******** Oximeter *******
With the rise in number of cases around the demand of medical equipments has gone high. The prices are at all time high and the delivery is not on time. Million dollar question is "Are these equipment worth investments?"
The symptoms of Covid-19 are not immediate and they start to appear usually in 7-14 days of time from being infected. The idea here is to keep monitoring blood oxygen levels and if it drops consistently consult a doctor or look for hospitals that has access to medical equipments that can support breathing.
TLDR - YES, it is recommended to have oximeter and regularly monitor the oxygen levels.
What is Pulse Oximeter or Oximeter?
A battery operated or power supply clip like device which is clips on fingertip or earlobes to measure how much oxygen is being carried by the blood. These equipments also reads the heart beat rate and Perfusion Index.
One can monitor the Oxygen levels of an individual and can take immediate action, in case the oxygen levels are dropping.
Note: You cannot diagnose Covid-19, but if a person is infected already the level of oxygen will fall. Hence, it is advised to have a Oximeter with high accuracy to measure the Oxygen level.
Working: Two different wavelengths of light are passed through skin to measure how much oxygen is being carried by their blood. Blood containing plenty of oxygen absorbs different ratios of these wavelengths compared to deoxygenated blood.
95-100% - Normal oxygen level for healthy people
92% or less - Is not good and indicates serious illness and may need an immediate medical assistance.
Points to remember -
Do not go for highly inflated prices of Oximeter
Look for standard approvals of regulatory agencies.
Oximeters are more accurate than the wearable smart watches or mobile phone apps
When you monitor readings repeatedly for considerable amount of time, any irregular pattern can be easily identified and alert the patient.
The perfusion index (PI) derived from a pulse oximeter is calculated as the ratio of the pulsatile blood flow to the non-pulsatile blood in peripheral tissue
There is no harm in measuring the blood oxygen levels! Stay safe and take care.
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