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Breathing and traveling can go together Most people take breathing while traveling for granted. But if you're one of the millions of Americans who depend on supplemental oxygen to treat a respiratory condition, you know how difficult it can be to bring the two together - and why the need for the first has often made the second impossible. Respiratory therapists from the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) are working to change all that, by supporting ongoing efforts to promote new laws and regulations enabling oxygen users to bring new devices called portable oxygen concentrators (POCs) on board aircraft. "Until recently, oxygen used during travel was only available in compressed tanks," explains home care respiratory therapist and AARC member Patricia Blakely, RRT. Patients were required to use oxygen systems supplied by the airlines themselves and could not bring aboard their personal oxygen systems due to safety concerns. Airlines charged a premium for supplying that oxygen and that was an expense many patients could ill afford. In some cases it wasn't even an option, because not all airlines even offered that service. "That greatly restricted a person's ability to travel and use oxygen," continues Blakely. POCs were developed in part to overcome some of the problems associated with compressed oxygen in tanks. POCs are small, electrically powered devices. They don't contain oxygen - they make oxygen from room air and thus don't pose the safety risks associated with compressed oxygen tanks and offer a new level of convenience. Thanks to the new technology - and an aggressive lobbying campaign launched by the AARC and other groups interested in opening up the skies to oxygen users - the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved the first POCs for use on board aircraft in 2005. Today five devices have made the grade: the AirSep Free Style, AirSep Life Style, Inogen One, Respironics EverGo, and Sequal Eclipse. So, problem solved, right? Only partly, reports Blakely, because the FAA regulation does not require airlines to allow these devices onboard - it only allows them to do so at their discretion. That means oxygen users are still being treated like second class citizens when it comes to flying. A recently formed coalition, however, hopes toend the discrimination once and for all. "The Airline Oxygen Council of America - or AOCA - is a coalition of individuals and organizations whose main objective is to serve as a vehicle for consumer organizations to discuss and strategize on the next steps in removing the barriers for people who require supplemental oxygen during air travel," says Blakely. The AARC is a member of the group, and encourages everyone to get involved - especially oxygen users themselves, and their friends and families. "Anyone can help - and in particular, people who use oxygen, their families, and caregivers - by writing their Senators and Representatives in Congress in support of the organization's goals."
You can learn more about the AOCA's objectives at www.airlineoxygencouncil.org. The American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) is a not-for-profit, professional organization, consisting of 42,000 respiratory therapists, physicians, and other health care professionals.
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