HealthcareFacts About Fingertip Pulse Oximeter

When we think of hospitals and clinics, we usually have one thing in mind: Medical check-up. This is quite uncomfortable for many people since there is a possibility that they will have an illness. It can also mean a longer time in the hospital since the diagnosis might be serious. The cost of your visit alone can cause alarm all throughout your body and you might experience a headache (check this out). The stress can also come from the procedures being done to you while the checkup is ongoing. There can be a lot of poking and needling which can be quite uncomfortable or even painful.

However, there are also procedures which are relatively pain free. One of which includes a simple clamp-like device with a little screen that shows its vital information. This is finger pulse oximetry.

What Is A Fingertip Pulse Oximeter

It is a device that can tell the oxygen levels in your blood. One of the main features of this device is it doesn’t need to insert anything in your body. You don’t even need to bleed for this device to read the oxygen levels in your blood. It is really convenient for people who are afraid of needles since this was the only way doctors can read oxygen levels before. Manu doctors are using it for many years now especially in emergency areas for a faster readings. You can even buy one yourself if you really need it.

Why Do You Need It?

So we just answered the question what is a fingertip pulse oximeter. This brings us to a much more important topic of discussion: Why do we need it? The main reason why this is very important because it can monitor how much oxygen is being pumped all over your body. This, in turn, can help you know if your heart is still healthy. It can also help in monitoring common heart and blood conditions like COPD, asthma and congenital heart disease.

Once you have this kind of kind of device, it is easy to observe and see whether the patient’s condition is getting better or worse. If you are going to see the doctor afterwards, you can also provide this information immediately. The doctor will see counter check your findings, but it will help with the diagnosis.

You can also use this to check if your ventilator is working properly. Also known as respirators, these devices aids in breathing for many patients who have lung problems. It can be a really complex machine or a simple mask with a bag attachment. You can find this in most hospitals and even homes for emergency cases. This is why it is really important to know whether they are really working for the patient. Using the finger pulse oximeter, you can monitor the oxygen levels while a ventilator is in use. That way, you can also observe if your patient is still breathing properly.

Oxygen is very important in our system because it helps in keeping our blood pumping. As it travels around with the blood, all the nutrients that our bodies need will receive it properly along with the oxygen. If we do not have enough oxygen, our cells start to die off until our tissues and organs will suffer because of it. A healthy oxygen level in the body will read at around 89 percent or more. However, there are many cases wherein it can go lower than this. If it only happens rarely, then it is not a concern for anyone. On the other hand, if it happens quite frequently then you need to see a doctor.

Take note though that pulse oximeters have its limits. The best ones can read oxygen levels with very high accuracy. However, these are also the priciest and it can just be found with doctors and medical facilities. You can still buy one if you want to, and most results would be around 2 percent of the actual count. You can always inform your physician about it. Also, be careful when you use it on your fingers as it can be affected by whatever you put on your nails. It is advised to remove any kind of nail polish before this procedure as it can affect the oxygen readings. As it uses light to see your bloodstream, even colorless nail polish can refract the light.