The Benefits of Using a Pulse Oximeter at Home

Bodily cells need oxygen to stay alive. These things would stop working correctly without oxygen and would finally die. Instead of floating through our bodies, oxygen must stick to a protein in our red blood cells called haemoglobin. Haemoglobin with oxygen form oxyhemoglobin. 

In 1974, Japanese bioengineer Takuo Aoyagi invented the pulse oximeter. This lifesaving finger gadget displays blood oxygen levels. Pulse oximeters were previously only seen in hospitals and clinics but are now widespread. We now consider them essential for every home. Keep on reading to know more about it.

What's a pulse oximeter?

Lung illness sufferers can utilize an electronic gadget that hooks onto their fingers to evaluate heart rate and red blood cell oxygen saturation. When individuals heard that low oxygen saturation could indicate COVID-19, pulse oximeters flew off store and online shelves.

What are the benefits of having a pulse oximeter at home?

Continuously Checking Oxygen Levels

Most likely, pulse oximeter is best for keeping an eye on oxygen levels over time. While worn, pulse oximeters constantly track changes in oxygen levels. As part of regular physical exams, pulmonologists (specializing in lung diseases) often take oxygen saturation readings. Notably, the devices can inform patients and doctors about changes that might need medical help, like extra oxygen, breathing, or medicine. As a result, hospital patients always wear a pulse oximeter. The small red light on the oximeter can warm the probe, so doctors should move it to a different finger or toe every two to four hours to keep the patient comfortable.

Patients with asthma and other breathing problems who check their oxygen saturation levels at home can find trends in the numbers and tell their doctors about them. Patients with certain lung diseases may, for instance, have a drop in oxygen saturation at night. Sharing this information can help patients get the best care for their condition, and doctors may suggest extra therapies or more advanced treatments based on these readings. Anaesthesia can lower oxygen absorption levels during surgery. Pulse oximetry readings help anesthesiologists give each patient the safest amount of anaesthesia, get oxygen therapy started, or make changes during the surgery if needed.

Assess Need For Supplemental Oxygen

Pulse oximetry can tell doctors if a patient with lung illness or another low-oxygen condition needs more oxygen. Regular pulse oximeter readings are 95%–100% oxygen saturation. Doctors frequently recommend adding oxygen if pulse oximeter readings are 88% or lower. Home oxygen therapy is used, and most insurance plans cover it.

Opioids are usually given to patients through a nasal cannula, which has prongs that go into the nose. An air mask that covers the mouth and nose can also be used. Homes can get oxygen in metal tanks or as a liquid. Most patients usually use supplemental oxygen overnight. Patients may also have to use it during the day, depending on their situation. There should be no open flames or flammable objects in homes where extra oxygen is available for patients.

Giving patients with chronic lung diseases and heart problems peace of mind

A home pulse oximeter can help patients with long-term heart disease and breathing problems. Oximetry monitoring may benefit patients with lung cancer, asthma, anaemia, pneumonia, congestive heart failure, COPD, heart failure, or a heart attack history. Pulse oximetry is vital when starting a new medicine. Medical professionals can use the results to determine if a drug works well or if something needs to be changed. 

During physical exercise, people with heart or lung problems may be told to wear a pulse oximeter for continuous monitoring. Patients can stay on track with their workouts by checking their numbers while they work out. The measurements will help people determine if they are working too hard and reveal how various types of exercise impact their readings. It is suggested that patients write down their numbers and give them to their healthcare team.

Assess Sleep Apnea Patients

Patients with sleep apnea stop breathing for a few seconds several times while they sleep. Breathing heavily, snoring loudly, and hearing fewer or no breath sounds for a short time are all signs of this illness. Most people who have sleep apnea are smokers or overweight. People with this disease may have a dry mouth, feel worn out during the day, and have trouble paying attention and using their muscles. This is how sleep apnea is diagnosed: by watching the patient sleep. 

Patients in this study will spend the night at a healthcare centre while wearing devices that will send information to doctors. Sleep apnea sufferers monitor their ECG, blood pressure, and oxygen saturation during the sleep study. Researchers utilizing pulse oximetry will observe an oxygen reduction when a patient stops breathing. Sleep apnea patients utilize CPAP machines at night to open their airways. Sleep apnea patients may be prescribed a home pulse oximeter. These readings can help doctors determine how well the recommended treatments are working.

Effectiveness Of Breathing Interventions

Impulse oximetry helps people with asthma, sleep apnea, and other long-term problems figure out how well the breathing treatments they've been given are working. Asthma treatments for breathing problems include extra air, a CPAP machine or mouthpiece, inhalers, and ventilators. 

Doctors and nurses can use pulse oximetry tracking to determine how much extra oxygen or ventilation a patient needs. Changes in the patient's oxygen levels and breathing rate are written down by hospital staff at the bedside, and the treatment is changed based on this information. Outside of hospitals, pulmonologists check their clinic patients' oxygen saturation levels to see if a long-term treatment or medicine is working.

What's the Point of Keeping an SPO2 meter at home during the pandemic?

Pre-COVID-19, pulse oximeters were only suggested for people with low blood oxygen. However, because low oxygen saturation levels can indicate COVID-19, doctors have started telling people to keep their pulse oximeters at home. 

Chronic COVID-19 signs often include shortness of breath. Oxygen content levels in the patient's blood should drop when this happens. Although some patients have developed "silent hypoxia," their oxygen levels are dangerously low even though they look and feel fine and don't have any shortness of breath. Only a pulse oximeter can tell if a patient has this problem at home or in the hospital.

How reliable are pulse oximetry readings?

The pulse oximetry test is generally very accurate. On average, the answers are within 2% of what they are. The oxygen saturation level could be 80% to 84% if the number is 82%. However, the quality of the waveform and the person's rating must be considered. Moving, temperature, or nail polish can affect a person's accuracy. Beyond 89% of blood should usually carry oxygen. These levels of oxygen are needed to keep cells healthy. 95% oxygen saturation is average for most healthy people. Hypoxemia occurs when cells receive insufficient oxygen at 89%.

Conclusion