Pulse oximeter

[Mac66]

Basically a pulse Ox measures the O2 content of your red blood cells by shining a light through them....It can be affected by dirty fingers, nail polish etc etc.

Normal is 95% and above. If it drops below it may indicate a problem as bdcochran said.

As I mentioned, I was being checked every day by the visiting nurse for the first week after my knee surgery(along with temp & blood pressure) and there after every other day by my physical therapist.

From Yale Medical School...
What is pulse oximetry?

Pulse oximetry is a test used to measure the oxygen level (oxygen saturation) of the blood. It is an easy, painless measure of how well oxygen is being sent to parts of your body furthest from your heart, such as the arms and legs.

A clip-like device called a probe is placed on a body part, such as a finger or ear lobe. The probe uses light to measure how much oxygen is in the blood. This information helps the healthcare provider decide if a person needs extra oxygen.
Why might I need pulse oximetry?

Pulse oximetry may be used to see if there is enough oxygen in the blood. This information is needed in many kinds of situations. It may be used:

During or after surgery or procedures that use sedation

To see how well lung medicines are working

To check a person’s ability to handle increased activity levels

To see if a ventilator is needed to help with breathing, or to see how well it’s working

To check a person has moments when breathing stops during sleep (sleep apnea)

Pulse oximetry is also used to check the health of a person with any condition that affects blood oxygen levels, such as:

Heart attack

Heart failure

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

Anemia

Lung cancer

Asthma

Pneumonia

[bdcochran]

I visited my brother on Thursday. He was at the doctor and an EKG was performed. He needed to have defibrillation the next day. This kind of problem is not unknown in older people, an outpatient procedure, and you are sent home. He came home with a 6 lead, FDA approved unit for $130. Didn't know that home machine existed. Looking into whether my insurance will pay for one. You need a compatible smart phone. Mine is.

[Bmyers]

6 lead external defibrillator? Or a 6 lead heart monitor?

Ours was a 3-lead and then we went to the 12 lead. The only 6-lead defibrillators that I remember were internal ones which were pacemaker/defib units.

Although medical equipment keeps changing and improving.

[Mac66]

6 lead external defibrillator? Or a 6 lead heart monitor?

Ours was a 3-lead and then we went to the 12 lead. The only 6-lead defibrillators that I remember were internal ones which were pacemaker/defib units.

Although medical equipment keeps changing and improving.

When I had my heart valve replacement a few years ago they sent me home with a multi lead (I don't remember how many) heart monitor I had to wear for a week. I was in afib for a couple days after the surgery and they wanted to make sure I didn't go back into it when I left the hospital. Never did and I returned the monitor after a week.

[Erich]

Having one and not knowing what it does and doesn’t do is the same as having a .308 and not knowing how to shoot at distance…

How does the chemistry work in your .308's primer, amigo? You might well be an expert there, but would a fella still kill a deer if he doesn't know? And you might well know how an ionization-type smoke alarm works (what sort of radioactive material does it use? how radioactive is it?), but if one goes off in the night, would an 6-year-old child still know to get out of the house?

I'd suggest that knowing how to read standardized warning equipment to look out for danger signs that would lead a person to investigate further with an expert may not require technical or medical knowledge.

[G29Guy]

That is of no relevance to my post, but thanks.

So your response is to be argumentative rather than inquire as to what it is that I’m saying? Ok I guess.

[G29Guy]

Basically a pulse Ox measures the O2 content of your red blood cells by shining a light through them....It can be affected by dirty fingers, nail polish etc etc.

Normal is 95% and above. If it drops below it may indicate a problem as bdcochran said.

As I mentioned, I was being checked every day by the visiting nurse for the first week after my knee surgery(along with temp & blood pressure) and there after every other day by my physical therapist.

From Yale Medical School...
What is pulse oximetry?

Pulse oximetry is a test used to measure the oxygen level (oxygen saturation) of the blood. It is an easy, painless measure of how well oxygen is being sent to parts of your body furthest from your heart, such as the arms and legs.

A clip-like device called a probe is placed on a body part, such as a finger or ear lobe. The probe uses light to measure how much oxygen is in the blood. This information helps the healthcare provider decide if a person needs extra oxygen.
Why might I need pulse oximetry?

Pulse oximetry may be used to see if there is enough oxygen in the blood. This information is needed in many kinds of situations. It may be used:

During or after surgery or procedures that use sedation

To see how well lung medicines are working

To check a person’s ability to handle increased activity levels

To see if a ventilator is needed to help with breathing, or to see how well it’s working

To check a person has moments when breathing stops during sleep (sleep apnea)

Pulse oximetry is also used to check the health of a person with any condition that affects blood oxygen levels, such as:

Heart attack

Heart failure

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

Anemia

Lung cancer

Asthma

Pneumonia

That’s a good run down, but it doesn’t tell you what gives a pulse ox false readings, of which there are a plethora of reasons: cold extremities, old age, diabetes and so on…. Basically any ailment or circumstance that reduces circulation, again old age is one, and diabetes is another amongst many.

Add to that: you’re working in the garage or basement or whatever, you start feeling less and less well…. You use your pulse ox and it tells you “99%”, so I guess you must be good and there’s no issue. Or no oxygenation issue, right? Well it could be that CO has binded w/ your RBC’s (CO poisoning)….because a pulse ox cannot tell what the RBC is saturated with, just that it’s saturated….

In my overall experience, pulse ox’s are overall worthless outside of a very small specific subset, and the readings can be unreliable. Usually, I’ll forgo pulse ox’s in lieu of hands on assessment and evaluation. How are the conjunctiva? The sclera? Nail beds? Cap refill….

My point to all of this here is that a tool is just a tool, and some tools are better than others or more reliable. So learn the tool and it’s in’s and outs. For actual real medical pulse ox’s (they have the attachable probe vs clip on finger) you can attach the bendable sticky probe can be attached to ear, nose, etc for those people that might have reduced circulation issues etc…but none of them can discern “what” RBC’s are saturated with

[Bmyers]

That’s a good run down, but it doesn’t tell you what gives a pulse ox false readings, of which there are a plethora of reasons: cold extremities, old age, diabetes and so on…. Basically any ailment or circumstance that reduces circulation, again old age is one, and diabetes is another amongst many.

Add to that: you’re working in the garage or basement or whatever, you start feeling less and less well…. You use your pulse ox and it tells you “99%”, so I guess you must be good and there’s no issue. Or no oxygenation issue, right? Well it could be that CO has binded w/ your RBC’s (CO poisoning)….because a pulse ox cannot tell what the RBC is saturated with, just that it’s saturated….

In my overall experience, pulse ox’s are overall worthless outside of a very small specific subset, and the readings can be unreliable. Usually, I’ll forgo pulse ox’s in lieu of hands on assessment and evaluation. How are the conjunctiva? The sclera? Nail beds? Cap refill….

My point to all of this here is that a tool is just a tool, and some tools are better than others or more reliable. So learn the tool and it’s in’s and outs. For actual real medical pulse ox’s (they have the attachable probe vs clip on finger) you can attach the bendable sticky probe can be attached to ear, nose, etc for those people that might have reduced circulation issues etc…but none of them can discern “what” RBC’s are saturated with

The pulse ox is a simple, easy to use tool that gives you just that a simple to read number. IF the number comes in low, you know you have an issue. If the number comes in normal range, yet you are still not feeling right then you know you have an issue.

The skill comes in understanding what the issues may be. For the simplicity, the pulse ox is a great assessment tool when you understand the limits. As you noted, different illnesses can lead to incorrect readings. Yet as with all assessments, the more tools you use, the better the assessment you can get. Most people haven't taken years of training and gone through multiple certifications to get into the weeds of the diagnosing various medical conditions. As you pointed out nail beds, cap refill, etc. are additional assessment tools yet they all have limitations too and many of those align with the pulse ox limitations. One of the best assessment tools I found and taught to my students was simply talking to the patient. You can learn a lot by just listening to the patient. Yet, the simplicity of the basic pulse ox helps the lay person understand that there may be an issue and help them get the assistance they need.

[Erich]

Wow, I just realized this board has an "ignore" function!

[bdcochran]

Having the oximeter helped me avoid a trip to Kaiser. Context. Wasn't feeling good. Had some Wuhan symptoms. Ran the oximeter and I was low. Took out a free Wuhan flu test kit and was negative. So I stayed home and continued monitoring. Why? Because the current literature speaks about three options for treatment, but the treatment must start within a few days of symptoms appearing. The next day I felt better.

Of course, a great number of things can cause a lowered reading. I take a reading every day and record it.

The piece of equipment is going to be a free watch with multiple functions from Kaiser.