simon43

The machine sucks in the air, extracts the oxygen component and then feeds this via thin tubes to your nose for breathing in. So it sucks in the air at a rate far more than your body would inhale, thus enabling the 'concentration' part. (With my scientist hat on...): Bear in mind that air only has about 21% oxygen in it and most of the rest is nitrogen, which we don't need. Even when we breath out, our exhaled gases still have about 15% oxygen! Thus, you can see that we really don't need much oxygen to be healthy and normal, so a little extra oxygen into your body can really help.

Thanks for all your comments. I have had pneumonia on many occasions over the past 25 years, including a week in Bumrungrad for a severe pneumonia infection (which probably did most of the bronchi damage). I know with my body what the first symptoms of pneumonia feel like and I'm happy to say that I've avoided pneumonia for the last 15 years or so. I am uptodate with my pneumonia (2 types) jabs, also Covid and flu. It's important for me to minimise any health risk 🙂 Probably my oximeter (which cost 200 baht on Lazada) is .. er what's the word? Oh yes krap!! I never feel faint or light-headed - the shortness of breath is due to the damn mucus blocking up my airways 🙂 BTW, my lungs themselves are fine - hence I can briskly walk 10km every day without getting short of breath, (even with chronic bronchitis I start short of breath but after 10km it hasn't got worse. Finally, I do various 'huff' breathing techniques that are recommended to loosen up sticky mucus, plus take some medications for the same purpose. Last evening, I had to abandon the 3rd of my hourly online science lessons 'cos I had a coughing fit. Tonight, I turned off the air-con and ran my steam humidifier for the 3 hours. It was like sitting in a Turkish sauna!! But my lungs were much happier and no coughing 🙂

They seem to be about 4,000 baht on Lazada. Regardless of what the oxymeter reads, the fact is that I do get a little short of breath during a flare-up, and Dr Google suggests that use of an oxygen concentrator can certainly be an aid at this time.

Thanks! Happily I have never felt faint at any time. My typical heart rate is rather slow at 45-55 beats/minute, but doctors have attributed this to a healthy heart as a result of the daily exercise that I do (5-10km brisk walking every day for the past 25 years!) to keep my lungs clear. At night, my heart rate can drop to 35, but doctors have checked and said that this is not due to any heart problems, but is solely because of my good heart health. I only feel slightly short of breath when the damn mucus sticks in my bronchi 🙂 As an aside, many years ago I took up playing the Lao khaen musical instrument to help my lungs, since one can play songs by breathing in and out without needing to take an 'external' breath. I can't say that my ability to play the khaen has improved though!

Why were you at 60% if you don't mind saying?

Apart from the bronchitis, I feel normal, only a little short of breath. Bear in mind that I've had these bronchitis flare-ups for the past 25 years and this time it's same same. But previously I never bothered checking my blood oxygen levels. I'll wait until the bronchitis/mucus has minimised in a few days and then check again. If my % level still reads low, then time to buy a new oxymeter 🙂

Ah, an answer from a moron!! Living with a serious lung condition requires regular monitoring of my state of health, and one aid is a pulse oxymeter......

Right now, my blood oxygen level is around 88%, heart rate normal. I have bronchiectasis (widening of the lung bronchi, caused typically by previous pneumonia). Because my bronchi are very sensitive to air irritants, I moved to Khanom Beach, with clean, salty air, and that suited my lungs. Last week I had to go to Jomtien Beach to finish up my rented condo. The location was nice, the condo was cheap, but the smell of cannabis was everywhere, and my lungs definitely didn't like it! I came back to Khanom with bad bronchitis, which I've had dozens of times previously. Bad cough, tons of thick mucus in my lungs, very tired, and I still need to teach online 🙂 I had to abandon some lessons due to uncontrolleable coughing attacks. Today, things seem a little better, after taking anti-biotics and mucus thinners and 'huffing' exercise. But I bought a pulse oximeter from Lazada to check my oxygen % level. 88%, sometimes 90%. Hmm...... Dr Google told me to get to the nearest hospital! I have been short of breath, due to the mucus partly blocking my bronchi, but no worse than what I've experienced with this poxy illness over the past 25 years. Does anyone with a lung condition use an oxygen concentrator? I might buy one to help me a little during these flare ups. Does anyone have experience of these? Thanks.

When I lived in the UK, I always carried a shotgun when out on my farm, (need to shoot vermin etc, such as this grandson)

For fcuks sake, stop moaning!! If you don't like it here, then p*ss off somewhere else. Jeez.........

Personally, I would ban any forum member from the USA. That would eliminate 99% of the bickering and trolls. Apologies to the 1% who don't bicker - perhaps you could claim to be from Canada.....

Lol, there are no language schools where I live 🙂 I certainly know that the Thai 'grapevine' circulates information very rapidly, so perhaps these strangers know more about me than I know about me.... Certainly there is respect because I am old!

I would comment that you should come down hard on any Thai official who refuses your daughter her legal rights as a Thai. If she has a Thai ID card, then next time, take your mobile phone and at the first sign of refusal I would start videoing the official whilst explaining thet they are being plastered all over Facebook for refusing a Thai person her rights..... I have no time for petty minded officials (as is exemplified by the shouting match between me and a female Thai immigration offical at the Thai-Malaysian border a few weeks ago!). I won.....

Try wearing long trousers and a collared shirt and see how you are treated by the locals. I only wear long trousers and usually wear a collared shirt. Locals address me as 'ajarn', which is a term of respect, many adults duck as they go pass me out of respect, yet many have never even spoken with me previously. Thai people often form their opinion of you by sight and sound, (as do many other nations, and it perhaps shouldn't be so, but this is the real world). I've noticed that complete Thai strangers will not address me in broken (or not-so-broken) English, but will immediately speak Thai to me, even if they have never spoken with me before. They assume from my appearance and dress that I am educated, and can therefore speak Thai 🙂 BTW, I am actually a very modest sort of chap, so what I've commented above is not blowing my own trumpet, but simply pointing out that your appearance and manner is very important for Thais to 'allocate' you into the correct layer of the pecking order....

Last year I was looking around for a place to base myself after retirement (which was last week!). I stayed in Koh Lanta for about 6 weeks but decided that despite the nice beaches it wasn't the place for me. Why? 3 words will tell you: "Black crows everywhere". Absolutely depressing place to see so many 'tented' women. No place for my retirement.....

I assume after living for so many years in Thailand that you can speak and read Thai very well? That will certainly help you to integrate better (I always make jokes in Thai with the 7/11 staff "Hey, I don't want sugar in my latte, can you discount it by 1 baht?") I'm 66 years old and am treated with respect by the local Thais, especially those that I don't even know. School kids all duck as they go past me in the 7/11, locals say hello and so on. You know, it helps a lot if: - you do not wear shorts - shorts are for the beach and gym. Wear long trousers - you do not wear a 'wife-beater'. Wear a collared shirt or a smart t-shirt - you do not smoke in public, absolutely don't smoke weed in public - you do not visibly drink alcohol except at a bar or restaurant - you are not a lard-bucket Follow this simple advice and enjoy your retirement 🙂

What is the unit of measurement for the vertical axis on that chart? It isn't labeled.

I had the preventative course of vaccinations before I went to work in Myanmar. This was basically to buy me a little time to get to a hospital if I were bitten/scratched etc. Luckily, I never had to verify the effectiveness of the vaccine 🙂

Ah! Now I recall that poster 🙂 . Everything is much clearer to me now! I won't bother replying to his troll posts...

My enquiring would be to understand more about the topic out of self-interest. But scientists who have won the Nobel Prize for their medical research are probably more believable than a tin-hatter 🙂 Additionally, I am not a virologist, but a space scientist, so my understanding of virology and pathogens is about year 2 university level. Why would Alexander Fleming need to lie about penicillin? Why would Salk lie about Polio vaccines? Why would Marie Curie lie about Polonium? Middle Stump is making ludricrous claims from a position of total ignorance about science and medical research - it's either all about Big Pharma or Bill Gates or conspiracy theories.

Complete what I wrote! I dismiss it as poppycock because decades of reserach by many brilliant scientists who are way smarter than me have proved beyond doubt that the statement is ludicrous.....

Not beyond the scope of this thread! You need to back up your statements with evidence - don't just say "because I say so".

"...Or do you, and your fellow scientists, believe anything that you are told" No professional scientist takes statements at face value. The information needs to be peer-reviewed, but not reviewed by unqualified, tin-hat 'nutters' looking for more tik-tok likes. I'm not a virologist. I am a space scientist/engineer and I endeavour to conduct experiments within my abilities to confirm scientific statements made by others. A scientist always has an enquiring mind, but their curiosity is based on years of academic learning and in-industry practical experience. It's called The Scientific Method and that is what I teach all of my students to do - don't take statements at face value, but research the topic and especially check the background of the person who is making some new scientic statement that seems at odd with the generally-accepted ideas. When someone tells me that there is no such thing as a virus, I dismiss that staement as poppycock, because decades of research by some of the most brilliant scientific minds has shown otherwise.

Surely this Middle Stump poster must be some sort of forum shill, recruited to inflame other posters with his/her inane comments and increase thread replies? ... because I've never read such twaddle in all my life 🙂

Yes terrestrial SSTV is transmitted regularly on 14230 and 28680 KHz in the amateur bands, but there seems to be more activity with SSTV sent by CBers in the 11 metre band. I don't do much on 14230, but I do have regular SSTV contacts with stations in Japan on 10 metres. Back in the 1980s I worked for Marconi Defence Systems, in the middle of a wood at Stanmore, north London. In one of the secure buildings was a 5 metre antenna dish. I used to hook up a Ku band LNB and watch some of the early days of satellite TV, from France and Switzerland if I recall.