I remember when we were caring for my dad, we were coached to take his blood O2 level when he seemed lethargic. If his O2 saturation was below 90%, then we gave him a nebulizer treatment with albuterol which was prescribed by his personal care physician.
Belladonna (an RN) chimed in that any O2 saturation measurement below 89% was an issue and warranted a trip to the doctor (or doc-in-a-box). It isn't necessarily an emergency but that it needed looking into.
My personal belief is that one of these O2 Pulse Oximeter monitors is a basic home-medical device right up there with a thermometer. Objective measurements takes the guesswork out of knowing when to escalate an issue.
I sent our Fingertip Pulse Oximeter to the person who was not able to attend and ordered a replacement unit. I don't expect the device to come back.
Comments from my readers who have medical training will be appreciated. It is not my intention to spread misinformation.
I have no medical training but I will say that we have two of those in the house and it will tell you if you Do have a problem, but more important to me is it tells me if I Don't have a problem So Calm Down. ---ken
ReplyDeleteThe pulse-ox devices are certainly in reach price-wise, and a great front-line rough diagnostic tool, like the thermometer ERJ mentioned. I can tell when my blood pressure is out of sight, but having the BP cuff is handy for a rough measure, as is the pulse-ox device, when either of us (of a certain age) is out of sorts. Saves the panic mode.... Definitely good to have around, and the batteries seem to last years (at least in ours).
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