A popular assumption is that in our atmosphere, we breathe 100 % oxygen which is not true. The air we breathe is around 21% oxygen and 78% nitrogen. The final 1% is a mixture of other gasses such as carbon dioxide and hydrogen.
Medical oxygen is highly pure oxygen used in the medical care and supplied in the human body to be used for medical treatments. The term 'pure' refers to how the patient should be supplied with a solid amount of purified oxygen. Medical grade oxygen should not be less than 90.0% but not more than 96.0% for such an oxygen concentrator.
Medical oxygen cylinders contain a large purity of oxygen gas; the cylinder is not approved to avoid contamination from any other form of gas.
Such oxygen is found in a variety of conditions. Oxygen in care services such as hospitals and clinics is widely used. This is used during surgery, emergency first aid resuscitation, life assistance for people who are not able to breathe by themselves, and oxygen therapy.
Technological advancements have allowed patients to track and control at any time conveniently of their blood oxygen levels. Pulse oximeters are lightweight instruments that painlessly add to a fingertip for pulse monitoring and oxygen levels in our blood to indicate that we are healthy and focused.
Nearly all oxygen generating plant today passes US Pharmacopeia (USP) standards, largely for environmental purposes because oxygen is contained in different facilities, but it is the Compression Gas Association (CGA) who looks after the quality of the oxygen and how oxygen cylinders are filled by different oxygen ranges. In various sectors, there are four recognized oxygen levels like welding, research, aviation, and medical.
This is also classified as a drug and must also fulfill the essential oxygen criteria of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for therapeutic compressed air maintained worldwide. Some of the criteria is the complete removal of oxygen cylinders to reduce the possibility of infection, and is properly washed and labeled.
Certain medical oxygen standards and laws apply, such as ensuring a person needs a prescription to purchase medical oxygen; however, a prescription is an extra step in confirming ensuring oxygen is safe to use.
It is important to keep in mind that the pureness and setting of oxygen requirements of two individuals are not the same. Gender, weight, and genetics are essential factors that help to consume oxygen in our body.