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

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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?

Specializes in Med/Surg, Academics.

I agree with vleavitt's posts in this thread. Good debate.

A wrinkle: Herbals are not considered a drug, and they aren't even regulated by the FDA. They are a "dietary supplement." However, nurses cannot suggest the use of manufactured, branded herbals to a patient. We can, however, suggest appropriate foods for a given condition. Weird, huh?

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Specializes in Emergency Department.
Classmates and I brought this question to an instructor in class one day and here's how she explained it to us. Let's say you have a patient with COPD. Their normal O2 sat is around 90%, and even though we're trained that it need to be kept over 95%, you could NOT administer that much O2 to this patient because their body has adapted to lower concentrations of O2 and if you put them on a full blown O2 mask, you are changing the rate of O2/CO2 exchange and lessening their body's natural instinct to breathe, so their breathing weakens...NOT GOOD. This is just an example, I know...but it's always helped me remember that O2 is a drug for a reason.

With COPD patients, unless they're WELL into their disease process, their breathing stimulus is still via CO2 drive. Their bodies have adapted to a higher level of CO2 in their bloodstream. In those patients, even putting them on a high concentration of O2 won't kill them. It's the very few that actually are on O2 drive are the ones at risk if you put them on supplemental oxygen, and that won't normally happen very fast. If you do, watch for it and be prepared to take over and ventilate with a BVM.

Oxygen concentrations above room air is considered a drug and some kind of protocol (Dr's orders) must be in place to allow it to be administered.

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Specializes in Med Surg - Renal.
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.

Depends on the situation. Anyone trained in CPR for Professional Rescuers can give O2 in an emergency (this includes nurses).

It's a drug.

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Specializes in Med Surg - Renal.
O2 is naturally found in the air we breathe. Then again they say weed is a drug? teeheehee

Lithium is naturally found on the earth you walk on.

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Specializes in Med Surg - Renal.
Too much water will give you water intoxication and hyponatremia. Is water a medication? Steam is water in gas form - does that make it a medication?

Volley back to you.

Not really a volley, more of a mishit.

You could compare water to atmospheric air, but you cannot compare it to 02 delivered from a concentrated source at all.

Water (or steam, or ice) is simply not analogous to pure O2.

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Specializes in Med Surg - Renal.
Many substabnces and treatments are involved in the care of the patient and many are clearly pharmaceuticals - one end of the spectrum. At the other end of the spectrum we have itmes, substances, treatments that are clearly do not fall into this category - water, positioning, the air that we breathe (21% oxygen). So the question remains - where does oxygen fall? Divers and other used compressed gases - they do not require a prescription. Nurses - way back, were not "allowed" to take blood pressures, call blood blood when they saw it (it was to be called a red substance coming from the patient's body as we were not "capable of know it is blood"). So at what point do we say - not a drug that always need guidance?

Let the debate range on.

The real "debate" here seems to be people using false analogies. The fact that divers are trained to use compressed gases doesn't have anything to do with the fact that in a medical setting where licensed nurses are working, oxygen delivered from a concentrated source is indeed a medication (or drug) requiring an order.

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Specializes in EMS ER Fixed-wing Flight.

Medical oxygen is concidered a drug. Some facilities have standing orders, but then docs write their own orders, too. I've seen orders written for maintaining a patient's Sats at 95% for non-COPD patients and 90% for COPD patients. In EMS I think we give too much. Paramedics used to get very frustrated with ER nurses who took the O2 off to get a room air Sat. Now that EMS carries pulse ox it's not such a biggie. Just remember that O2 is only have the equation though. In certain circumstances you need CO2 readings, as well, through capnography. If the patient was rescued from a burning building, or is a firefighter they may have CO and cyanide exposure giving a false 100% Sat. You'll know the real story with capnography.

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As a firefighter I do not need an MD order to administer oxygen, it is considered a drug under the medical act. When get called to emeregency situations and we check O2 sats if they are low or having trouble breathing we start 02 with a non rebreather at 10 L/m.

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I see where some say oxygen is a medication because it requires a physician's order. Well so does PT, OT, ST, glucometers and much more. But when it comes to management, if oxygen is used in a hospital it it managed by a respiratory tech, not a nurse. In a home setting, there is not nurse to assess them all day, so anyone on oxygen would therefore require a nursing home setting. It can be turned on at a specific setting and evaluated regularly by a physician, but used daily without nursing assessment or management in a individuals home. It is ordered and paid for by insurance under durable medical equipment, not pharmacy. Just saying.

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As a firefighter I do not need an MD order to administer oxygen, it is considered a drug under the medical act. When get called to emeregency situations and we check O2 sats if they are low or having trouble breathing we start 02 with a non rebreather at 10 L/m.

If I ever need assistance of the firefighter/first responder kind, I hope to get you. You've managed to successfully resuscitate a 5-year-dead thread. ;)

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LOL. I was searching the subject as I work with individuals in their homes under supervision of non medical caregivers. There has been some recent discussion of making oxygen something that would not be allowed in their homes due to not having a nurse in house to manage it. In discussing this change I was told that it was a federal law that oxygen is a drug but I have not been able to find anything to support that statement. I am a bit of a doberman when it comes to my clients being told they cannot live as normal a life as possible.

I hope I did not offend and apparently resuscitation is not my strongest attribute, it has been 5 years probably have some oxygen deprivation issues.

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