The Accuracy and Reliability of Pulse Oximeters

Pulse Oximeters offer the ability to measure pulse rates and blood oxygen levels and some even offer the ability to measure carbon monoxide levels. These measurements can be strong indicators of many different health issues and of the standard of our levels of health. Given the importance of the measurements provided, we need to be able to rely on the accuracy and reliability of the results. 

Causes of inaccurate readings

There are some instances which can cause a finger pulse oximeter to produce inaccurate or even no readings at all. These include excessive movement while the oximeter is attached, vibrations, wearing nail polish, calloused skin, anemia, cold limbs, and the presence of carbon monoxide. A key means of measuring the accuracy of your pulse oximeter results is to measure your pulse rate manually and compare the results. Even if your device is showing a normal result, you should still compare this with a manual pulse rate just to be sure. Of course, if the sensor is not correctly applied, an inaccurate reading may also be produced.

How to get an accurate reading

To ensure an accurate reading from a finger Pulse Oximeter, you must do the following - rest your hand at chest level in line with your heart, with the finger to which the device is attached to pointing in the air and stay like this until a reading has been obtained. Ensure that the light does not reach the detector other than through your skin tissue. Ensure that your finger is fully inserted into the device and that the device is attached securely and correctly. If you struggle to get a reading, try to warm up your finger or apply a topical cream. Failing that, you may want to attach a pulse ox to a different area of the body such as the bridge of your nose or your earlobe.

Pulse Oximeters for Everyday Life

Pulse Oximeters are a medical device that have become as readily available to purchase as thermometers. Whereas previously you may only have seen these small devices in your doctor’s office, now they are quickly making their way into people’s homes. Many people use personal pulse oximeters in their everyday life. But they are only for heart patients right? Wrong! There are several reasons why you would and indeed should use a pulse oximeter in your day to day life. Here are just three top reasons why:

1. Monitor Effects of Exercise

The only way that you can truly measure whether your workout is effective is by checking your heart rate. If your heart rate measurement taken when you are in the middle of training or exercising is similar to your resting heart rate measurement, you are not working hard enough. On the other hand, you can also use the pulse rate measurement from your portable pulse oximeter to measure the safety of your workout. As an adult, your heart rate should not exceed 100 beats per minute when working out, or you are putting your body in danger.

2. Ensure Optimum Brain Functioning

Our brains require a healthy level of blood oxygen of between 95% and 99% to function at their best. If your blood oxygen levels fall below this level, your brain function will not be performing at an optimum level. Concentration and memory levels may suffer as a result and your ability to go about your daily life suffers too.

3. Prevent Heart Problems

The harder our hearts have to work, the more susceptible they are to falling victim to diseases later in life. Our hearts are our most vital organ and so it is important that they are kept in good shape. A very simple way of checking your heart health is to regularly monitor your pulse rate. If the result displayed on your Pulse Ox is outside of the normal range (60-100 for adults), you need to speak to a doctor and nip the issue in the bud as soon as possible.

Pulse Oximeter Readings - What Do They Mean?

Pulse oximeters are devices that are typically slipped onto the finger to read a persons heart rate and measure oxygen blood levels. They may also be slipped onto the toes, nose or earlobes. A Pulse Oximeter works by shining an infrared light through your body tissue onto a photo sensor. This light can judge how much haemoglobin in your body is carrying oxygen. So you clip the pulse oximeter on your finger and a reading a flashes up on the display screen, but what does this reading mean?

Sp02 Levels

The Sp02 reading display on the screen refers to your oxygen blood saturation levels. A healthy Sp02 level is between 95 and 99%. If you suffer from a mild respiratory condition, your Sp02 level should be at least 90% upwards. If your reading is lower than 95% and you do not have a diagnosed respiratory condition, you need to visit a doctor, as it may be an indication that you may be suffering from hypoxia, a condition which requires observation and treatment.

Heart/Pulse Rates

A pulse oximeter will also display a heart rate reading. Healthy heart rate readings depend on your age. For elderly persons over the age of 70, a heart rate in the region of 90 beats per minute is considered a normal level. A healthy pulse rate for adults aged 18-70 falls anywhere between 60 and 80 beats per minute. For children, heart rates of 60-120 are considered normal, while for small babies a normal heart rate is 120 to 150 beats per minute.

Not satisfied with your reading? There are a couple of factors that can affect your reading making it inaccurate. Be sure to sit still while your reading is taken. Seizures, shock, anemia or extreme cold can deter a reading. Even wearing nail varnish on your fingers (if the Pulse Oximeter is clipped on your finger) can disturb the readings causing inaccuracy in the results displayed.

Pulse Oximeter - A Helpful Medical Device

A pulse oximeter is a very useful medical device and one that is not just seen in doctor’s surgeries and hospitals, but are also found in people’s homes too. In a matter of seconds, a Pulse Oximeter can display both your blood oxygen levels and your heart rate. Why is it important that we can check these levels as easily and as frequently as we want? Well, they serve as good indicators of good or poor health.

Measuring Heart Rates

A pulse oximeter allows us to measure our pulse and determine the number of times our heart beats per minute. The heart is essentially like a muscle, the more we work it, the stronger it becomes. The stronger your heart is, the more blood that is circulated with every beat. If your heart requires more beats than normal to do its work, this can lead to the development of cardiovascular disease and/or the occurrence of heart attacks. A higher pulse rate than usual can also be a sign of over-training or illness. Therefore, it is important to be able to regularly measure your heart rate to recognize irregularities as soon as possible. 

Measuring Blood Oxygen Levels

Why would you need to measure your blood oxygen saturation levels? Should they fall too low, you could fall victim to hypoxia, a condition in which the body is deprived of adequate oxygen supply. Those with respiratory conditions and cardiac conditions are most susceptible to hypoxia as their Sp02 levels are generally lower than the normal rate of 95-99%. Athletes who train very rigorously or who climb mountains, must continually measure their blood oxygen levels as such activity can take its toll on their body and have the ability to drive Sp02 levels down dangerously low.

A Pulse Ox serves as a very helpful medical device to many people, as it has the ability to measure two very important health indicators.

How to Use a Pediatric Pulse Oximeter for Children

When you think of a pulse oximeter, you may think that they are a medical device for those with heart or respiratory problems or serious athletes. However, a pulse oximeter is becoming almost as common an item in a home medical kit as a thermometer. These small medical devices are powerful indicators of health for people of all ages, from babies to senior citizens, and everyone in between. Pediatric Pulse Oximeters are a type of medical device designed specifically for infants and small children. The probe is designed to snugly fit their tiny little fingers. 

There are a few steps and things to keep in mind to ensure an accurate reading from a pediatric pulse oximeter:

1. The finger/toe must be placed properly and securely between the infra-red lights in the probe and the photo-sensor in order for the device to correctly ascertain the ratio of light absorbed by the skin tissue.
2. Check to see if you can see any red light at the opening of the probe. If you can see light, the opening may be too big and you may need to try another device.
   
   
3. You must ensure that the finger or toe stays completely still while the device tries to take a reading. Readings can take a few seconds or even minutes to obtain, so it is best to hold your child’s hand or foot still.

Babies and young children need to have their heart rates monitored in case of defects. Generally a healthy heart rate is a good indicator of good health. Their tiny bodies are also frequently subject to respiratory illnesses that can lower their Sp02 levels and put them at risk of hypoxia, so it is important that their Sp02 levels are monitored during illness. I think you’ll agree that investing in a Pediatric Pulse Oximeter is a wise choice for any parent.

Everything You Need to Know About Pulse Oximeters

A Pulse Oximeter is no longer a device that is just found in medical settings. You may discover that many people own their own personal fingertip pulse oximeter now too, as they have become an affordable device, and one which is very useful to have in the home. What do they do you ask? Why would I need one? We answer these most frequently asked questions below.

Professional Pulse Oximeters

What Are They?

Pulse oximeters are medical devices that are used to measure both your pulse rate and your blood oxygen levels. The ones you see people with in their homes are usually fingertip pulse oximeters - they can be attached to your finger to produce both a heart rate and a blood oxygen reading within minutes. You can attach the probe (the clip part) to your nose or earlobe too to get a reading. It is a very painless, quick and effective means of checking key indicators of the state of your health.

What Are They Used For?

You can discover how many times your heart beats per minute and what percentage of oxygen is in your blood through one quick Pulse Oximeter reading. The probe uses LED lights and photo sensor detectors to test your blood oxygen measurements. The ratio of light absorbed by your skin tissue dictates the measurements produced in your reading.

Why Would I Use One?

An unhealthy heart rate can lead to the development of heart conditions over time if not attended to, therefore it is important that we monitor our heart rates regularly. If our Sp02 (blood oxygen) levels should ever fall below 90%, we are putting our bodies at serious risk. Athletes with intensive training programs and those suffering from heart or respiratory conditions are most at risk of falling Sp02 levels due to the pressure their bodies are under. Blood oxygen is essential for brain development and functioning too. If we want to ensure that our brain performance is at an optimum level, we need to monitor our Sp02 levels.

Take Charge Of Your Health With A Fingertip Pulse Oximeter

Do you suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)? Asthma? Sleep apnea? Monitoring your blood oxygen saturation level (SpO2) and pulse rate (BMP) can be useful for many chronic conditions. A Fingertip Pulse Oximeter passes two wavelengths through your finger to a photodetector to measure SpO2 and BMP in a non-invasive and painless way.

For a healthy person, the normal percentage range of blood saturation will typically be 95 to 99 percent. If the level falls below 80 percent, hypoxemia develops. This is a fancy term for low oxygen in the blood, but it can have side effects such as shortness of breath, trouble sleeping, and a chronic cough.

Hypoxemia can occur in high altitudes and when diving. It can also be a problem for patients undergoing anesthesia during an operation. All of these situations require special monitoring, and the development of cheap, portable fingertip pulse oximeters makes this simple.

So why should you Buy a Pulse Oximeter to take charge of your health? If you have a chronic condition that benefits from monitoring then the answer is obvious. But even if you’re relatively healthy, they can come in handy if you want to start a new exercise program and are concerned about how hard you’re pushing your heart, or if you want to start exercising again after recovering from illness or surgery. If you have asthma, a pulse oximeter can help you avoid triggering an attack during your workout.

So for obvious reasons this cheap, easy-to-use device can be a good thing to have around the house. Even if you don’t require constant monitoring and don’t need to keep it with you at all times, pick one up for the first aid kit. When you need it, you’ll be glad you did.