What are the main types of home oxygen?

Long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT), used many hours a day including sleep; ambulatory oxygen, portable oxygen to stay active and get out; and short-burst oxygen, brief use for which evidence is limited. Your team decides which applies to you.

Can I adjust my own oxygen flow rate?

No — never. The flow rate and hours are prescribed for you based on your blood oxygen, and changing them yourself can be harmful. If you feel your oxygen is not enough, speak to your respiratory team rather than turning it up.

Where can I get support in Singapore?

Your hospital respiratory team and your oxygen supplier are your first contact for assessment, equipment and reviews; HealthHub’s Airway Programme offers information on respiratory care. For emergencies call 995; for emotional support, SOS is on 1767 and mindline.sg on 1771.

Living with Home Oxygen in Singapore: A Guide

Q: Is home oxygen a treatment for breathlessness?

No. Home oxygen treats persistently low blood oxygen levels, not breathlessness on its own. Some people have low oxygen without feeling breathless, and many breathless people have normal oxygen and would not benefit. Oxygen is only started after your blood oxygen is measured.

Q: What conditions need home oxygen?

Long-term conditions that lower blood oxygen — such as COPD, pulmonary fibrosis and other lung diseases, bronchiectasis, cystic fibrosis, severe asthma, pulmonary hypertension, and heart failure. The oxygen corrects the low level; it does not cure the underlying condition.

Written & reviewed by the BestDoctors.sg editorial team · Last updated 28 Aug 2026 · General information, not medical advice

Home oxygen therapy means breathing in air with extra oxygen, delivered at home through a soft tube in the nose or a mask, for people whose blood oxygen level is persistently low. If you or someone you care for has just been prescribed it, it can feel like a big change, but with the right equipment and support most people carry on with meaningful, active lives. This guide explains what home oxygen is, who needs it, the main types, and where to find support in Singapore.

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In a medical emergency, or for severe or sudden symptoms such as breathing difficulty, chest pain, fainting or stroke signs, call 995 immediately.

This is general information and does not replace the advice of your respiratory team and oxygen supplier. Never change your own oxygen flow rate, and never smoke or allow naked flames near oxygen. Call 995 if breathing becomes severe, if the lips turn blue, or if the person becomes unusually drowsy or confused.

What home oxygen is

Home oxygen therapy provides extra oxygen to breathe in, supplied from a machine or cylinders set up in your home. It is delivered through a nasal cannula, which is a thin tube with two small prongs that sit in the nostrils, or sometimes a mask. The oxygen tops up the level in your blood when your lungs can no longer keep it high enough on their own. It is a prescribed medical treatment, set up and supported by a respiratory team and an oxygen supplier.

For low oxygen, not breathlessness

This is the single most important thing to understand. Home oxygen is a treatment for persistently low blood oxygen levels — not for breathlessness on its own. As Asthma + Lung UK puts it plainly, if you have problems with breathlessness but do not have low blood oxygen, oxygen is not the right treatment for you. The two are not the same: some people have low oxygen without feeling breathless, and many breathless people have normal oxygen and would not benefit from it. This is why oxygen is only started after your blood oxygen is measured.

Conditions that may need it

A number of long-term heart and lung conditions can lower blood oxygen enough to need home oxygen. These include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pulmonary fibrosis and other interstitial lung diseases, bronchiectasis, cystic fibrosis, severe asthma, pulmonary hypertension, and heart failure. The oxygen does not cure the underlying condition; it corrects the low oxygen level so the heart and organs are not starved of it, which can help you feel and function better and, in some conditions, live longer.

The main types

There are a few forms. Long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) is used for many hours a day — often at least around fifteen hours, including while you sleep, though the exact number is set by your team — for people with chronically low oxygen. Ambulatory oxygen is portable oxygen used to stay active and get out of the house, for people whose oxygen drops when they move about. Short-burst oxygen is brief use, though the evidence for it is limited and it is not routinely recommended for long-term heart and lung disease.

Your care team

Home oxygen is looked after by a team. This usually includes a respiratory physician, a respiratory or oxygen specialist nurse, the home oxygen assessment and review service, the oxygen supplier who installs and services your equipment, and your family doctor. The team assesses you, sets the prescription, and reviews it over time, while the supplier handles the equipment and refills. Knowing who does what, and keeping their contact numbers to hand, makes living with oxygen far more manageable.

A prescribed treatment

Oxygen is a prescribed medicine, not something to buy over the counter or adjust yourself. The flow rate and the number of hours are set for you, based on measurements of your blood oxygen, and turning the flow up or down on your own can be harmful. Buying and using oxygen without a prescription is dangerous. If you ever feel it is not enough, the answer is to speak to your team, not to change the settings.

Living a full life and support in Singapore

With the right assessment, equipment and support, people on home oxygen go out, socialise, stay active and remain independent, and portable oxygen and pulmonary rehabilitation help many do more, not less. In Singapore, your hospital respiratory team and your oxygen supplier are your anchor for assessment, equipment and reviews, and HealthHub’s Airway Programme offers information on respiratory care and home equipment. For any emergency, call 995, and if you are struggling emotionally, SOS is on 1767 and mindline.sg on 1771. Your team and supplier will make sure you know how to use everything safely before you rely on it at home. Home oxygen is a support to living well, not a limit on it.

Sources

NHS — Home oxygen treatment: nhs.uk
Asthma + Lung UK — What is home oxygen therapy: asthmaandlung.org.uk
Asthma + Lung UK — Living with home oxygen: asthmaandlung.org.uk
HealthHub (Singapore) — The Airway Programme: healthhub.sg

General information only. This guide supports — but does not replace — the advice of your respiratory team and oxygen supplier, who set your oxygen and tailor it to you. Never change your own oxygen flow rate, and never smoke or allow naked flames near oxygen. Oxygen is prescribed for low blood oxygen, not to relieve breathlessness on its own. Call 995 if breathing becomes severe or does not ease as usual, if the lips or fingertips turn blue, for chest pain, or if the person becomes unusually drowsy, confused or hard to wake (a possible build-up of carbon dioxide from too much oxygen). If you are struggling emotionally, you are not alone — the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) are on 1767 and mindline.sg on 1771.

Living with Home Oxygen (Singapore)