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July 2005
Second Wind
Lomita, California
Dear Friends;
Most of us like to travel, for leisure or business. The constraints of needing oxygen may be limiting, but things are improving a lot. New technologies are making land and sea travel quite possible for most. An expert on traveling with oxygen is Pete Wilson. Look him up at petewilson@portableoxygen.com . He has a great CD that gives all the specifics of what you need to put oxygen in your car, or take on the train or boat.
I have had success with the Liberator 10, a small liquid system, that you can strap into the back seat of your car or van. It lasts about 5-7 days. You can refill your Helios, Spirit, or Escort from it. Or the larger liquid system ,the Marathon, that gives you about 18 hours of ambulatory oxygen per fill, depending on your flow needs.
Other options are the small portable concentrators, that power from your car, or electricity. The LifeStyle, Inogen, and a new one soon to be released, the Oxytech, give pulse dose of oxygen that is sufficient for most patients. You can conserve your liquid supply, using a small concentrator while driving.
Hopefully the small concentrators will soon be allowed for air travel. They are perfectly safe, and should be approved without further delay. Lots of lobbying has been done already to help make this happen.
So, plan to get out more often and see the wonders of nature, or visit family and friends. I just returned from the Annual Aspen Lung Conference, which discussed the latest new research in COPD. There are lots of exciting developments that will soon be translated into new therapies. Aspen is at 8500 feet. The passes are 12,000 feet. I did well with my light weight liquid portable system. Yes, it's great to be "On the Road Again".
I'll be in touch next month!
Your friend,
Thomas Petty, MD
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