Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does the person have Covid? Why would you put a pulse oximeter on someone with a rash and no other symptoms?

Nurse working with Covid patients again. A rash has started to become something we've noticed more in some Covid patients

Ok, but OP didn't say the person had Covid. Also a month with not additional symptoms or worsening of symptoms does not sound like Covid.

True, I just assumed they meant Covid. If it's been 3ish weeks it is definitely possible the person is on that dangerous late decline. Seems to be less common now than it was earlier, but we still see people that are on day 20 and are very very sick.

Now if this person doesn't have Covid and the person has an O2 of 88% they absolutely need to go to the emergency room because something is going on.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does the person have Covid? Why would you put a pulse oximeter on someone with a rash and no other symptoms?

Nurse working with Covid patients again. A rash has started to become something we've noticed more in some Covid patients

Ok, but OP didn't say the person had Covid. Also a month with not additional symptoms or worsening of symptoms does not sound like Covid.

Anonymous wrote:Does the person have Covid? Why would you put a pulse oximeter on someone with a rash and no other symptoms?

Nurse working with Covid patients again. A rash has started to become something we've noticed more in some Covid patients

I'm a nurse who has worked with Covid patients for almost a year now.
A couple of things to do if you get an off reading (which can be common in the elderly)...
Other fingers/other hand
Take off nail polish (especially if a thick gel/dip)
Warm hands up
Use toe or ear

If you've done all these then 92 or less means hospital time. Silent hypoxia is real and common with Covid. I've lost count of the patients I've had who are reading 75% and having a full blown conversation with me. They don't feel short of breath or are having difficulty breathing. It's part of what has made Covid so scary. It doesn't always present like a typical acute respiratory issue.

The key to treating a bad case of Covid is getting treated at the beginning of it getting much worse.

Does the person have Covid? Why would you put a pulse oximeter on someone with a rash and no other symptoms?

I remember seeing the term "happy hypoxics" or something like that last spring, about people with Covid whose O2 levels were very low. Just looked it up and there has been investigation into the reasons such patients don't show outward signs of distress, which can be complex. In some cases, apparently, things like intubation are actually contraindicated despite the low O2 levels. Problem with the meter itself is one possibility but only one. Some of those people they were referring to had blood saturation down to the 50s! But also oximeter readings are most accurate in the high ranges, when you fall below 90 they are far less accurate according to what I read.

People also need to be aware that oximeters may OVER estimate the O2 saturation in people with dark skin (pigmentation affecting the readings).

Anonymous wrote:Anyone else find it odd that OP never came back?

OP might be busy dealing with a health emergency.

Anyone else find it odd that OP never came back?

Blue lips?

Anonymous wrote:88 = hospital. Normal readings are over 95.

My toddler got admitted even with a reading of 92 (he had other symptoms and it ended up being pneumonia). So 88 would definitely scare me!

88 is ER low, OP. When I had COVID, I was told to go to the hospital if mine went below 94. I ended up going in twice and needing oxygen both times. Contrary to what many people believe, you can be walking and talking with low numbers. Not everyone is gasping for breath. I wasn't. My husband said my voice sounded breathy. And I was coughing. But I could walk and talk even at 90.

Blow into the odometer and warm it up. Also if it’s squeezing your finger too tight will go unreliable. If you have other symptoms go to the doctor. My oximeter seems pretty accurate.

These home oximeters are so unreliable. We had one for my MIL after a cancer diagnosis, and the readings were all over the place and, based on a side-by-side comparison in her doctor’s office on multiple occasions, highly inaccurate.

Isn't it known that Covid presents with the very low oxygen sats in lucid patients? At a minimum call a doctor immediately.

Anonymous wrote:88 = hospital. Normal readings are over 95.

This. Did you check on this when you bought it, OP? I’m not a doctor, but from what I’ve read, anything below 95 is considered low, and anything below 90 is hospital time.