Tips to Make Using Oxygen Tubing a Little Easier

We found high flow tubing greatly helped. It’s not as narrow and was suggested by the respiratory therapist. (Ours was green.)

I've tried heating the oxygen tubing in the dryer. Read about it in Pulmonary Papers. It works!

HI! I've been on oxygen for over 2 years. The absolute BEST thing I have discovered is OxyView glasses (oxyview.com). The tubing connects to the frame and there are small nasal pieces that deliver the oxygen to your nose. Most people have to look twice and finally ask if I'm on oxygen. You get the frames online, then have an optometrist make and install your prescription lenses.
I also use a hydration style backpack for the smaller tanks... so easy to shop now. Hope y'all try this!

Thank you so much for making the video clip about the tubing and the connectors. I had no idea about the swivel connectors. I will have to check those out.
One huge problem I have we live on one floor home so we have this crazy long cord which keeps getting tangled under my feet. I wish there was a way that the hose would retract like the cord on a vacuum cleaner.
What you do for PF warriors is wonderful. When I was first diagnosed they said 6 months. Well made it up to 3 years. They said I had excellent results on my meds. Ok so now we think 3-5. Some rough times but passed that. This March 2018 it will be 15 years. My health has declined to be expected but I do what I can, pray for comfort, understanding and to help others with this awful disease. A large part of my life is I live for my grandkids. They cheer me on the phone on bad days and just give me energy and a boost when they come over. Kids 13-2 years gives me a whole range of things to be there for, to watch and to cheer on.
You keep what your doing as you are beating the odds. Congrats on being cancer free and beating the odds with this too. I’ll keep you in my prayers. Take care and god bless.

Great tips! I plumbed my house with discreet plugs in each room, but I have found using several 7 foot sections connected with swivel connections works well for me. I leave some sections in each room to I can lengthen or shorten my hoses as needed. Some days I just don't feel like plugging in and out when I go into the rooms, so I just make-up one big line and connect it into the middle room. But, pull that big line around with me during the day reminds me why I took the time to plumb the house in the first place.

Interesting Thanks

Great tip to get the tubing to lie flat. How long do you use your tubing before changing? Thanks so much for your posts.

years now. Just went to the Veterans and they gave me the concentrator, POC, small tanks and a larger one the I can use to go grocery shoping. Thanks to the Va. It makes it easier for me. I am out an about every day. I have IPF, I do not take any med for this. Tried one and it did not agree with me. Enjoy every day to the fullest.

I would like to ask (Sherri Norton) 2/13/18 4:37pm If she had a picture of the Hydration Style Backpack she was talking about. Thank you.

Kim, thank you so much for these helpful comments and videos you provide. We had not thought to put the tubing in the dryer but will certainly try that. Also the connector hints are great. My experience, when first needing oxygen about 3 years ago, was that it came with very little information on how to use, or any helpful hints. I would highly recommend that anyone new to oxygen use read you comments on this IPF page. You make it very easy to understand and you are a user of oxygen so you know from experience what you are talking about. Thank you so much for filling a void in this medical to patience learning curve. Blessings to you. You inspire me to be better.

I have PF as well as stage IV lung cancer and am now on 7L of O2 and crank it up for exertion. My problem is getting out of the house now - wasn't an issue when I was on 2-4 liters. Tanks don't last long enough, so what are other people doing to get out of the house and stay mobile and social?

Thanks for all the information you provide. I have had IPF for 2 and 1/2 years. I'm taking Ofev and I've noticed my hair thinning recently. I would like to know if anyone taking Ofev is having the same problem.

Hi Kim,
My name is Debi Chavez today is June 29,2018. I just read this article about tubing & it was really helpful. I've been on oxygen for almost 4 years (since November 2014) I have IPF & I am on 2-3 liters. I'm looking forward to reading some more from you & others.

My husband has IPF. He puts tubing behind his head and secures it to his shoulder with the tubing (just below first joint from cannula) enclosed in large safely pin clipped to his shirt at shoulder.Makes sleeping easier with no loss of Oxygen.

Hi Kim,
I have an airline flight on Delta Airlines and saw something about Delta offering oxygen to passengers in need. Could you send me the link. I have sent two days just getting portable tanks to my house. Thanks so much! You are amazing . Charmaine

For my oxygenator I put hardware store j hooks under cabinets along walls ect,where ever I have to go in home. You have to teach yourself to unhook and rebook the line as you go. No more tripping over tubing on floor!

Thanks for the hint to warm new tubing in the dryer to get rid of coils. This works great and solved an annoying problem. I was diagnosed with PF after a lung biopsy in July and need all the practical hints and tips available. I appreciate your providing this resource.

I have COPD and use a 7ft soft chord with a swivel attached to a 25ft green chord. I tuck my chord into my pants circling under my belly and coming out of my pants just slightly to the back on the left of my waist. This keeps the chord behind me when I walk around, no more tripping. Also I step (and tell others too) on my chord when ever it is laying across in front of me. That way no one trips.

Hi,
Thanks all for great info.
I am looking for info on retractable home medical oxygen reels. Can you help? I am in Australia.
Thanks,
Dan

In response to a backpack for the portable oxygen concentrator—I ordered mesh backpacks Amazon that have worked great. That way POC can get air to process. They are durable as they typically are used for books.

Hi,Thank you for posting this. It helped the green hose by at least 98%. I call my husband's oxygen supply company and they had the swivel connections and so I ordered them from the supply company. May help if someone doesn't have enough money to order online.
Linda

Thank you soo much for the dryer tip! I'm caring for my sis, and in addition to havin end stage COPD, she is physically incapacitated to a great degree. She uses a rollator, and I watch her feet intensely when she has new tubing. This tip will save me so much aggravation.

WOW! Never thought about the dryer. Will try. Also didn't know about swivels but will ask. Have had COPD for 20+ yrs but refused to quit smoking. Finally did but now it's end stage. Dr. said I'm doing well since retiring on disability but harder to function. Have a small ranch home but tubing still annoys me. BTW: Finally bought a portable concentrator 2 yrs ago so I could continue working. Had to pay outrageous amount cuz insurance said I had a regular,full size one at home. Ask your doctor to write script for strictly portable one.

There is a relatively new remote control oxygen tube reel that you might be interested in. The website for information is o2remote.com It is a very simple and affordable solution to this very real and dangerous problem!

I’ve been trying to find a y connector with one female and two male connections. Has anyone seen one like that? I’ve searched the net with no luck

Please put me on mailing list. Thanks

My husband just recently was put on oxygen for bilateral pulmonary embolisms in his lungs. I’m trying to find a solution for the irritation where the nose piece rubs the middle of his nose between his nostrils.
For his ears I’ve found this very thin foam wrap that’s meant for ankles or wrist injuries. I’ve taken a small length of it, and it comes in all sorts of colors, and wrapped it around the tubing that goes over his ears and used a tiny bit of hot glue to hold it in place and it’s been amazing. Those foam tubes with the slits pop off too easily.
Also, I am wondering if there’s some sort of tubing cover for the lengthy tube that goes from the machine/tanks to the nose piece. We have cats and a puppy that like to attack it and are putting holes in it. I wish there were one of those braided cord covers like youncan get on some cell phone charger cords. Also to help with the kinks in the line. Anyone know anything like this?

For the nose irritation I’m attempting to make a solution where I’ve cut the nose piece in two, cut it to where it goes up the nose, blocked the open holes with hot glue and an trying to create some sort of half hoop connector that would not touch the nose at all.
Desperate for some solutions for him.

Would like to be added to the list my only problem is my cannula get stiff in hard

Go to Walmart, biking aisle. Bell makes a water bladder inside a small back pack. Just take out the bladder, and insert a C cylinder O2 tank.

Does anyone know if or how the “soft” cannula prongs can be re-softened once they start to become hard and lose their suppleness?

Thank you for having such a wonderfully informative website! Life is so difficult. The other day I was noticing that I was vacuuming with a cordless vacuum and I'm the one that's hooked up cord! Your advice about the dryer as excellent I shall try this today. I have COPD and I am so sorry about how people with cystic fibrosis are suffering as well as COPD it is not an easy life is it but we have to do everything we can to obtain and retain the utmost of quality to our lives. I find it the minute I stopped or don't brush my teeth or don't floss or don't shower that it just starts to go downhill even quicker so it's important to just keep it going despite all of the problems that were having. just thought I'd throw it out there and it sounds like so many people here on this site have it together. it has been a great comfort to read all of the replies and the original website about the tubing so thank you thank you thank you!

Thank you for the tips! I personally do not wear an oxygen tube but I care for my father who was recently put on oxygen due to COPD and heart related issues. As a “newbie” I suppose, I have a few questions. Are there any premium cannula hoses you can recommend? My dad complains if comfort and I would spend whatever it takes to make this more comfortable for him.

When bringing tubing out from the oxygenerator, find a small, straight stick, (length: 6" +/-; circumference: similar in size to the tube) and tape the stick to the tubing just exiting the machine. This will keep the tubing from becoming crimped from its own weight and therefore needing replaced more often.

Hi,
Wonderful column! I am wondering if they make a swivel connector that connects the tube directly to the Easyflo concentrator?
Thank you,
mary

Thank you so much for the information. This is my first time on oxygen and it can be challenging but your advice is very helpful.

Looking for an easier solution for my mother in law to transfer from her day use nose cannula to her night use Trilogy (cpap) machine on her large oxygen compressor. It’s difficult for her to pull nose cannula tubing from concentrator and put in tubing for Trilogy (cpap) machine. Mainly just do to lack of strength. Does anyone know of a way to keep both hooked up to concentrator with some type of valve to transfer the oxygen to nose cannula during the day and Trilogy (cpap) at night?

I just received the new o2 cannula with one side oxygen delivery. It is called uni-flo 2. It took about a day to get it all figured out, but well worth the effort. If your interested you can look up Uni-Flo 2 or go to UPODS.com. It eases the wear on your ears, and makes a big difference in nose irritation. Sleeping now has taken on a whole new meaning..ts wonderful.

Thanks for dryer info. Sis has escopd and has fell several times due to tangling. am going to try tomorrow!

Once the tubing gets kinked is there any way to unkink it? I beg my Mom's aides to be careful, not fold it but wind it around their arm (like you were winding up your water hose) but I'm always finding it ... whatever. Can I put it in the dryer as the video showed to soften and straighten it out?
Is there tubing that recoils into itself or something? My Mom is always tripping over the tubing or we're flinging it over the chair as she walks by.
Thanks!

Do the prongs on the tubing go up your nose or down?

Would you have any ideas as to how a single person can stretch out the tubing after putting it in the dryer..

I've been on 24/7 oxygen for almost a year now. I have have tried many things in the way of tuning management. I have found on Amazon.com these things called cable clips! The tubing fits perfectly inside them and I've been able to pull my tubing off the floor and up onto the ceiling and walls. My condenser is so loud I have to keep it in another room on the other side of the house. Pulling the tubing from that room to my common areas via the ceiling has been incredibly helpful.

Love the drier for the 02 tube. I used to wrap 1/4" split braided cable around my tube to keep it from kinking and tangling and catching. It tries to escape -- you have to duct tape it every few feet. I now have a thicker Life2000 Tube. I love it -- I have 24% lung function and I now get a full breath all the time. The split braided cable doesn't work on the thicker tube. Do you know of a wire I can run through it? Thanks!

all airlines can provide oxygen for you if you ask for it and need it. Just call customer serive and they will explain to you how it works and what needs to be done. I am a retired flight attenandant and we has oxygen on board all the time

I have a hard time with glasses, mask, and oxygen behind ears. I started holing tubing under ear and putting tape to hold it in place on both sides of face. Eliminated 1 annoying object rubbing on ears

My husband is a mechanical design engineer and he designed a piece to prevent oxygen tubing from kinking on the oxygen concentrators and it works! Look at it on Etsy. We also designed some clips to hold up the extra tubing and a connector lock for the longer hoses to prevent them from coming apart. I use them everyday! Shop is called Peanut’s Plastics. https://www.etsy.com/listing/1410642408/

Thank you so much for this great tip! My husband has COPD and he is constantly struggling with the curly tubing. This worked great - he is thrilled. As am I and our two dogs, haha! Thanks!!!

The oxygen tubing behind my ear have damaged my hearing aids. The hearing aid is suppose to be next to my head. Now the hearing aids have moved to the edge of my ears. I need something like what my CPAC machine has. I do not want the tubing to go over my ears. It is very difficult to find information. I will have to get the hearing aids replaced or repaired.

We soak our 50 foot green hose in hot water for 20 minutes but make sure either both ends are plugged or left out of the water. Seems to last 2 weeks before coiling up.

Can I connect two 50 foot tubes together with a swivel connector?

I'm curious how you get your cat to leave the tubing alone. Just got oxygen a week ago and can't get one of my cats to leave the long line of tube alone, which makes it difficult to use.