Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I read about this in the Health and Wellness forum this morning. This device is an early warning system for drops in oxygen levels in your blood that you might not even realize has occured due to C-19. The drop in Oxygen can preceed the difficulty in breathing.
Knowing WHEN to seek medical help is the problem this device might solve.
I'm not sure at what level of Oxygen would call for a trip to the doctor/hospital...still learning on the fly here, but wanted to get this out to a wider audience w/o delay.
AnasthesiaMD...you out there? What Oxygen level in blood is so low it is considered "seek professional medical attn?"
You can buy a personal use oximeter- they are cheap. Why in the world one would want one, I don't know. I have a few in the house I forgot I had.
When you achieve an O2 sat of below 90%, this roughly corresponds to a PaO2 of 60, as which point you are on the verge of trouble. However, a more ominous sign is bronchospasm (wheezing) at which point your FEV1 is 40% predicted. Then you are really in a jam.
There are chronic COPD patients, in contrast, who walk around with O2 sats less than 90% all the time. They have adapted with higher hematocrits and higher pulse rates to optimize O2 delivery, despite lower PaO2.
One must also consider CO2 levels, which can be more concerning. We do not, in the absence of a blood gas or end tidal CO2 on an intubated patient, and ability percutaneously to measure blood CO2 levels.
I am not sure precisely what you are saying or asking or why nail polish is fearful.
PulseOx works on the principle of reflected light. There are several designs, one of the most common being a clothes pin like device that clips on a finger tip. The light is reflected through the finger nail, into the capillary bed. If you should have nail polish on, the light is reflected off the polish instead of the capillary bed and the reading is off or non functional. Most medical people that use these regularly have small foil packets with a pad impregnated with nail polish remover if needed.
Back to capillary beds. These are the smallest blood vessels where oxygen is off loaded to the cells and CO2 is removed from the cells so it can eventually be exhaled via breathing. Assuming you do not have nail polish on, look at your fingernail. It has a pink color. Squeeze your finger tip and that pink color blanches out to a white color. You just squeezed the blood out of the capillary bed. When you turn loose, the pink color should return in less than 2 or 3 seconds. If it takes longer than that, you may have a circulation or oxygenation issue. That is capillary refill. This is a quick assessment technique used by medical personnel. Its not definitive but it is an indicator when used with other signs and symptoms.
The nail polish issue is an old boards question. The old oximeters gave spurious readings with blue nail polish. On the modern oximeters, it really does not matter anymore.
Cap refill is used as a measure of perfusion, not oxygenation.
You can buy a personal use oximeter- they are cheap. Why in the world one would want one, I don't know. I have a few in the house I forgot I had.
When you achieve an O2 sat of below 90%, this roughly corresponds to a PaO2 of 60, as which point you are on the verge of trouble. However, a more ominous sign is bronchospasm (wheezing) at which point your FEV1 is 40% predicted. Then you are really in a jam.
There are chronic COPD patients, in contrast, who walk around with O2 sats less than 90% all the time. They have adapted with higher hematocrits and higher pulse rates to optimize O2 delivery, despite lower PaO2.
One must also consider CO2 levels, which can be more concerning. We do not, in the absence of a blood gas or end tidal CO2 on an intubated patient, and ability percutaneously to measure blood CO2 levels.
Some people need an oximeter. I have recently had a heart rate as high as 168. My doctor suggested that I keep track of my readings to adjust my amiodarone intake.
The nail polish issue is an old boards question. The old oximeters gave spurious readings with blue nail polish. On the modern oximeters, it really does not matter anymore.
Cap refill is used as a measure of perfusion, not oxygenation.
I bought a new one last month when I started having heart issues. They were plentiful and cheap then.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
