is oxygen considered a medication?.. what do you think?

[lvnnars1]

i hear some people say it is, and the other half say it isn't. what do you nurses think? for example 2L oxygen via nasal cannula is that considered a medication?

[ICUterry]

i think O2 should be considered a drug.. after all you can get O2 poisioning if given too much O2.. anyone with SOB is prescribed O2 to subsidize those problems.. so to the best of my knowledge i should say yes it is.. heck if given O2 around a fire it can cause a bomb.. so there are some contraindications.... to look at before administering this medicine... oddly enough its all round us.. but being given through a tank concentrated i must say yes it is a drug

[newRNstudent02]

O2 is naturally found in the air we breathe. Then again they say weed is a drug? teeheehee

[annietart]

I don't think it's a drug. The same way NS via IV isn't a "drug." But it does require an MD order.

You know that some lifeguards can administer oxygen, right? Makes you wonder why a nurse with the amount of training we have can't give it but a lifeguard who's been through at most 2 weeks of training can.

When I was trained in O2 management as a lifeguard we followed a protocol and were allowed to administer 15L by non-rebreather mask and ambu-bag. The only time it's ever used is providing rescue breaths when a patient is in cardiac or respiratory arrest.

Ah....but think of the reason a lifeguard would administer O2 and it'll make sense. I am curious though- I was a lifeguard in college and we didn't have it available to us. (Medics did, not us.) Where are you that they can?

There is oxygen management training that the Red Cross provides but most pools don't require it. I was working at a water park that uses a private firm called Ellis and Associates when I was trained in oxygen use. We were licensed and not certified and had followed protocols similar to medics.

[anonymousstudent]

I'm not going to tell you where I'm from. I'm trying to be anonymous. Can you tell? lol

But I supervised 2 guards with O2 certs, and if they could give somebody O2, there's no reason why every nurse shouldn't be able to do it. I know they do it in emergency situations, but we all learn about when to give and when to hold O2, that's pretty basic.

[CuriousMe]

I'm not going to tell you where I'm from. I'm trying to be anonymous. Can you tell? lol

But I supervised 2 guards with O2 certs, and if they could give somebody O2, there's no reason why every nurse shouldn't be able to do it. I know they do it in emergency situations, but we all learn about when to give and when to hold O2, that's pretty basic.

Lifeguards can give it for the same reason that EMT's and nurses can give it....they're following protocols. They need the training on the protocols because it is considered a drug.

[newRNstudent02]

It is protocol for EMS to make sure a scene is safe before entering. Protocol is not what makes something a drug. The point being, there needs to be a more defined term for "drug".

[CuriousMe]

It is protocol for EMS to make sure a scene is safe before entering. Protocol is not what makes something a drug. The point being, there needs to be a more defined term for "drug".

I didn't say that protocols are the reason that O2 is a drug (BTW, different definition of protocol than you used). I said that O2 is a drug and the reason they're allowed to give it without a script is that they are following a protocol.

This isn't a protocol like making sure the scene is safe (which is a good idea). This is a protocol like in the hospital. Another protocol that is common is a bowel protocol, or a potassium protocol. They're essentially "standing orders" under specific criteria. With O2 it's generally tied to O2 saturations and/or respiratory effort.

I guarantee you that there is a defined legal definition for the word drug, no I'm not looking it up. Rest assured though, legally and every other way...pure O2 (as opposed to atmospheric oxygen) is a drug.

[Loretta S]

A drug, broadly speaking, is anything that affects physiological functioning. In pharmacology, a drug is defined as anything which is used in the treatment, prevention, cure or diagnosis of illness. So in both definitions, i'd say that yes, O2 is a drug. I think it's also best practice to think of it this way as, like all drugs, they can have side effects and we need to always be thinking of that bigger picture. But, i'm a student and therefore full of idealism and theory and not yet in the real world! Feel free to debate me!

[cgravier]

duh...obviously

[sunshine100]

Where I work we have to sign in the drug book that we filled up the tank and checked their oxygen, so I would say yes.

[morningland]

Thats funny because I once asked a nurse if I needed an order to put oxygen on and she looked at me like I was an idiot and said no. Guess my intuition was right

[CuriousMe]

Thats funny because I once asked a nurse if I needed an order to put oxygen on and she looked at me like I was an idiot and said no. Guess my intuition was right

Most hospitals have a protocol, or standing order (depends on your hospital) to give oxygen if sats are below 92% or there is increased work of breathing (or it could be part of another protocol like a chest pain protocol). So, there is already an order for each and every patient.