Oxygen Tubing

By buddyfoxy

1 min read

Last updated: October 2021

I have used oxygen at home for over 6 years. I have tripped over it, my friends the same. I also have a walker. I am talking about the tubing. I now put the big oxygen in the walker at 2, 3 when l am doing any chores. No more tripping over the dam tubing. It's great, as long as you can walk with your walker. I use about 9 big oxygen per week. Thank you.

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Leon Lebowitz, RRT Moderator & Contributor
Hi again, <inline-mention username="buddyfoxy" user-id="2424437"/>, and thanks for sharing the way you manage supplemental oxygen therapy for yourself to prevent tripping and falls. When one is home using oxygen therapy, this becomes a critical safety issue for many of our members. It is especially applicable when folks (at home) are moving about to get things done. Anything to maintain safety in the home is important. We value both your input, Buddy, and your feedback. Warm regards, Leon (site moderator <a href='http://COPD.net' target='_blank'>COPD.net</a>)
kloker Member
buddyfoxy - I will share what I do. take what you can use and leave the rest! I don't need my walker, mostly, in the house. Also I have a cat. She chewed up some hoses before I solved that. But it also mostly solved the tripping issue for me. There are two main reasons I think I was tripping over the hoses. For one, the dang things are hard to see because they are clear/transparent. For another, they are small diameter, making it harder to feel them right away when I step on them. And one more - I was having a lot of trouble with them kinking up. Add the cat problem, and it's a serious issue! So, taking the advice of other cat owners, I ordered a 100' boxed roll of 3.8" wire loom - it's the black plastic stuff all your engine wiring in your car is covered with. It was about $24. I simply covered all my air lines with it. I used rubber bands at the ends to hold it in place on the hose ends. Now the cat can't bite holes in it, and I don't trip over it. Why? Because it is bigger now and black, making it easier to see. Also, I can hear it, which reminds me it's there. I haven't tripped once since I put it on there. Also, the hoses last longer. Go slowly putting the wire loom on the hose, or it will chew up your fingers pretty good. Don't cut it to length until it is completely on there end to end. Then install the rubber bands, and done. Another trick - wit ha new 14" air hose, connect the ends together with a connector to keep water out, then soak it in hot water for ten to twenty minutes. Then uncoil it and lay it out straight until it cools. This will keep it from kinking. Then install the wire loom. If that stuff kinks, stretch it out and make sure it is not twisted in a spiral too much on the hose. Once the wire loom is on, and the hose and wire loom are all stretched out straight, then put the rubber bands on, and it will stay unkinked most of the time. You might have to go back once and untwist it again, but after that it should behave. I don't trip at all now, and if it gets stuck on a corner you can get it unstuck without damaging the hose inside. Works pretty good for me.
kloker Member
Dang misprints! It's 1/4" hose, not 14."
buddyfoxy Member
Thanks Leon, I have another idea to solve the tubing problem. 5 yrs. ago l suggested to my oxygen provider, to get a retractor for the tubing, instead of having it lay all over. The answer they gave me was safety. I am not tech savy, but the United States has lots of different types for the home. Figure that one out. Thank you. 
1. Leon Lebowitz, RRT Moderator & Contributor
 <inline-mention username="buddyfoxy" user-id="2424437"/> Hi again, Buddy, and thanks for your response. You have an excellent idea - thanks for posting it! Interestingly enough, another community member, <inline-mention username="tomboyer46" user-id="4140736"/>, has found a solution to this concern which he shared with us several times, one of them being on October 6 2021. Here is a copy of his post (and the all-important link), that provides information on the retractor device (all in quotes): "This is exactly what you need/want. I have one and highly recommend it. <a href='https://www.oxygenmgmtsystems.com/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer ugc'>https://www.oxygenmgmtsystems.com/</a> tomboyer46 October 6, 2021, 2:05 PM" I do hope you find this information is helpful for the issue, about tangled oxygen tubing, which you mentioned. What do you think? Leon (site moderator <a href='http://COPD.net' target='_blank'>COPD.net</a>)
Toofast4fleas Member
Oxygen tubing can certainly make you crazy, not just for the fact of tripping on it constantly, but also for keeping any people that visit or live with you safe as well. I have a home concentrator with 50' of tubing. My solution to keep my sanity with my tubing was to use 'Contact Brand' hooks on the casing of each doorway. I simply keep mostly all of my tubing up in the air and have eliminated not only the safety issue, but also keeping my sanity in tact since we all know what its like having the tubing wrapped around your feet! Hope this helps!!
1. SamanthaSarube Community Admin
 <inline-mention username="Toofast4fleas" user-id="4271733"/>, i'm glad to hear you have found something that works so well for you and thank you for sharing this tip! All the best, Sam S. (COPD.Net Team Member).

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