TVCH FORUMS HOME . JOIN . FAN CLUBS . ABOUT US . CONTACT . CHAT  
Bomis   Quick Links   TOPICS . TREE-VIEW . SEARCH . HELP! . NEWS . PROFILE
Home Oxygen Users

The TVClubHouse: General Discussions ARCHIVES: 2005 Dec. ~ 2006 Feb.: Health Center: Home Oxygen Users users admin

Author Message
Whoami
Member

08-03-2001

Monday, August 22, 2005 - 1:40 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Whoami a private message Print Post    
Thought this might make a good thread for various Home Oxygen issues that might come up.

So, for my first question...

My mom has a huge complaint on how the cannula hurts her ears when she lays down in bed. We get the ones with foam on it, but it still hurts. Now, she has a huge angry looking boil (or pimple maybe?) on her ear lobe that makes it so painful to even touch, she finally just went to bed without her oxygen last night.

At least she can get by with that once in a while. She wears the oxygen at night to "make her feel a little better" (as her doctor put it) rather than it being a second-by-second life affecting necessity. The doctor originally "recommended" she use it during the day too, but she won't put her cigarettes down long enough to do so while she's up. So since we'd rather not get blown up, she doesn't use it during the day.

I knew she could get away with not wearing it for one night, since I often come down in the morning to find the tube wrapped around her bedpost (her answer, she got up in the night to use the bathroom, and "forgot" to put the oxygen back on.....uh huh ). But, I don't want to go too many nights with her not having the oxygen.

Is there ANY other way to wear the cannula that won't affect the ears? We even tried just positioning it around her head, but then she ended up laying on the slider part that tightens the cannula, and that was too uncomfortable too.

Or, are there any other innovative things she can use besides the standard nasal cannula? I know she already said she does not want to wear a mask. And anything too "head gear" like is probably a no too (she's rather persnickity!). She was a telephone operator for a long time, and she still has a big aversion to wearing any type of cumbersome headgear.

You'd think some innovative person would have come up with something more comfortable to wear by now!

Serenity
Member

06-28-2005

Monday, August 22, 2005 - 2:10 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Serenity a private message Print Post    
My Dad had to have oxygen for the last 12 years of his life. For all I can remember he only had the nasal intake or a mask. The hoses used to bother him a bit while he slept, but I don't recall him doing anything about it. I think for him the discomfort was just simply a necessary evil. I'm sorry that I can't help you any more, but maybe there will be some other folks here at TVCH that will have better knowledge.

Vee
Member

02-23-2004

Monday, August 22, 2005 - 2:10 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Vee a private message Print Post    
Oh I hope someone has some answers for this with photos. My grandmother has the same complaints. She is so livid about having to use oxygen that we worry she'll blow a gasket. It isn't comfortable at all.

Oh, Whoami, do you have the retractable hosing? That's the other issue...she gets all tangled up in the hosing and that is scary. We're petrified that she'll take a fall.

Vee
Member

02-23-2004

Tuesday, August 23, 2005 - 9:51 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Vee a private message Print Post    
This thread has prompted me to do a little research...there really isn't all that much available that I have been able to find. Anyway, not this answers the specific questions raised, but this seemed like a helpful site:http://www.pulmonarypaper.org/main.asp?CatID=9

Vee
Member

02-23-2004

Tuesday, August 23, 2005 - 9:57 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Vee a private message Print Post    
And another...http://www.copd-international.com/

Vee
Member

02-23-2004

Tuesday, August 23, 2005 - 10:20 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Vee a private message Print Post    
About three feet down from the canula, I make a loop in the hose about four or five inches long, and use a twist tie to close the loop. Then I put a medium size binder clip on the hose at the curve of the loop. The opening at the top of the binder clip is large enough that the hose will slip back and forth and not bind it. I then attach the binder clip to the bottom of my shirt at the side. This works best if the hose is running down your back, instead of your front. Now I no longer have a hose trailing between my legs, getting under my feet, or wrapping around my ankle. It still gets caught on things, but it is easier to reach down to my side and pull it than hanging in the front or back. Also, there is the advantage that the weight is on my shirt, not my ears. MUCH more comfortable. And--if it gets caught on something, I usually
feel it pull on my shirt, not my ears. I hope that I explained this well enough. I wish I could show you a picture. Anyway, it works for me!
Mary - California Desert
Source

Eureka! Maybe this will help, Whoami; although, I can't see my grandmother being willing to wear a headband. How about your mom?

To relieve the weight of the cannula on your ears, pin a length of elastic around your head (like a headband), slip the cannula over it and then into your nose. Much more comfortable. Veronica in Colorado Same source as above.

Vee
Member

02-23-2004

Wednesday, August 31, 2005 - 11:57 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Vee a private message Print Post    
Still looking for stuff and things...Here's a product that looks as if it would help:
EZ Wrap to reduce irritation.