Buying Oxygen Concentrator? Be careful to avoid scam, and keep these points and tips in mind 

India is trying to counter the second wave of Covid-19. Things are worse than they were last year. The country is witnessing around 4 lakh new cases every day while close to 4,000 people are losing their lives on a daily basis due to coronavirus. If the disease wasn’t enough, the lack of infrastructure and oxygen has further amplified the problem. Most hospitals, especially in bigger cities, are short on oxygen. The oxygen cylinders are in high demand, and even the patients recovering at home require oxygen concentrators to breathe properly.

Just like the hospital beds and oxygen cylinders, even the concentrators remain in high demand. However, there is a general lack of awareness about them. Family members of patients are confused about how oxygen concentrators work, where to get them and even about things they need to check before purchasing them. We will try to address all these issues. However, we should clarify that before buying an oxygen concentrator, you should check with a doctor.

WHAT IS AN OXYGEN CONCENTRATOR AND HOW IT WORKS?

In a normal scenario, our body operates with 21 per cent of oxygen concentration. That is how much oxygen there is in the air. The body takes this air and then lungs work to filter oxygen from it. That is when lungs are healthy and are working properly. However, during illness, particularly the illness that affects lungs like Covid-19 or asthma, the body may find it difficult to work with normal air. Instead, it requires more concentrated oxygen. Depending on the severity of the disease, patients may require air with 99 per cent oxygen, which is what medical oxygen is. However, medical oxygen is in low supply, cylinders are a hassle, and they also require frequent refilling. If the Covid-19 is mild or moderate, even an oxygen concentrator that, as the name suggests, concentrates oxygen can bring a lot of relief.

The oxygen concentrator sucks air from the environment, removes unwanted gases, concentrates oxygen and then blows it through a pipe so that patients can breathe this “pure” oxygen.

HOW IS AN OXYGEN CONCENTRATOR DIFFERENT FROM AN OXYGEN CYLINDER?

A common mistake most people make is to confuse between an oxygen concentrator and an oxygen cylinder. Both of these are different from each other, even though they serve the same purpose of providing patients with oxygen. One, is that the oxygen cylinder has medical grade oxygen in it, which is basically around 99 per cent concentrated oxygen. The other difference is that the air in an oxygen cylinder is pressurised and hence it can be used to provide an extremely high flow rate of air to patients. Something like 15 litre per minute can be achieved with an oxygen cylinder.

But at the same time, the drawback of a cylinder is that it needs refilling while oxygen concentrators are capable of operating 24x7, although they cannot provide pressurised air. The oxygen concentrator can only provide 5-10 litres of oxygen per minute, which may not be enough for patients in severe condition. This is why they are advised to people with mild Covid-19 symptoms.

WHERE TO BUY AN OXYGEN CONCENTRATOR?

Several websites are selling oxygen concentrators in India. These include 1mg, Nightingales India, Healthklin, and Healthgenie. These websites are mostly safe. However, owing to the demand and supply mismatch at this time there are many unscrupulous traders and people are selling oxygen concentrators in black or passing on machines like humidifiers as oxygen concentrators.

Hence, patients and their families need to be extra careful while buying oxygen concentrators. We suggest you buy one directly from the official websites or through their registered sellers. Also, it is worth purchasing them from a local store where you know people instead of from someone on WhatsApp or someone selling the “concentrator” on social media.

And even if you have no other option but to purchase this machine from a stranger, never pay advance. Instead, if you can pay only after the machine has been delivered to you or tell the seller that you will prefer to pick the machine and then pay for it on the spot.

WHAT ARE THE THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND WHILE BUYING AN OXYGEN CONCENTRATOR?

Portability There are two types of oxygen concentrators basis their portability - home oxygen concentrators and portable oxygen concentrators. The first is designed for patients at home, requires direct power input from a wall socket and can provide a higher amount of oxygen compared to a portable oxygen concentrator. This is what you should purchase ideally. Weight is important. Most of the good and high-performance concentrators weigh at least 14-15 kgs. Anything lighter, and it may not be a quality product.

Portable oxygen concentrators, meanwhile, are designed to be carried around. They don’t need a direct power supply and can be charged like smartphones. They have a battery which can be charged before travelling. The challenge here is the limited amount of oxygen they can supply. In other words, for Covid-19 patients, these portable oxygen concentrators may not be suitable.

Capacity The next thing you need to check is the capacity of the oxygen concentrators. They come in different sizes, and you need to choose one depending on the demand. The home oxygen concentrators are available in 5L and 10L capacities. The first can provide 5 litres of oxygen in a minute, while the 10L concentrator can provide 10 litres of oxygen in a minute. The 5L concentrator should be bare minimum for most patients who require support in breathing but if you can opt for the 10L size.

Oxygen concentration level The most important thing buyers need to understand is that every concentrator has a different oxygen concentration level. Some can provide you with air that has 87 per cent oxygen, while others promise the same up to 93 per cent. It would be best if you ideally opted for the concentrator that can deliver around 93 per cent oxygen concentration.

You have to understand why this is important. Patients undergoing breathing difficulties require air that is almost all oxygen. Anything lower than 90 per cent concentration of oxygen may not help Covid-19 patients much.

The concentration capacity of the machine is even more important than the flow rate. 10 litre concentrated oxygen per minute doesn’t matter much if the concentration level is 80. Keep this in mind.

Another thing to note is that the machines with variable concentration — like 30-90 percent — are not of much help to Covid-19 patients. This is because they provide the upper range of concentration only at low flow rates. So for example, at 2L per minute the oxygen concentration will be 90 per cent but at 8L it will be close to 30 per cent. Not good.

We would again like to highlight that there are tons of oxygen concentrators selling in the market right now, and a lot of people are trying to overcharge customers. Once again, let us repeat that many of them are also trying to sell humidifiers — hello Dedakj — as oxygen concentrators. Be careful of scammers while buying a concentrator.

In fact, if you don’t need it urgently you can even go for import. The government has removed import duty on oxygen concentrators so you can get one delivered from global websites like Amazon or through friends and family members outside India. It may take a few days to arrive but the price will likely be similar to what you will pay in India right now.