Oxygen therapy may be prescribed for people who have a heart or lung condition that causes low oxygen levels in their blood (hypoxia). Low oxygen can make you feel breathless and tired, may cause fluid to build up around your ankles (oedema) and your lips may turn blue. If left untreated, low blood oxygen can lead to heart and brain damage.
Oxygen therapy can help increase the amount of oxygen in your blood and can help relieve symptoms of a number of health conditions, including:
- COPD – a long-term lung condition that causes cough and shortness of breath, most commonly caused by smoking.
- Asthma that is severe and difficult to control
- Cystic fibrosis – an inherited condition that causes the lungs to produce a thick, sticky mucous making breathing difficult
- Heart failure – when the heart fails to pump blood around the body correctly
- Pulmonary hypertension – high blood pressure inside the arteries to the lungs which causes damage to the right-hand side of the heart.