In recent years, millions around the world are starting to learn about the benefits of supplemental oxygen. Much like drinks like energy drinks became widely accepted for energy-boosting in the 1980s after years of public education, portable supplemental oxygen is taking a similar path in terms of education, acceptance, and growth.
The journey from oxygen’s discovery in 1774 to gO2 therapy gaining popularity during the second wave of Covid in 2021 is certainly amazing.
A Brief and Amazing History of Supplemental Oxygen
The discovery of Oxygen: English chemist Joseph Priestly usually gets credit for discovering oxygen in 1774 – but it was German chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele who likely discovered the element back in 1773, but he didn’t publish the discovery until after Priestly made his announcement.
Early references to supplemental oxygen: In 1776, Thomas Henry (a renowned surgeon and chemist) speculated that oxygen might become “as fashionable as French wine at the fashionable taverns”. He did not expect, however, that tavern goers would “relish calling for a bottle of air, instead of Claret” (a popular red wine at the time).
1885– On March 6th, the first recorded use of oxygen was administered by Dr. George Holtzapple for the treatment of pneumonia.
1887– Oxygen devices capable of storing oxygen to be used intermittently become available for use.
1908 – One of the first documented uses of oxygen for sports performance occurred in 1908 when Scottish swimmer Jabez Wolffe used supplemental oxygen as part of his attempt to swim across the English Channel. He used a long rubber tube to breathe in pure oxygen while crossing the channel
1917– During World War 1 John Scott Haldane invented the Black Veil Respirator which was used to regulate the breathing of soldiers. He is known as the “Father of Oxygen Therapy”
Supplemental Oxygen Gained Popularity
World War II (1939 – 1945) Medical use of oxygen made major leaps and bounds starting with World War II. Though it was mainly used in hospitals to treat soldiers with a variety of respiratory issues.
1950– In the 1950s Doctors started prescribing oxygen to patients with COPD.
1953 – On May 29, Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay used specially designed oxygen breathing apparatus to become the first ones to reach the summit of the world’s highest mountain Mount Everest.
The 1960s – Professional athletes (notably football players) began using oxygen tanks on the sidelines during games for respiratory recovery and when playing at high-altitude locations like Denver where there can be less oxygen in the air.
Portable Supplemental Oxygen Became Mainstream
1988 – With air quality and air pollution becoming a concern in many Asian countries, the first “Oxygen Bar” was opened in Tokyo, Japan to provide pure oxygen to customers. The trend quickly spread throughout Asia, and then to North America in the 1990s.
2017 – In 2017, we, a group of parents got concerned about changing environmental conditions, especially the increase in pollution. When we dug deeper to find out what could be the one thing that impacts the most on healthy life, the idea of miniaturizing Oxygen cylinders came to its inception. After further research, we figured out a way to do so, and our first product Elements Life was born.
2020 – In 2020, In the second generation of product – gO2 therapy 99% Pure Oxygen, we fixed the issues on which we received feedback from the customers and went a step ahead by adding a patented technology to make it more user-friendly.
2020-2021 – Around the same time, the interest and education about the benefits of supplemental oxygen increased during the Covid pandemic. Doctors and hospitals started treating Covid patients with supplemental oxygen, resulting in a surge of interest for information.
The Future of Portable Supplemental Oxygen
Certainly, 2020-2021 saw a major increase in the interest and education about portable supplemental oxygen. Especially during the 2021 second wave, when the sales of gO2 therapy portable oxygen can increased 10 fold.
While we are happy that gO2 therapy 99% pure oxygen helped people a lot during this difficult time, our aim is to help people in more day-to-day situations like needing an energy boost after a hectic day, needing a stress reliever after a stressful day, quickly curing a hangover, etc.
