The primary analysis that any physician makes when checking an ill person is about pulse rate and blood pressure.
Moreover, with the COVID-19 pandemic spreading in the entire world, people have started keeping a check on these parameters (including their regular oxygen levels) on a day-to-day basis, even without any apparent illness.
The pulse oximeter is one such device that is used to measure the oxygen saturation level in the blood and the heart rate on the go. The small electronic device has gained paramount importance after this coronavirus pandemic. It is a simple, painless and non-invasive device that gauges the proportion of oxygenated haemoglobin in the blood (SpO2) and the number of times a heart beats per minute.
Benefits of Pulse Oximeter:
- A pulse oximeter can monitor oxygen saturation over time.
- It alerts at the time of dangerously decreasing oxygen levels, especially in infants.
- It is useful for people with chronic respiratory or cardiovascular conditions.
- It can assess the need for oxygen supplementation.
- It monitors the oxygen saturation levels in people under anaesthesia.
- It indicates the dangerous side effects of drugs that affect breathing or oxygen saturation.
Why do we need pulse oximeters?
Pulse oximeters are particularly useful in conditions where oxygen saturation is affected.
- For someone suffering from sleep apnea or severe snoring problems, can use this device to monitor the nighttime oxygen saturation level.
- During oxygen therapy, pulse oximeters can provide feedback about the effectiveness of breathing interventions.
- It is used by doctors to estimate the safety of physical activity in people with cardiovascular or respiratory problems.
- The device is helpful for vulnerable patients like infants in neonatal intensive care units where it can alert staff of a drop in oxygen saturation.
- The device is useful to see if ventilator support is required and if it is working effectively for patients with breathing problems.
- It can be used to check the effectiveness of lung medications.
- The device is also used during or after surgery or procedures that use sedation.
How does an oximeter work?
A pulse oximeter has a sensor and a monitor that displays the reading. The device is placed on a finger, earlobe, or toe from where small beams of light pass through the blood, measuring the amount of oxygen. The percentage of oxygen in your blood is displayed on the oximeter screen.
These many digital oximeters also come with a feature to calculate and display the pulse rate.
Features of an Oximeter
The most prevalent type of oximeter is the fingertip pulse oximeter. It is compact, portable and easy-to-use. The device is found in most of the hospital setups. Besides, it is great for home use as well.
In fingertip pulse oximeters, the finger chamber is constructed from hypoallergenic medical grade silicone which helps in protecting people with allergy sensitivities.
An ideal pulse oximeter should be FDA registered, giving precise infrared-based measurement to give quick results in just one click.
For those who wish to lead a healthy and active lifestyle (despite their medical condition), keeping a constant check on their blood oxygen level and oxygenated haemoglobin is essential.
It is important to have control over our bodies especially when COVID-19 is challenging a lot of assumptions we had about our health. Talk to your doctor if you think you’re experiencing symptoms.