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Other Oxygen Hazards

Although oxygen doesn't burn, it does fuel the combustion process. "Smoking anywhere near oxygen, even in the same room, can be extremely dangerous," says Duane Sylvia, a consumer safety officer in CDER. While some oxygen bars are located in health spas or other facilities that don't allow smoking, others are found in nightclubs or casinos where smoking is common. Another fire hazard is the addition of substances, such as oils, in an oxygen-enriched environment.

Improper maintenance of oxygen equipment presents a potential danger. Some oxygen concentrators use clay filters, which can start growing pathogenic microorganisms that can cause infection if they are not changed regularly.

And oxygen cylinders can be very hazardous if they are stored on their sides or not kept in a well-ventilated area, says Sylvia.

Pumping Oxygen

Most oxygen bars use either "aviators breathing oxygen" or oxygen extracted out of the air in the bar. Aviators breathing oxygen (ABO) is a medical-grade oxygen, not less than 99.0 percent pure, intended for commercial or private aircraft use. ABO should not be used for recreational inhalation or medical therapeutic treatment of humans or animals.

Many oxygen bars use a concentrator, which filters out the nitrogen and other gases in the air circulating in the room, and then delivers the concentrated oxygen, about 95 percent pure, through a hose at a continuous flow rate. But oxygen users inhale the surrounding air along with the oxygen pumped through the nose hose, which decreases the concentration. The concentration is further decreased when oxygen is pumped through an aroma. According to one oxygen bar supplier, the customer gets less than 50 percent pure oxygen.

Although breathing these low levels of oxygen may not hurt a healthy person, "people have nothing to gain by frequenting oxygen bars, and subject themselves to unnecessary risk," says Purucker.

Oxygen and Sports

We've all seen it on TV — a football player runs off the field after a play and dons an oxygen mask. "They don't need it," says Conrad Earnest, Ph.D., director of exercise physiology at the Cooper Institute in Dallas. "It's one of the biggest placebo effects going," he adds. "It's a combative activity, so yes, the players are going to be out of breath, but it's because of massive exertion — not because of lack of oxygen." The exception, says Earnest, might be athletes who play at higher elevations than they are used to, and don't have time to acclimate. "If the New York Giants go to play the Washington Redskins, the benefit of oxygen — if any — would be so small it wouldn't be measurable. But if they go to play the Denver Broncos — going from sea level to a mile-high altitude — they may be helped by oxygen while recovering from a play."

And products with added oxygen, such as oxygenated water, sports drinks, and skin sprays don't impress Earnest, who refers to their suppliers as putting "sales before science." "If you drink oxygenated water, either the water passes through the gut and has no effect, or the acid in the stomach reacts with it and the only effect of the oxygen is that it will cause you to burp more," he says.

The Air Up There

Atmospheric pressure decreases as altitude increases, making it more difficult to breathe. But people living at high altitudes do adapt to their environment without using additional oxygen, says Mary Purucker, M.D., Ph.D., a Food and Drug Administration pulmonary specialist. "The blood becomes more efficient at transporting oxygen to tissues."

Healthy people traveling from lower to higher elevations don't usually need extra oxygen either, says Robert Mazzeo, Ph.D., an exercise physiologist at the University of Colorado in Boulder. But if people who live at low elevations try to exercise at higher elevations, such as the mile-high city of Boulder, they should be aware that exercise will be more taxing. "Maximum capacity declines as altitude increases," says Mazzeo. "If you're used to running two miles a day, you can still run two miles, but not at the same speed."

Tags: Health

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