Do You Check You Oxygen Saturation Level?

Mine measures around 96/97. Don't know the brand .. bought it from Amazon.
 

AnnieA said:
Athletes monitor O2 sats when training. The pulse oximeter I bought early on in Covid was for athletes. Came with training tracking features.
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I'd venture to speculate that most Americans are not athletes. My Apple watch will measure 02 levels but I couldn't care less about that.
 

C'est Moi said:
I'd venture to speculate that most Americans are not athletes. My Apple watch will measure 02 levels but I couldn't care less about that.
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Nope. We're most certainly not. But my pulse oximeter only cost around 30 bucks. Most athletes probably have the Apple watch. It's good that yours does that though if you were to come down with Covid. Getting early supplemental O2 at home as soon as sats start dropping could keep you out of the hospital.
 
Mine depends if I'm sitting (idle) for five minutes or longer, it's 90-92. If I have been up on my feet doing something like washing dishes, it will drop down to the low eighties. If I walk very far, say from the kitchen to the bedroom, it normally drops to the low seventies, if I'm carrying something like emptying the trash, it goes to the lower 60s and almost paralyzes me. just now came in from putting on the coffee, i measured
79. I'll have to sit a while until I get back up to 88-90 and my breathing levels out.
 
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If you are not in the hospital, and have not tested positive, what are you supposed to do if your oxygen level drops below the "normal" level? In other words, why keep testing it?
 
Sunny said:
If you are not in the hospital, and have not tested positive, what are you supposed to do if your oxygen level drops below the "normal" level? In other words, why keep testing it?
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I was wondering that, too. Maybe they're supposed to rest until it comes back up - or maybe call their docs if it drops below a certain level.
 
drifter said:
Mine depends if I'm sitting (idle) for five minutes or longer, it's 90-92. If I have been up on my feet doing something like washing dishes, it will drop down to the low eighties. If I walk very far, say from the kitchen to the bedroom, it normally drops to the low seventies, if I'm carrying something like emptying the trash, it goes to the lower 60s and almost paralyzes me. just now came in from putting on the coffee, i measured
79. I'll have to sit a while until I get back up to 88-90 and my breathing levels out.
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Why aren’t you on O2?
 
I don't even think about it at home and don't have anyway to do it. At the doctor's it usually runs 100%.

During my penultimate visit last April I noticed it was about 98%( wearing a mask) and then I started breathing extra deeply I got it up to 100% by the time the nurse did the reading.

I had my 6 month tune-up yesterday and again same thing wearing the mask, this time I vented the mask from underneath and brought it up to 100%. I asked the nurse and she said it was common to get readings up 3-4% lower while wearing a mask.
 
Sunny said:
If you are not in the hospital, and have not tested positive, what are you supposed to do if your oxygen level drops below the "normal" level? In other words, why keep testing it?
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My doctor has been ordering home oxygen for positive/presumed positive patients as soon as oxygen saturation levels start to drop to keep them from developing extensive lung damage. Often keeps them from needing hospitalization if started early.

I think one of the reasons we're seeing less deaths per infection rates now than early on is that doctors learned about the very odd feature of Covid-19 which is 'silent hypoxia' that damages lungs before the onset of shortness of breath. Low oxygen saturation levels indicate hypoxia. The message at the beginning of the pandemic was to wait until experiencing shortness of breath before seeking treatment. That's when we were hearing of people dying in ambulances, crashing and needing emergency ventilator support as soon as they got to the hospital because their lungs were damaged from low oxygen levels before they ever became short of breath--very out of the ordinary.

Tests can show false negatives, especially early on. If you're running a fever or are otherwise symptomatic (the biggest thing I keep hearing is loss of smell), checking O2 sats at home is a good idea. If levels start dropping, call your provider. Pulse oximeters are inexpensive. It's worth having one to not only to help your provider determine need for treatment if you're infected, but also for peace of mind these days.

(Bolded the above not because I'm an expert, but because this is a long post! o_O )

....

Good article from late April in lay language: 'Silent hypoxia' may be killing COVID-19 patients. But there's hope.

Professional publication from August:

Why COVID-19 Silent Hypoxemia Is Baffling to Physicians

Hypoxemia--the term in the title is a little more involved than hypoxia in that it also has to do with oxygen pressure, but hypoxia (low oxygen saturation measure by a pulse oximeter) is a good early indicator that things are going wrong. A main take away from the scientific publication below is this sentence: A disproportionate number of patients with COVID-19 are elderly and have diabetes. Both factors blunt the response of the respiratory control system to hypoxia.

This is such a weird characteristic of Covid-19 that the authors of this scientific article actually use news reports as part of the introductory material. That's so NOT the norm for a medical article but shows the novelty of this part of the Covid disease process.

Excerpt:

The Wall Street Journal considers it a medical mystery as to why “large numbers of Covid-19 patients arrive at hospitals with blood-oxygen levels so low they should be unconscious or on the verge of organ failure. Instead they are awake, talking—not struggling to breathe” (1). Science judges the lack of patient discomfort at extraordinarily low blood-oxygen concentrations as defying basic biology (2). Writing in The New York Times, Dr. Levitan, with 30 years of emergency medicine experience, notes “A vast majority of Covid pneumonia patients I met had remarkably low oxygen saturations at triage—seemingly incompatible with life—but they were using their cellphones . . . they had relatively minimal apparent distress, despite dangerously low oxygen levels” (3). Despite this extensive coverage in the news media, the topic has not been addressed in medical journals.​
 
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I've never checked and never had a reason to be concerned.

Many years ago I was told that the moon or lunula in your thumbnail was a good indication of oxygen levels. The more prominent the moon the better the oxygen level. I'm not sure if there is any truth to that or if it's just an old wives' tale.

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Aunt Bea said:
I've never checked and never had a reason to be concerned.

Many years ago I was told that the moon or lunula in your thumbnail was a good indication of oxygen levels. The more prominent the moon the better the oxygen level. I'm not sure if there is any truth to that or if it's just an old wives' tale.

View attachment 127177
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I think it’s an old wives tale as I only have this, barely, on my thumbs. Is it supposed to be on fingers as well? Now I am worried. But wait! I just looked down, my chest is moving, so I know I’m breathing. Whew. 😧
 
AnnieA said:
My doctor has been ordering home oxygen for positive/presumed positive patients as soon as oxygen saturation levels start to drop to keep them from developing extensive lung damage. Often keeps them from needing hospitalization if started early.

I think one of the reasons we're seeing less deaths per infection rates now than early on is that doctors learned about the very odd feature of Covid-19 which is 'silent hypoxia' that damages lungs before the onset of shortness of breath. Low oxygen saturation levels indicate hypoxia. The message at the beginning of the pandemic was to wait until experiencing shortness of breath before seeking treatment. That's when we were hearing of people dying in ambulances, crashing and needing emergency ventilator support as soon as they got to the hospital because their lungs were damaged from low oxygen levels before they ever became short of breath--very out of the ordinary.

Tests can show false negatives, especially early on. If you're running a fever or are otherwise symptomatic (the biggest thing I keep hearing is loss of smell), checking O2 sats at home is a good idea. If levels start dropping, call your provider. Pulse oximeters are inexpensive. It's worth having one to not only to help your provider determine need for treatment if you're infected, but also for peace of mind these days.

(Bolded the above not because I'm an expert, but because this is a long post! o_O )

....

Good article from late April in lay language: 'Silent hypoxia' may be killing COVID-19 patients. But there's hope.

Professional publication from August:

Why COVID-19 Silent Hypoxemia Is Baffling to Physicians

Hypoxemia--the term in the title is a little more involved than hypoxia in that it also has to do with oxygen pressure, but hypoxia (low oxygen saturation measure by a pulse oximeter) is a good early indicator that things are going wrong. A main take away from the scientific publication below is this sentence: A disproportionate number of patients with COVID-19 are elderly and have diabetes. Both factors blunt the response of the respiratory control system to hypoxia.

This is such a weird characteristic of Covid-19 that the authors of this scientific article actually use news reports as part of the introductory material. That's so NOT the norm for a medical article but shows the novelty of this part of the Covid disease process.

Excerpt:

The Wall Street Journal considers it a medical mystery as to why “large numbers of Covid-19 patients arrive at hospitals with blood-oxygen levels so low they should be unconscious or on the verge of organ failure. Instead they are awake, talking—not struggling to breathe” (1). Science judges the lack of patient discomfort at extraordinarily low blood-oxygen concentrations as defying basic biology (2). Writing in The New York Times, Dr. Levitan, with 30 years of emergency medicine experience, notes “A vast majority of Covid pneumonia patients I met had remarkably low oxygen saturations at triage—seemingly incompatible with life—but they were using their cellphones . . . they had relatively minimal apparent distress, despite dangerously low oxygen levels” (3). Despite this extensive coverage in the news media, the topic has not been addressed in medical journals.​
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Thank you, thank you, thank you, Annie for this clear, concise information. So illuminating.

I'll order a pulse oximeter today. Seems like a gauge to keep track of one's health, similar to a scale, thermometer and a BP machine. The older we get the closer eye we need to keep on our health.
 
It never occurred to me to check oxygen, but I don't currently have any respiratory problems, and am physically active, with no ill effects.

I have in the past experienced low oxy levels, and know the physical feeling when it is too low. Maybe someday I'll end up with COPD, I kind of expect that since I did smoke for 45+ years.
 
Nathan said:
It never occurred to me to check oxygen, but I don't currently have any respiratory problems, and am physically active, with no ill effects.
...
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Normally, people without pertinent chronic conditions who aren't competitive athletes don't check them.

Post 41 details why it's a good idea for positive/presumed positive Covid-19 patients to have a means to check O2 sats at home.
 

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