canned oxygen

[Scorpyd shooter]

I bought a couple cans from Walmart, would it help to use some of it when you need to move quickly, being not used to 9-10,000 ft altitude? couple times I was just gasping for air hunting in bighorns

[Swede]

I have no experience with canned oxygen, but I wanted to try and help anyway. I have never seen anyone hunting and carrying canned oxygen either. That said, I think it could help for a short time, but I would keep it in case you start to get cramps or altitude sickness. Someone on this forum should be able to competently advise you on altitude sickness if that is ever a problem. I hear it is not fun, and is potentially dangerous. My advise is if you need canned oxygen, go to a lower elevation on slow down and until you are acclimated to the elevation.

[Bolt]

If you get altitude sickness there could be a host of issues to take into consideration. I'm no Dr. and do not experience the symptoms myself but I have a friend that does.
When you arrive to your hunting destination, allow yourself 12 hours to acclimate before you start pounding the mountain. Also go to your Dr. before your hunt, ask them for ibuprofen 600 mg or "grunt candy". no don't call it that or you wont get it, take one a day and you should see a noticeable difference. Good Luck!

[>>>---WW---->]

Walgreen's has 650 mg ibuprofen over the counter.

[Bolt]

Walgreen's has 650 mg ibuprofen over the counter.

I did not know that, what she gives me may be 800 but I'm sure you can take two 400 or whatever.

[Scorpyd shooter]

I don't think I ever got altitude sickness before, I was thinking if a person needs to move fast and start gasping for air , does it help for a few minutes to keep going, I slowed a guy down twice cause I was short on air.
2 yrs ago heart Dr said my heart and were in great shape, I'mjust not used to lack of oxygen at about 9-10k feet

[Scorpyd shooter]

I stay away from insaids, can cause bleeding

[Lonnie]

Bolt. I have not heard it called GRUNT CANDY in years. I was in the Marine infantry for 8 years. I trained at a lot of different elevations. Yes Ibuprofen works. But if you keep getting sick or headaches that don't go away. You probably should go down in elevation. I think there is a lot of great elk hunting grounds that are a lot lower in elevation if one was worried about elevation. I don't thing of 9000 to 10000 elevation being that bad even if you are coming from sea level. I would definitely recommend getting in great cardio shape. That will help, and you might just need to slow down so you don't fill the need for the canned oxygen. I think knowing your own ability is the key. By the way im not a doctor, just a marine, and we are hard headed about our bodies. So if you body has a problem with elevation talk to your doctor.

[JKaboom]

I watched a guy at elk camp near Gunnison that was from Colorado but lived at sea level for some time use this: http://acli-mate.com I watched it make a noticeable difference and he said it helped tons. Regarding canned oxygen I bought some last season but did not need it. The way I was told to use it someone mentioned and that was when you get sick/headache etc take some deep breaths of it but don't use constantly just some breaths when needed. Stay very hydrated as well. The advice about letting your body acclimate for 12-24 hours is solid as well. Exercise/training in advance is good advice. I live in CO at 7000 and we hunted from 8500-11000 so I have a leg up. However, I am a big guy and still trying to do some preparation (so I have a disadvantage here). Hope this helps

[Lonnie]

Ok I'm a mule. I train all year long for hunting season. I think of canned air like sugar pills that the doctor gives you. You think it makes you fill better so mintally you are better. I think in higher elevations if you payed attention to your heart rate and worked at your ability then you would not need the canned air. I will sale you ocean front property in Arizona if you want. I think canned oxygen is a joke. We have to train and know our limitations so we know what we are capable of. If that takes walking twice a week with a pack then it is worth it. And yes I have trained with hundreds of Marines in high elevations. Not one person used canned oxygen. Sea level all the way up to 15000 in one day. If I come off bad to some people that's not my intention. I just think by training and knowing your ability you will make it and not fall in to the sales market of crap.

[WapitiTalk1]

Just like any adventure/mission, one doesn't acclimate/achieve their battle rhythm immediately (regardless of the climate, elevation, etc., changes we throw ourselves into when season starts). It takes a few days regardless of how hard one trains in the off season. It's always best to relegate yourself to this phenomenon and either arrive at elk camp to acclimate early or understand that a hunter is not gonna be humping 2000+ elevation straight up the first day without feeling some symptoms. Slow, steady, and smart wins the race

[TimeOnTarget]

I had looked into this some years back. I found some info that stated that canned o2 could actually cause altitude sickness so I passed on it.

I cannot recall where that info was as it was 4-5 years back but you should probably look into it before hand.


Lonnie is right, Train your ass off and be ready for the mountains and you'll have little problem.

[Charina]

I found some info that stated that canned o2 could actually cause altitude sickness so I passed on it.

I have not read anything about it causing altitude sickness (haven't looked for it), but based on reading various findings of supplemental O2 by EMT/hospital situations, I would not be the least surprised to find it can exacerbate the situation. Too much of a good thing can certainly be bad.

“Washout” of nitrogen in adult lungs occurs when high concentration oxygen is administered. Lower concentrations of nitrogen can lead to decreased surfactant production with subsequent atelectasis and collapse of alveoli, significantly impeding oxygen exchange.
. . .
Finally, consider this: five minutes of supplemental oxygen by non-rebreather decreases coronary blood flow by 30 percent, increases coronary resistance by 40 percent due to coronary artery constriction, and blunts the effect of vasodilator medications like nitroglycerine [12]. These effects were demonstrated dramatically in cath lab studies [13] published in 2005.

5 min of supplemental O2 can reduce the blood flow to heart muscle! Hardly something you want happening when you are struggling to get enough 02 to your muscles. Dr has refused to prescribe me supplemental O2 for apenea treatment. That used to frustrate me, but after researching it, I understand now that supplemental 02 can be quite harmful. I would not be one bit surprised if the FDA, CFPB, or some other agency came down on these canned oxygen suppliers some time soon.

[Scorpyd shooter]

thanks for info, glad to know, my friend was a guide, he said no amountof exercise can make up for lower oxygen levels, only a few weeks of being there will do it