Can I shower while on home oxygen?

Usually yes, with care around water. Keep the concentrator out of the bathroom and away from water. Depending on your prescription, you may keep the oxygen on or take the cannula off briefly — do whichever your team advises. Take care with tubing on wet floors, and use water-based skin products.

Can I still exercise and stay active?

Yes, and you should where you can — activity is good for body and mood. Portable oxygen helps many people stay active, and pulmonary rehabilitation builds strength and confidence and reduces breathlessness. Ask your team what level is right for you, done at your own pace.

Can I use oxygen overnight?

Many people do. Arrange the tubing so it will not wrap around you or get trapped, and so you can turn over easily. If you wake with a morning headache or feel unusually drowsy or confused, tell your team, as these can be signs worth checking.

Home Oxygen & Daily Life: Living Well

Q: Can I eat and drink with the cannula in?

Yes — a nasal cannula leaves your mouth free, so you can eat and drink normally while wearing your oxygen. There is no need to take it off for meals unless your team says otherwise. Staying hydrated also helps with a dry nose and mouth.

Q: How do I stop the tubing being a trip hazard?

Keep it clear of walkways and especially stairs, route it along the edges of rooms, and be mindful of it when you turn or step back. Keeping it untangled also stops it kinking and reducing the flow. This prevents both falls and interruptions to your oxygen.

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

Home oxygen is designed to fit around your life, not to take it over. With a few practical adjustments — managing the tubing, keeping the machine away from water, and building your oxygen hours into the day — showering, sleeping, eating, and staying active all remain part of normal life. This guide covers the everyday practicalities that make living with oxygen comfortable and straightforward, day and night.

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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 your team’s advice. Never change your own flow rate, and keep the concentrator away from water and flames. Call 995 for severe breathlessness, blue lips, chest pain, or if the person becomes unusually drowsy or confused.

Getting on with everyday life

Over time, home oxygen can help some people do more of their day-to-day activities, sleep better and think more clearly, because the body is no longer short of oxygen. It is not a cure for the underlying condition, but it can make daily life more comfortable and less exhausting. The aim is to weave the oxygen into your routine so it becomes background, freeing you to focus on living rather than on the equipment. Most people find that after the first few weeks the equipment stops feeling strange and simply becomes part of how they get through the day, much like a pair of glasses or a walking stick.

Showering and washing

You can usually wash and shower much as normal, with a little care around water. The concentrator is an electrical appliance, so keep it out of the bathroom and away from water. Depending on your prescription, you may keep your oxygen on while you wash, or take the cannula off briefly — do whichever your team advises. Take care with long tubing on wet, slippery floors, and remember to use water-based rather than oil-based skin products because of the fire risk.

Sleep

Many people use oxygen overnight, and getting the set-up comfortable makes for better rest. Arrange the tubing so it will not wrap around you or get trapped, and position it so you can turn over easily. If you wake with a headache that is worse in the morning, or feel unusually drowsy or confused, mention it to your team, as these can be signs worth checking. Otherwise, overnight oxygen simply becomes part of your night-time routine.

Eating and drinking

A nasal cannula leaves your mouth free, so you can eat and drink normally while wearing your oxygen — there is no need to take it off for meals unless your team has said otherwise. Staying well hydrated also helps with a dry nose and mouth. Eating well matters for your strength and for coping with a long-term condition, so keep meals as normal and enjoyable as you can, cannula and all. If large meals leave you more breathless, smaller and more frequent meals can be easier, and your team or a dietitian can advise if eating becomes hard work.

Staying active

Keeping active is important for both body and mood, and being on oxygen is not a reason to stop moving. Portable, ambulatory oxygen helps many people stay active and get out, and pulmonary rehabilitation — a supervised programme of exercise and education for people with lung conditions — builds strength and confidence and reduces breathlessness. Ask your team what level of activity is right for you; the answer is almost always more than you might fear, done at your own pace. Even short, regular bursts of gentle activity help keep your muscles working and your spirits up, and they become easier the more often you do them.

Managing tubing safely

Long tubing is what lets you move around the home while on the concentrator, but it needs managing. Keep it clear of walkways and, especially, stairs, where Asthma + Lung UK notes it can be a tripping hazard. Route it along the edges of rooms, and be mindful of it when you turn or step back. Keeping it untangled also stops it kinking, which would reduce the flow. A little attention to the tubing prevents both falls and interruptions.

Little routines around the home

Small habits make daily life smoother: keeping the concentrator in a ventilated spot with space around it, having your back-up cylinder ready, keeping spare cannulas and your supplier’s number handy, and checking your cylinder or battery levels before you go out. Building your prescribed oxygen hours into set parts of the day helps you get the benefit without thinking about it. Over time these little routines run themselves, and the oxygen stops feeling like a chore and simply becomes part of ordinary home life that you barely notice. In Singapore, your respiratory team and supplier can help you fit oxygen comfortably into your household and routine.

Sources

Asthma + Lung UK — Living with home oxygen: asthmaandlung.org.uk
NHS — Home oxygen treatment: nhs.uk
North Tees and Hartlepool NHS — Home oxygen therapy: nth.nhs.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.

Oxygen & Daily Life (Singapore)