilation (NIV), depending on your diagnosis and comorbidities (what else is happening with your health that plays a role in your breathing) is prescribed to help your body buffer its respiratory system. Generally, to be prescribed NIV, one has elevated carbon dioxide levels in their blood or low lung function.
NIV therapy is designed to help adjust lung volumes, pressures, and even help with your respiratory rate, should you need it. NIV devices, in short, support your breathing by providing you with a predetermined amount of pressurized air (prescribed by your physician) when you breathe in and a lower amount of pressurized air, or none at all, when you breathe out. By delivering pressurized air, this will allow you to get more air in to your lungs and help get carbon dioxide out. I tell people that NIV is like gentle physical therapy for their lungs.
NIV is typically started with the intention of having it indefinitely. You can always discuss with your doctor if it is something you’d be able to stop down the road and what goals (and how to achieve those goals) you need to meet. However most patients don't really want to stop NIV once they find their right settings and comfortable mask!
Q. I’ve been using my oxygen at night per my doctor’s orders but I wake up with a headache, why is that?
A. There could be a few reasons behind this. To simplify, it would be worthwhile to see what is happening while you are using your oxygen at night. The first thing we would want to look at is whether your oxygen levels still a little low. Also, if you have any known issues with elevated carbon dioxide. Low oxygen levels can cause morning headaches.
Apria has a test called the end-tidal capnography, that is very user-friendly for 1 night at home. It will check your oxygen levels, carbon dioxide levels, respiratory rate and heart rate. It does require a prescription so please ask your provider about this if you're experiencing morning headaches while on oxygen therapy.
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