Welcome to Running: A FEVER, a podcast about fitness, diet, and medicine. I am Michael Davis, and my goal is to live a long, healthy, happy, active life right up to the very end. And I’ll do it by loving my life enough to make it last as long as possible.
First of all, I want to say to all you podcast listeners that an unboxing video is included in the video version of this episode. You can see it on the blog page at http://RunningAFEVER.com/385 if you want to watch it.
Well, since there was an unboxing, I guess you can figure out that I got my own pulse oximeter. It’s pretty simple to use; you turn it on and clamp it on your finger, and the display shows a percentage number. But what does it mean, and why is it important? It must be important in some way because every time I get my vitals taken at a medical provider’s office, they use it on me. I had no idea until I started researching this episode, so now I can share that info with you, and you’ll know, too.
Let’s start with a more-or-less official definition. Pulse oximetry is a painless, non-invasive test that measures the amount of oxygen in your blood. It is a monitoring technique that measures the oxygen saturation in the blood by shining light at specific wavelengths through tissue, most commonly the fingernail bed.
How does it work exactly? Let’s get into some detail. Deoxygenated and oxygenated hemoglobin absorb light at different wavelengths. The absorbed light shined through your finger is processed by a proprietary algorithm (that’s a computer program) in the pulse oximeter to display a saturation value. The machine detects arterial pulsations of a very small caliber in arteries and capillary tissue.
Because infants have tiny fingers, the palm, foot, arm, cheek, tongue, penis, or nasal septum may also be used to place the device.
Pulse oximetry is sometimes known as the fifth vital sign (the other four are blood pressure, pulse rate, respiration rate, and body temperature). It is used to monitor oxygen saturation for patients receiving anesthesia. It is also used in emergency departments, hospital wards, and ambulances to assess blood oxygenation in patients with respiratory difficulties to monitor the potential respiratory depressant effects of pain medications.
But it’s not just used in hospitals or even doctor’s offices. Since consumer-grade, smaller, and cheaper models are now available, like the one I now have, their use has become common in recreational activities like sports, private aviation, mountain climbing, and diving. In diving, it is used to detect hypoxia. Pilots use them in non-pressurized aircraft above 10,000 feet where supplemental oxygen is required. Mountain climbers use them as oxygen levels can decrease at high altitudes. Athletes use them because oxygen levels can decrease with exercise.
And in the doctor’s office, it has just become routine to check overall health to ensure your body is getting enough oxygen. Low oxygen saturation is called hypoxemia and can indicate a number of medical problems, including:
Respiratory Conditions: Diseases like asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pneumonia, and COVID-19 can reduce oxygen levels.
Heart Problems: Conditions such as heart failure or congenital heart defects can impair oxygen delivery to the body.
Anemia: Low levels of hemoglobin in the blood can reduce oxygen transport.
High Altitude: Being at high altitudes where there is less oxygen in the air can lead to lower oxygen saturation.
Sleep Apnea: This condition causes breathing interruptions during sleep, leading to decreased oxygen levels.
I remember wearing a special device while I was sleeping. It was prescribed by my doctor and provided by the same company that sold me my CPAP machine. I believe this was a pulse oximeter, but it was a big thing that fit around my wrist and had a thing that clamped onto my finger. I think it recorded the oxygen saturation overnight. I wanted to see if I could stop using the CPAP after I had lost a lot of weight. Unfortunately, the results went against me, and I couldn’t stop with the CPAP.
So, let’s say you have a pulse oximeter, put it on your finger, and a number comes up. Is it good or bad, or what? Well, a normal reading is between 95% and 100%. People with lung diseases like COPD or pneumonia may have a lower reading. So now you know, and you can look smart the next time you go to the doctor, and they put that thing on your finger.
If you do watch this video on YouTube, please hit the thumbs-up button if you like it, and if you’re not already subscribed, please hit that button as well. If you’re on the blog page instead, in the lower left corner, you’ll see “Watch on YouTube,” and if you click that, you’ll be able to like and subscribe. Every click helps promote the podcast so we can reach more people.
I hope you did like the episode. And remember, if you’ve got the fever, keep it burning, and if you don’t, catch the fever, and I’ll see you next time on Running: A FEVER.
References:
https://tinyurl.com/pulse-oximetry-google-search
https://tinyurl.com/pulse-oximetry-in-diving
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470348/#:~:text=Pulse%20oximetry%20is%20sometimes%20referred,has%20decreased%20significantly.%5B3%5D
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse_oximetry
https://tinyurl.com/4-vital-signs