It's best to only use one if advised by your doctor. If you don't have any underlying respiratory issues and have never used one before, you may not need a pulse oximeter. Londonwide LMCs, a representative committee of NHS GPs in London, advises that: 'pulse oximetry can be a useful aid to clinical decision-making but it is not a substitute for a clinical assessment, nor sufficient for diagnosis by itself.' There has been some confusion over this, but the answer is no.Ī pulse oximeter may signal issues with blood oxygen levels, which could be related to coronavirus, but it's only one part of a wider diagnostic picture. In the COVID oximetry scheme, patients reporting 93-94% blood oxygen are instructed to call the GP or 111, and patients at 92% or below are told to go to A&E or call an ambulance. If the oxygen level is below this, it can be an indicator that there is a lung problem.Ī level below 92% (or 88% for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease - COPD) would suggest someone is seriously ill and may need supplementary oxygen or to be monitored in hospital. They are mostly used for tests and monitoring in clinical settings, such as at the GP surgery or in hospital, but for specific groups of people (like those mentioned above), they are useful for home monitoring too.Īccording to the British Lung Foundation, the normal blood oxygen saturation level for someone who's healthy will be around 95-100%. They are used most often by people with respiratory problems, and also sometimes by athletes and pilots who have to monitor blood oxygen levels. Pulse oximeters are commonplace medical devices that have been used in some form since the 1970s. Used incorrectly, they may give inaccurate or poor readings, and it's unwise to rely on them without wider diagnostic support from a medical professional.Ĭoronavirus latest - get straight to the latest news and advice from our money, travel and health experts What does a pulse oximeter do?Ī pulse oximeter measures your pulse and the percentage of oxygen in your blood, by shining a light into your finger. Some doctors are saying everyone should have them just in case, but others are more skeptical of their value for otherwise healthy people. There's currently a trial going on in England called 'COVID oximetry which supplies people in certain groups (Covid positive, symptomatic and 65 or older, symptomatic and under 65 but clinically vulnerable) with a pulse oximeter and instructs them on how to measure their blood oxygen levels at regular intervals, and communicate the readings to a doctor. They are used commonly in clinical settings, and have helped people with Long Covid (enduring post-viral symptoms), or those who are more vulnerable to the disease monitor themselves at home. This is where pulse oximeters can be helpful as they allow people to track their blood oxygen levels at home, and are an important preventative tool for certain groups. They may not feel particularly unwell or have other symptoms of low oxygen levels. One of the many strange things about COVID-19 is that some patients with very low blood oxygen levels (which require medical treatment) aren't always aware of it. They have been getting attention for their potential to help monitor symptoms of COVID-19 at home, but there are some caveats you should know about before rushing out to buy one. A pulse oximeter is a small device that clips onto your finger and monitors oxygen levels in the blood and costs around £30.
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