Supplemental oxygen is a type of medical therapy used to treat chronic lung conditions like cystic fibrosis, pulmonary fibrosis, and COPD. The aim of supplemental oxygen is to maintain a patient’s blood oxygen levels which are vital for systemic health. Every organ in the body requires oxygen in order to function properly, so using supplemental oxygen as it’s advised by your doctor can provide you with immense short- and long-term benefits.

One of the most common questions we hear COPD patients ask is, “how can I clear my airways when they get congested?” As a COPD patient, you’re likely to experience coughing fits that are brought on by the buildup of mucus and sputum in the airways and lungs. And sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you feel like you can’t clear them in order to catch a breath of fresh air. This is far more common than you might expect and it can be a frustrating and sometimes even scary experience.

Supplemental oxygen therapy, or simply oxygen therapy, is a treatment that has been around since the late 1800s. It was primarily used to treat the symptoms of pneumonia, but doctors were uncertain how much to administer, how long to keep patients on oxygen, and if there were any serious side-effects. It wasn’t until the late 1900s that there was a significant amount of research on the use of medical oxygen and doctors became more aware of how to use it.

If you have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), you know that your lung health is directly linked to your systemic health. Just having COPD puts you at a higher risk for respiratory infection, heart disease, high blood pressure, and even mental health conditions like depression and anxiety. But did you know that there’s even a link between your oral health and COPD?

Many people assume that the longer they live, the less capable they are of improving various aspects of their lives. For example, some people take for granted that you can’t learn a musical instrument as an adult. These people are often told throughout their lives by their parents or friends that if you want to learn something complex, you have to start when you’re younger. It’s also assumed that you’ll stop progressing very early on in your life.

With around 65 million patients worldwide, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is anything but uncommon. In fact, it’s one of the most prevalent lung conditions in the world behind asthma. However, despite these statistics, COPD is labeled an “invisible illness.” Many people suffer with this condition in silence, and society as a whole tends to stigmatize it by misunderstanding what its causes are and what life is like with this condition.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the diseases with the greatest financial burdens worldwide and within the United States. Studies have shown that the average annual COPD-related expenditure is around $4,147. And while 51% of these costs are covered by Medicare according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), that still leaves roughly $2,000 a year that COPD patients need to spend out-of-pocket. Combine this with the cost of aging and limited retirement funds and it’s not hard to see why COPD is such a major financial burden for so many people.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a debilitating lung condition that affects around 16 million people in the United States. While there are many symptoms of COPD, shortness of breath, chest pain, and chronic fatigue are among the most crippling. In the early stages of COPD, these symptoms are mild and sometimes even go unnoticed by the patient. However, as time goes by, these symptoms become progressively worse and become even more of a burden for the victim.

From managing short- and long-term goals to exercising, eating right, and making it to doctor’s appointments, living with COPD is not easy by any means. Whether you are still working or you’ve already retired, being diagnosed with COPD means taking on a whole new set of responsibilities — some of which can be overwhelming at times.

According to Philip Tierno, director of clinical microbiology at NYU, humans come into contact with around 60,000 germs every day. However, only about one to two percent of these are potentially harmful. Our body also has innate and adaptive immunity which helps to protect us from these dangerous bacteria. Innate immunity is the defense system that’s in place when we’re born, and adaptive immunity is our body’s defense which develops over time as we’re exposed to more and more bacteria.