{"id":26831,"date":"2020-05-06T12:30:51","date_gmt":"2020-05-06T12:30:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/virusreports.net\/should-everyone-buy-a-home-pulse-oximeter-during-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic\/"},"modified":"2020-05-06T12:30:51","modified_gmt":"2020-05-06T12:30:51","slug":"should-everyone-buy-a-home-pulse-oximeter-during-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/virusreports.net\/should-everyone-buy-a-home-pulse-oximeter-during-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Should everyone buy a home pulse oximeter during coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Most common serious symptoms of coronavirus involves lungs<\/h2>\n
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DETROIT<\/strong> \u2013 The most common life-threatening complications from the coronavirus (COVID-19) are related to the lungs, and since all the oxygen in your body comes from the lungs, should everyone have a pulse oximeter at home?<\/p>\n

Click here if you want to submit a question about the coronavirus<\/b><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Trust Index: Pulse oximeter<\/h2>\n

In the hospital, many people are put on monitors called pulse oximeters, which work by painlessly shining a special red light through the pad of your finger or your earlobe and detecting how much can be seen from the other side.<\/p>\n

The light is absorbed differently depending on how much oxygen is being carried by the hemoglobin in your blood. The monitor shows a number that represents the percentage of hemoglobin with oxygen.<\/p>\n

For most people, the \u201coxygen saturation\u201d is in the high 90s. When someone develops lung problems, the amount of oxygen in the blood falls, and the oxygen saturation decreases.<\/p>\n

Experts noticed early on with COVID-19 that many of the people who would go on to develop severe complications had drops below 90% in their pulse ox number.<\/p>\n

READ<\/b>: GM, Ford, FCA discuss tentative date to reopen Michigan auto plants<\/a><\/p>\n

Pulse oximeter technology has become so common that it\u2019s not available in small devices that you can buy for use at home. They look like a fat clothes pin that clips to your finger.<\/p>\n

Most of them will display at least two numbers: your oxygen saturation and your pulse rate. The fancier models also show a waveform of your pulse.<\/p>\n

Does it make sense for you to buy one for your home? If you have COVID-19 and you\u2019re not sick enough to need a hospital admission, it can be a good idea to monitor your oxygen saturations at home. If they are consistently decreasing into the lower 90s, that would be a reason to contact your doctor.<\/p>\n