Demand for oxygen cylinders rise, but docs warn against unsupervised use

Chennai

There are about 30 licensed oxygen manufacturing units, most of which are seeing increased demand from the public. Private hospitals and nursing homes are also manufacturing oxygen to ensure an adequate supply of oxygen for the patients.

From about 20-30 cylinders a month before the pandemic, Awadhesh Yadav, owner of AI Can, an oxygen cylinder supplying unit in Chennai, is now supplying 100-150 cylinders. The cost of a 10-litre cylinder is about Rs 15,000 – Rs 20,000, he said.

“The nursing homes are at liberty to manufacture oxygen on their own to meet the increased demand, while government hospitals can procure additional cylinders through Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation. So far, there seems to be no scarcity of supply,” said Tamil Nadu Drug Controller Dr K Sivabalan.

However, doctors are not in favour of using this at home. “The use of oxygen cylinders is advisable in a proper clinical setup; using it at home can be dangerous. The cylinder can catch fire if it is not used properly or due to exposure to anything combustible. Also, any individual who requires oxygen support also requires medical observation. Instead, pulse oximeters can be used to monitor the oxygen in the blood. If the levels are lower than usual, the patient can be taken to the hospital,” said K Ramesh, medicine consultant at COVID-19 ward at a government hospital in the city.

Dr K Narayanaswamy, Dean, Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, said the hospital has started additional procurement of oxygen cylinders through Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation as more symptomatic and critical COVID-19 patients are being brought to the hospital.

“We have started additional procurement of oxygen cylinders from this month, as more number of cases are being recorded. A large number of patients come with low oxygen in their blood, especially the ones with mild or moderate symptoms, and their condition becomes critical in no time. We need to be prepared for such patients,” said Dr Narayanaswamy.