Pulse Oximeter

Pulse Oximeter: Know why it is essential to have one in ongoing covid times!

Corona News Update Health

The recent surge in the pandemic Covid-19 has exposed the world to unparalleled problems. In this time of uncertainty and sustained concerns and fears around Covid-19, there has been an extensive impact on the health sector. There are reports of a shortage of hospital beds and oxygen supply. Due to this, the corona patients are advised to stay in home isolation. In such a situation, they are asked to monitor their oxygen levels regularly. Now the question arises of how to know whether the oxygen level is right or not. The answer is Pulse Oximeter.

Pulse Oximeter is the most talked about and essential device during home isolation. Although patients suffering from respiratory diseases are well acquainted with it, many of us are still unaware. This article aims to clear all your queries regarding the Pulse Oximeter, what it is, why it is important, where to buy and how much is the price. 

What is a Pulse Oximeter? 

A pulse oximeter is a small handy machine with a digital display. It is also called PPO i.e. portable pulse oximeter. A Pulse Oximeter is a device specifically designed to measure oxygen saturation levels in the body. It shows how much oxygen red blood cells (RBCs) are travelling. This helps the health professionals to know whether a person needs extra oxygen or not. It is generally used to monitor patients after surgery and many of the patients suffering from respiratory diseases also keep it in their home. 

Why is it essential to have a Pulse Oximeter?

Amid rising cases of corona and decreasing beds in the hospital, home health care is increasingly important. An Oximeter helps people check their oxygen level at the comfort of their home without rushing to the hospital. A person can get admitted to the hospital only when their oxygen level is low. 

Secondly, it also saves you from getting into any risky situation when it becomes too late to get treated. With the help of this device, early diagnosis of corona patients can happen, due to which the death rate can be reduced. This device is also user-friendly and portable.  

How does it work for Covid Patients?

Increased cases of corona infection have once again raised the concerns and there are reports of not getting beds in hospitals. There is an atmosphere of fear among the people and everyone is rushing to the hospital. However, not every patient who gets infected needs to be admitted to the hospital and can get cured through medicines in home isolation. 

A person needs to be admitted only when the corona infection reaches the lungs, as they may feel trouble breathing. This indicates that the oxygen level in their body is low. A pulse oximeter here comes into the picture. It keeps us updated about the oxygen level in our body when used at regular intervals.

What should be the healthy oxygen level?

The oxygen level of a healthy normal person is determined by the saturation level of oxygen in the blood. The normal level oxygen count is considered between 95 and 100 percent. Oxygen level below 95 percent indicates that there is some kind of problem in the lungs. So, if the oxygen level goes below 92 percent, then the person’s condition is serious. He is likely to need oxygen support and should be taken to the hospital. 

Although this standard level is for a normal person. The situation may be different in a patient suffering from any prior disease. So it is recommended that a doctor’s advice should be taken.

How does Pulse Oximeter work?

It is a clip-like device that needs to be pressed into the patient’s finger by pressing it from behind. After this, it needs to be turned on. On turning the pulse oximeter on, a light is seen burning inwards. It flashes a light on your skin and detects the colour and movement of blood cells. Your blood cells with the right oxygen level seem bright red while the others look dark red. Through this, the oximeter device calculates oxygen saturation in percentage and displays the reading. This is how with the help of this device, the patient’s pulse and blood oxygen level are detected. This is how the device works and corona patients can check their oxygen level every few hours or at regular intervals.

Things to keep in mind during testing

The machine does not detect Corona! A low oxygen level may be due to several other reasons and does not always mean you have a corona. This device just helps in monitoring corona patients.

There should be no colour on the finger of which the readings are taken. Also, make sure your hands are not cold and your nails are not too long.

The blood circulation of the patient is not affected

How much does a Pulse Oximeter cost? 

The price is not very high. The clip-like device is available in the range of Rs 1000 to Rs 4000.

Where to buy Pulse Oximeter?  

By now, you must have understood what is the importance of pulse oximeters and feel the need to buy it. Well, it can be found in medical equipment shops in your nearest drug stores. If you cannot find it in stores, then you can buy it online from e-commerce sites like Amazon, Flipkart, etc.

Top 5 Pulse Oximeter

There are many types of pulse oximeters available in markets as well as online, which help measure the oxygen saturation level or the SpO2 in the body. The top 5 Pulse Oximeter you can find online are: 

  • Newnik pulse oximeter: Newnik fingertip pulse oximeter comes with audio. It gets a dual colour OLED display and gives fast readings of SpO2. It is available on Amazon at Rs 2026.
  • BPL Smart Oxy Fingertip pulse oximeter: BPL Smart Oxy Fingertip pulse oximeter by BPL Medical Technologies comes with an OLED colour display and is said to monitor oxygen concentration in blood with high accuracy. It can be bought at Rs 1,399 from Amazon.
  • Sahyog Wellness pulse oximeter: Sahyog Wellness pulse oximeter with LED display can measure blood oxygen saturation in 5-8 seconds and shuts off automatically in 15 seconds when not in use. You can buy it for a price of Rs 1,999 from Flipkart.
  • V Secure pulse oximeter: The Make in India initiative, V Secure finger pulse oximeter features a multi-directional display and automatically shuts off in 5 seconds when not in use. It is listed for a price of Rs 1,420 on Flipkart.
  • Elko EL 560 pulse oximeter: The Elko EL-560 fingertip pulse oximeter gets a dual colour OLED display and goes into Auto Sleep Mode after 8 seconds of inactivity. The device shows real-time SpO2 reading. It can be bought for a price of Rs 1,899 from Amazon. 

Early diagnosis can lead to an early cure. Protect your health and ensure peace of mind by buying a pulse oximeter for home monitoring. This will keep you satisfied that you are aware of your pulse and oxygen levels and took this important step to be sure you are staying as healthy as possible.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments