Excellent advice, Cindy.

And, whereas I have an absolutely zero propensity for panic, I will
bring my oximeter home today.Â* Heck, I might even remove the bottle and
dual MH system while I'm at it.Â* I'll even recharge it from my big bottle.

I'm very fortunate to live in sparsely populated mountainous country,
have an open interstate drive to Moriarty, and a Stemme!

On 3/20/2020 11:35 PM, wrote:
I was sick last October, achy, fever, congested. Five or six days later I woke at night and could hear chest rattle high in my lungs.
Brain finally kicked on, I said 'I'm hypoxic'. Dug out my oximeter and saw variable 80's. Sent hubby out to dig out a bottle from a glider in a trailer. Rest of the night I ran the mask on a low flow. Headache was finally gone.

Next morning the urgent care sent me to hospital. All I wanted was a prescription for the right antibiotics. Xray, five different folks listening to me take deep breaths with cold stethoscopes (hyperventilation anyone?).

Gave me IV dose of some -cillin, wrote a script, said go home and rest. $4500.
Two hours.
I knew what I needed before I drove in.

I borrowed a MH regulator, filled a fat big bottle. Wore the oximeter and snuffed oxy for five more days, whenever I dropped under 90. Took three weeks to rebound. Three more to mostly normal. I am a seriously healthy human before this event.

I now believe the rate of pneumonia deaths in elderly isn't the lung congestion, it's the crappy decisions while in severe hypoxia.

Should we think to use a glider oxy system to assist in emergency support? Absolutely. Pushing oxygen saturation back up to support not killing brain cells IS important. The typical pulsedemand or constant flow systems only support normal across tissue transfers by increasing the percentage of oxy available to absorb.

Will using oxygen help a severe covid19 case? Not likely. Oxygen won't drain fluid from lungs. Most folks don't have a pressure breathing system, like an old A-14 regulator.

How low will you go in O2 sats before going to the hospital? Anything under 90 should take corrective action.

Cindyb

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Dan, 5J