Living On Oxygen for Life
There are many of you who are new to using oxygen but also those of us who are practically pros at oxygen use. But there is a topic that is important to talk about that even some pros don’t realize at how important it is. I may be saying things that you already know but bare with me. I’ve had a few people who have asked about this topic who just didn’t know that they should be doing this. Ok ok.. I will just jump right in and not prolong this mysterious topic.
If you are reading this blog you either were prescribed to use oxygen, whether it’s 24/7 or just during exertion or with activity, OR, you have a relative who uses oxygen in this way. Ok… I know you are probably thinking.. “Get on with it.. spit it out already!” Whew! I’m getting there.
What I’m leading up to is this: No matter how you were prescribed to use oxygen (24/7 or as needed for activity), taking a shower in my opinion is considered an activity AND in my personal opinion you should use your oxygen while you shower. Think about it. Do you get light headed if you are taking a shower and not using your oxygen? Feeling a little tired and/or woozy? Maybe you feel a bit like you may faint or pass out? Are you feeling like washing your hair is wearing you out? It’s humid in the shower. What would you do if you actually fainted in the tub alone all because you didn’t use your oxygen?
Whatever type of oxygen machine or tank you use, you can still leave your machine or tank in one room and use a 50 foot tubing to run all the way to the bathroom. The tubing can get wet..even submerged. I gather up enough slack in the tubing and drape it over the side of the tub and it lays on the bottom of the tub while I shower. When I’m done, I use a towel to dry it off. It’s that simple. By using oxygen while you shower, you aren’t taxing your heart as you would if you didn’t use it while you showered. After all, it’s all about staying safe and healthy. So be safe.
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Love to you all!
Living On O2 for Life 
Hi Christine,
Thank you for the valuable information regarding oxygen tubing. This will help out a lot
of people new to using O2.
I myself have a fifty foot hose, with the green
coloring, so I don’t trip over it😃!. I lay it between my compressor in the bedroom
and my auto BiPap machine. Once in awhile,
I also bring it into the shower with me as well.
Keep smiling,
Gerry 😀🌹
Hi Gerry! Just for clarification… I’m not sure if you use an electrical oxygen concentrator but the machine itself should not be in the bathroom… just the tubing is ok. Is that what you do? The e-cylinders are ok in the bathroom because they arent electrical. *hugs*
Thanks Christine for always helping us and caring about others! I love reading ALL your stuff, even the hobbies! 🙂 For me personally a shower has been my biggest challenge even compared to rehab. I wore my oxygen in the shower and still struggled. Turns out I need 8-10 liters to shower for my saturation not to drop so I use bottle oxygen instead of concentrator. Another thing that helps is a nice terry cloth robe instead of a towel I do not use energy to dry off. I also shave in the shower about once a month with a nice sharp razor and use electric shaver in between. I have shower chair but I only use it when I am sick. Thanks for this subject!
Hi Karen.. There are times when I’ve shaved my legs while sitting on the edge of the tub wearing shorts! haha! Have you ever thought of using a splitter to connect your concentrator and bottled oxygen together to conserve your bottled O2 for showers? The splitters look like a Y plastic or metal tube.
Thanks Christine! I like the wearing shorts sitting on the side of the tub suggestion. Easy for me since I live in FL and wear shorts most days. And thanks for the suggestion on the Y valve.
This reminds me that I should definitely be on my oxygen more. I don’t know what your lung function is but I’m at 34% and I’ve only been prescribed to use it with exertion or activity. I feel light headed and tired a lot, and my heart is pretty much always beating fast.
Last time i had my lung volume measure it was around 22% which sucks. When you feel as you described, do you own a pulse oximeter and check your O2 saturation? I’m not a doctor but since you are feeling like this… Talk with your doctor. *hugs* Make sure your doctor understand how you’re feeling physically and what makes you feel that way.
Thank you for this! My Grandmother just got out of the hospital last night after a mitral valve clip surgery, and is prescribed 24/7 oxygen. Neither of us have any idea if she should wear it in the shower, and your information has helped a great deal. As she is always fatigued, I’m going to try to convince her to use the oxygen while in the shower.
Hi! Definitely wear the oxygen while taking a shower. Since she’s told to use oxygen 24/7, that means even in the shower. You definitely don’t want the possibility of her passing out in the shower because she didn’t wear her oxygen. It’s perfectly okay to get the tubing wet. If she is using an oxygen concentrator, make sure it’s in a well ventilated room such as a central location of her house. I use a 50 foot tubing with my oxygen set up. Let me know if you have questions goredrider@gmail.com . I hope your Grandmother is doing well. *hugs*
Thank you so much! I just got into town to help care for her while my aunt is at work, so I know nothing about oxygen (other than we need it to live, whee!). I assume the machine humming and sighing in the other room is an “oxygen concentrator”. She has a bazillion feet* of tubing attached to it so she can get all over the house. She has a standing shower, kind of double-wide, with a built in seat and grab bars. If I understand correctly, she can just pull a few feet of cord in, and coil it loosely in the corner of the shower floor?
I’ve read a few different websites so far (yours being the most informative) and I have a couple of questions. One recommended running the oxygen hose OVER the top of the shower door. While this is something I could do for her, this is not something she could do for herself when I am not around. Another said she should adjust the hose so it runs down her back, instead of her front. Do you find either of these to be necessary? Of course, her main concern revolves around the best way to wash her hair, so I should ask about that too! Her hair is relatively short. Imagine a standard 80 year-old grandmother haircut, and you’ll get a perfect visual!
Thank you SO much for responding so quickly! She is currently napping, but she’s going to take her first shower with an oxygen tube when she wakes up, and I now feel I am better prepared to give her information/assistance.
*slight exaggeration of actual feet
Let me tell you how important I feel it is to reply to your comment/questions… I actually stopped crocheting just to reply to you. 🙂 First let me say, thank you so much for visiting my blog. I’m very happy that the information is helpful to you. The machine that provide oxygen for your grandmother sounds like an oxygen concentrator if it is one that plugs into the electrical wall outlet and uses room air to divide out the oxygen from all the other gases and then gives the oxygen to your grandmother thru the cannula the oxygen. Keep the foam filters clean and you should contact the Durable Medical Equipment company to see how often you need to replace the internal filter. Some don’t need replacing sooner than other machine models. My gets replaced every 6 to 12 months. It depends on how dusty your house is. Word of advice: Be very kind to the DME personnel because they will be your new best friend. 😉
Taking a shower in a stand up shower, instead of a tub type shower, is a little different. I’ve done it both way. I’ve had to take my oxygen off just before getting into the stand up shower and throwing the tubing over the top of the shower, step into the shower quickly and putting the oxygen back on while pulling as much slack as I need to take the shower. It’s perfectly ok to have the tubing lying on the bottom of the tub or shower. It won’t hurt it at all. Just be careful not to trip on it. I’ve never had a problem with that.
Either way she wears the cannula is fine. It’s a comfort thing. I personally wear it in front of me like what my pictures show. How you wear it isn’t going to help with the shower problem. The way I wash my hair is to bend over at the waist because raising my hands up to my head while standing is tiresome. My hair is very long.. down to my tailbone. I commend you for helping your grandmother. I don’t know where you live in proximity to your grandmother but if you live near her, I think it would be good of you to be at her house for her first time taking a shower with her oxygen on. That way if she needs help, she has you.
Let me know if you have other questions…. -Christine