With the current surge across the country joker game and the stress on hospital admission facilities, a lot of basic management of Covid-19 patients is being done at home under the guidance of virtual consultants and telemedicine practitioners. People are rushing to buy oxygen concentrators and, in exceptional cases, oxygen cylinders for use at home. An oxygen concentrator, though, is a simpler device and generally used in the home setting for patients of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). An oxygen cylinder, on the other hand, comes in different capacities and needs expertise in its set-up. Oxygen can make things burn more easily and even explode at higher temperatures. It is important to exercise caution on using them at home. In the past two days, we have seen an increasing number of facial injuries due to such explosions while attempting to open these cylinders at home.
These injuries can cause irreversible damage to the eye along with multiple fractures of facial bones and complete loss of vision. Oxygen cylinders are specifically designed for special usages. The larger D-type cylinders are used in hospital settings. The gas delivery pipeline is designed to have valves that can limit the pressure with which oxygen is released from the cylinder. Also, smaller cylinders designed for use in a non-clinical setting have in-built valves, which can control a sudden, uncontrolled release of the gas and do not carry it at a very high pressure, as opposed to larger cylinders. Also, due to their increased demand and reuse, the credibility and safety aspects get compromised In conclusion, it's important to use the oxygen cylinder with a lot of caution and with due safety precautions.
The author is a Consultant, Cornea and Refractive Surgery Services at Dr Shroff's Charity Eye Hospital, Daryaganj