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You are in: Home > Chest Information > Treatments > Oxygen Therapy > Long-Term Oxygen Therapy

Long-Term Oxygen Therapy

• Long-term oxygen therapy assessment
• How many hours / day is long-term oxygen therapy?

Long-term oxygen therapy assessment

• It is possible to get breathless but still have adequate oxygen levels.
• Alternatively, breathing may be comfortable but oxygen levels may be low.
• Severity of breathlessness is not a reliable way of deciding if long-term oxygen therapy will be helpful for you. Oxygen therapy will not necessarily relieve breathlessness.

You should be assessed by a specialist respiratory (chest) doctor at hospital to see if you need long-term oxygen therapy. He / she will look at your recent breathing function tests and blood oxygen levels.

If your blood test shows the oxygen level in your blood is low you may need further assessment to see if oxygen will be of benefit to you or not. This involves having trials of oxygen therapy and monitoring the effect on the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in your blood.

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How many hours per day is long-term oxygen therapy?

If you need long-term oxygen therapy, it usually has to be used for at least 8 hours / day to achieve the maximum benefits. You can use it overnight and at quiet times during the day to make up the 8 hours.

• Please note: if you have COPD long-term oxygen therapy may be beneficial if you use it for at least 15 hours / day.

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