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‘Oxygen in Use’ Signage.
I’ve heard of posting appropriate signage regarding supplemental oxygen use outside your home for approaching visitors, but today I saw a sign about 02 that I’d never seen before. As I was driving home, I turned the corner following a vehicle with a sign that was barely legible on the back of a small car. Upon closer inspection, I realized the sign was letting others know that there was supplemental oxygen on board. You know those ‘babies on board’ signs? It was like that, but about oxygen. As I pondered why or how this would be helpful for others to know, I got thinking about the overall use of oxygen signs…
When I started using supplemental oxygen a few months after my diagnosis, I had to reveal not only my need for oxygen, but also my IPF diagnosis to my-relatively-new employer. I really didn’t want to do this, but if I wanted to keep working and breathing, I really had no choice. They had no problems with it, thankfully, other than asking me about an ‘oxygen in use’ sign to hang on the door of the building. This would be permanently affixed and visible, regardless of whether or not I was using my oxygen…
We just made the sign however, it wasn’t one that came from the oxygen supplier or any type of official notification. It just states that supplemental oxygen is used in the building occasionally and reminds folks about the importance of being 9 metres away from the entrance into the building when smoking, which is law in Canada anyways. At first I was uncomfortable with this, but understood the importance, and now it doesn’t phase me at all. However, after seeing the sign in the vehicle today about oxygen on board/in a car, I wondered how many others might have this type of sign in their home or car.
Upon starting to use supplemental oxygen, were you provided any type of signage for your home?
Did the oxygen provider or your doctor say this was required in your home or vehicle?
Did you make a sign yourself alerting others of the use?
Curious to hear your thoughts. Thanks in advance!
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4 Replies
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My oxygen company provided me with 2 signs” Oxygen in use”. I put them at my front and back door. Doesn’t bother me at all. I really never thought of signs on a car unless it would make someone more careful around you, less likely to run into you LOL. Thats all that comes to mind. What do you think?
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Hi JoAnn,
Thanks so much for getting in touch, and contributing to this topic thread! I am curious to hear about what others have been given regarding home-oxygen use in terms of signage. I wasn’t given a sign for my home, but it does sound like many others were, so I wonder if I should inquire about this with my oxygen provider? It’s given me something to think about for sure.
I’d never really thought about the benefit of them in the car either, unless maybe it is helpful for first responders to know if they were ever at the scene of an accident you were involved in? It could make others more careful around us too, I suppose. I would think twice about “tail-gating” someone if they had an 02 sign in their car, perhaps the purpose of having it is multi-purposeful! Curious to hear others’ thoughts on this too… thanks for sharing 🙂
Charlene.
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I never bothered putting the signs on my house. When in an apartment, I thought it may make the other residents uncomfortable. Now that I’m in a house, I don’t think it really matters. Maybe I should rethink that.
But, I’d never thought about a sign on the car. I think that’s really important now that I’m carrying around tanks. If the valve is damaged in an accident, the tank could explode like a rocket, according to Kim Frederickson (think that’s her name), a moderator for another column. Think I’ll look into putting some sort of a sign in my back window.
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That is a good point Terry, re: the explosion that a tank could cause as a result of a collision. I try to secure my tanks as well as possible, and if I can, bring my concentrators with me in the car as opposed to the tanks. I supposed if it was required, or really mandatory that the oxygen suppliers would give us signs for our cars. Did you get one from your oxygen provider, or just the signs for your home? Such an interesting topic as it seems like it isn’t something consistent that all oxygen providers do or encourage…
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Charlene.
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