The Covid-19 pandemic and a rise in the incidence of lung diseases during winter have resulted in a demand for oxygen cylinders this December that is higher than other years, said suppliers and home healthcare service providers.

A 74-year-old woman of Ballygunge Place, who has survived a cerebral stroke, needed oxygen support last week. Her daughter said she approached several pharmacy stores in the area but was unable to hire a cylinder.

“My mother’s hemoglobin level had dropped and she needed oxygen support. Since 9am I had been trying to get an oxygen cylinder. I approached several pharmacies in and around our locality but could not get one. Then I approached a nursing home in the locality, but there, too, no cylinder was available for rent,” said the daughter.

She got an offer to purchase a cylinder for Rs 12,000, which she did not accept. “Finally I got a cylinder in the evening,” she said.

Pharmacies that stock oxygen cylinders in bulk and home healthcare service providers said the demand for oxygen cylinders and concentrators, a device that concentrates the oxygen from gas by removing nitrogen, have been in high demand since the Covid-19 outbreak.

“The demand for oxygen cylinders and concentrators had increased compared with last year. Since the second week of November, it has gone up even more. Many elderly people who don't have Covid are in need of intermittent oxygen support,” said Souvik Bhattacharya, the unit head of Apollo Home Healthcare in Calcutta.

On Wednesday, he said, all 100 oxygen cylinders and concentrators of the service provider were engaged on rent.

“The sale of oxygen concentrators has gone up this winter compared with previous years. Earlier, we would sell two to three concentrators a month. But in November we sold 15. The sale in December is likely to be the same,” Bhattacharya said.

Life Care, a pharmacy on Hazra Road that provides oxygen cylinders on rent, said the demand was very high. The store has 200 cylinders, each containing 1,320 litres of oxygen.

“On an average we have 20 cylinders in our stock every day and the others are given on rent. Now, more than 15 cylinders are being hired by customers daily, which is much higher than what it used to be last year,” said an employee of the store.

“Earlier, we had to refill cylinders once a day, but now on some days we have to refill twice.”

Doctors said Covid-19 and winter were the two factors responsible for the spurt in demand.

“Government guidelines say a Covid patient admitted in hospital and requiring oxygen support should be released only if the person is off oxygen for 72 hours. But in many cases, where the patient has underlying conditions like asthma or COPD, we are advising them to keep an oxygen cylinder at home for at least a few weeks,” said Chandramouli Bhattacharya, an expert in infectious diseases and member of the Covid treatment team at Peerless Hospital.

“In addition, this time of the year many people suffering from COPD or other pulmonary diseases need oxygen support because of a rise in the air pollution level.”

Also, many nursing homes that do not have piped oxygen supply are hiring cylinders more than before because of Covid patients being admitted there.

Life Line Diagnostic Center Cum Nursing Home on Wood Street would require cylinders for around 20 patients daily. The number has gone up to 30 since August, said an official of the nursing home.