Medical gases are gases used in medical procedures. Some are used for treatment, some for anesthesia, and some for driving medical devices and tools.

There are 7 kinds of gases commonly used: oxygen, nitrogen, nitrous oxide, argon, helium, carbon dioxide, and compressed air.

(1) Oxygen

Oxygen is the most basic gas for life, and it is used medically to supplement oxygen to oxygen-deficient patients. Direct inhalation of high purity oxygen is harmful to the human body. Long-term use of oxygen concentration generally does not exceed 30-40%. Ordinary patients breathe oxygen through oxygen flowmeter; critically ill patients breathe oxygen through the ventilator.

Oxygen is also used in high-pressure tanks to treat diving, gas poisoning, and for drug nebulization.

(2) Nitrous oxide

Inhalation of a small amount of nitrous oxide has an anesthetic and analgesic effect, but a large amount of inhalation can suffocate people. Medically, a mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen is used as an anesthetic agent, and anesthesia is inhaled by the patient through a closed manner or a ventilator.

(3) Carbon dioxide

Medically, carbon dioxide is used to inflate the abdominal cavity and colon for laparoscopy and colonoscopy. In addition, it is also used for laboratory culture of bacteria (anaerobic bacteria).

Carbon dioxide can be made into dry ice by applying pressure (5.2 atmospheres) and cooling (-56.6°C below). Medical dry ice is used for cryotherapy to treat cataracts and vascular diseases.

(4) Argon, Helium

They are colorless, odorless, non-toxic inert gas. Medically used for argon gas knife, gas knife, and other surgical instruments.

(5) Compressed air

Compressed air is used to deliver power to oral surgical instruments, orthopedic instruments, and ventilators.

(6) Nitrogen

Nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, non-toxic, non-flammable gas. It is inactive at room temperature and does not react chemically with ordinary metals. Medically used to drive medical equipment and tools. Liquid nitrogen is commonly used in cryosurgery in surgery, stomatology, gynecology, and ophthalmology.

The departments that use medical gases in hospitals include operating rooms, pre-communicators, recovery rooms, debridement rooms, obstetrics and gynecology wards, ICU wards, and general wards.

(1). Engaged in the gas pipeline, equipment maintenance, maintenance, and operation of personnel, must understand the nature of the gas, master the network process, and after the safety technology, operation and maintenance, and other rules of the examination, qualified to work independently.

(2). Gas cylinders used in gas cylinders should be in accordance with the standard. The use of industrial gases in place of medical gases should be approved by the relevant departments.

(3). The valve must be a slow operation, found the valve leakage, should be used after troubleshooting.

(4). All kinds of valves, sealing materials, instruments, and equipment used in the tracheal net must be approved by the professional department and can be used in the gas system. Instruments should be marked with “no oil” mark.

(5). It is strictly forbidden to use the open flame in gas cylinders of the central gas supply station and in the liquid gas tank.

(6). The grounding device for the gas pipeline shall be inspected once every year before the rainy season, the grounding resistance should meet the YYO186-94 standard.

(7). All medical oxygen manifold equipment operations should be prohibited oil, no oil gloves to be operated on.

(8). The system should be managed and maintained by the medical center gas supply system.

(9). The medical oxygen manifold should be regularly repaired according to operating instructions.