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According to Béla Merkely, rector of the University of Semmelweis, an instrument of 5 to 20 thousand florins that measures the oxygen saturation of the blood can be a useful tool. However, when measuring with pulse oximeters, it is worth noting that different values are normal for each person.
“There is one more thing that I can recommend. And that’s the oxygen meter. It’s called a pulse oximeter. It’s a very small measuring device, five thousand guilders that we can put on our fingers,” said Béla Merkely, rector of the Semmelweis University. when he talked about how he treated the disease on his own.
The device measures the amount of oxygen saturation (oxygen saturation in the blood). According to Merkely, if the result is greater than 90 percent, there are most likely no serious problems.
Nóra Máté-Horváth, an anesthesiologist and intensive care specialist, told Telex a little more about pulse oximeters. According to him, this device can warn of imminent danger, but it cannot be clearly stated that everyone should buy one immediately. According to him, on the one hand, most cases of pneumonia have well-recognized symptoms and, on the other hand, although blood oxygen levels can be easily measured, it is not always easy to interpret the result without health knowledge. “Unlike home blood pressure measurement, where the target range can be well defined and this target range is roughly the same for everyone, in the case of pulse oximetry measurement it is less easy to judge exactly at what values there is a real problem, “said Nóra Máté-Horváth.
What is worth knowing?
According to Nóra Máté-Horváth, the normal level of oxygen in the blood can vary from one individual to another depending on the age, physique and state of the body, and the measurement can be influenced by several factors. In the case of a finger clip device, such factors may be peripheral circulation condition, hand temperature, ambient light conditions, device setting, or machine may not give accurate results if the finger has shiny nail polish or artificial nails. And the percentages obtained alone say nothing if there is no reference value, and a healthy person rarely detoxifies their blood oxygen levels at home.
According to Nóra Máté-Horváth, if someone has a fever, coughs and sees that their blood oxygen level is 3-4 percentage points lower than before, it is really worth going to the hospital immediately, but for this you need to know what that is 3-4 percent. tell. “A young and athletic person can have a normal level of 97 to 99 percent. An older person with other chronic diseases, which mainly affect the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, can have an acceptable value of 94 to 96 percent. For a smoker severe, up to 85-90 percent is acceptable, while that young athlete with 88 percent blood oxygen levels could already pass out. “
In general, therefore, a pulse oximeter can be really useful at home, but the results measured by the device should be discussed instead and it is worth sharing with your GP and only deciding the additional steps in the light. from this.
How much?
The demand for pulse oximeters has increased around the world since the outbreak. Already in spring, at the time of the first wave, several pharmacies were sold out. At the time, a pharmacist told Bukssa (Napi.hu’s editorial blog) that not many people were buying it before the coronavirus epidemic, but in March there was a sudden spike in interest and rush. The offering at the time typically included assets of 15-20 thousand HUF.
While browsing Buksza on Sunday, he concluded that there is a sale, but the prices are very extensive. There were big online stores, like Emag, Extreme Digital, Media Markt, Euronics, Alza, where the product was scarce, but there were also places where you could get a wide variety. Available in stock, that is, available in 1-2 days, they cost more than 10 thousand guilders, pulse oximeters belonging to the category of 5 to 7 thousand guilders have a delivery time of 4 to 5 days.
How does it work?
Pulse oximeters thus measure the oxygen saturation of the blood and the pulse. Material from the University of Szeged also reveals how these tiny devices measure.
Simply put, it is that after being pinched on the finger, the pulse oximeter illuminates the blood at a certain wavelength through the skin, some of the light is reflected and this is monitored by a detector. The degree of light absorption emits oxygen saturation. (The working principle of the pulse oximeter can be read in detail here.)
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