Pulse oximetry and COVID-19 pneumonia.

[tim...]

It's below normal

and what do you think is the likely average fitness of the people here?

tim

[Tim+]

You need to have a gas exchange problem. In CV infection, O2 absorption is very much more affected than CO2 elimination.

If you have CV pneumonia, you probably will know that you?re poorly. The point is, you won?t feel breathless until you?re nearly at death?s door as respiration is driven by your blood CO2 level, not your O2 level.

This is what makes the oximeter handy, it can detect he severity of your illness long before you can.

Tim+

[Tim+]

?Normal? people don?t exercise nearly enough. We are all much less fit than we were when we were hunter/gatherers.

I would hazard a guess that the average fitness for the average USENET user (a old subset of the population) will be lower than a whole population average but *some* of us are fitter than average. At 63 I can still run a mile in under 7 minutes.

Tim+

[Graham.]

The same argument might be made about a thermometer.

Anuway, the postman threw it on my doorstep this morning.

It seems to gibe the most consistent readings on my little finger,

97-98%.

[Bob Eager]

Mine arrived today too. And the manual said to use the index, middle or third finger!

[Joshua Snow]

Bullshit.

That all is bullshit.

Only stupids f*ck their body doing anything like that.

[tim...]

Oh come on

does the average person walk 30 miles a day - every day?

do you think that they possibly could

tim

[Joshua Snow]

The average person is irrelevant to your ALL.

And few hunter gatherers ever walked 30 miles a day, every day.

Few of those in later times when long distance trading started to happen did either.

Yes some have chosen to do that in modern times.

[Jethro_uk]

There is a manual fallback for body temperature - not for O2 concentrations ..

:)

Interesting, but not definitive ...

[Tim+]

I think that even cheap oximeters will give ?good enough? results to provide useful information.

Oxygen saturation of the blood is not linear. Haemoglobin has a high affinity for oxygen and your saturation won?t drop below 90% until your lung function is pretty seriously affected. Below 90% you?re on a ?slippery slope? and can desaturate much further very quickly. Even if they?re a bit inaccurate they?ll still provide enough warning of a serious problem developing.

Tim

[T i m]

<snip>

Interesting, thanks.

53 bpm, 98% (Samsung S7). ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[Jethro_uk]

Oh,not arguing that ... and using the same meter over time should ensure

*relative* readings are comparable.

I'll be honest, that they seem like nifty gadgets - certain one for those that like the shiny. But they wouldn't be that high on my list of "things to keep handy". Certainly not over a thermometer and BP and blood sugar monitor.

And in my own personal case, the most useful meter to have would be an ophthalmic tonometer ...

[Tim+]

I think Covid has uncovered a reason why they should be in your bathroom cabinet due to the tricky nature of the Covid pneumonia. They would also be a useful ?early warning? tool for anyone with developing sepsis (of any cause).

Tim

[Bob Eager]

I got one partly because it's easy to do frequent checks on my pulse rate when I'm having an AF episode.

[Paul]

One guy in another group who got COVID-19, said his blood pressure went through the roof. You might have a few more symptoms to report. And since he knows his blood pressure, it means he is likely treating it with meds and noticed. He recovered OK.

Paul

[Jethro_uk]

But that's a specific reason, not a general one ...

[Jethro_uk]

And I return to my point that you then need to have a regime of battery

*and* device checking to make it worth your while.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Absolutely true. If mine drops much below 95% I get angina on moderate exercise. Happens with a cold and lung congestion

[Bob Eager]

Strangely, I saw a list today (compiled by a GP) of ten things you should have, medical wise. One was a thermometer, and another was a pulse oximeter.