About a month ago I mentioned pulse oximeters and hypothesised they could be useful in tracking a corona virus infection at home. The Times today has an article suggesting the same thing:
Coronavirus: Finger-clip device gives warning on oxygen level
A simple device that monitors oxygen levels at home could help to identify people who are falling severely ill with Covid-19, doctors have said.
Experts are concerned that significant numbers are not receiving care quickly enough, which leads to a hard-to-detect form of viral pneumonia.
Richard Levitan, an American doctor, said that the volume of patients who need a ventilator could be reduced if people with symptoms such as fever and cough monitored themselves using pulse oximeters. These are small devices that clip on a finger to measure oxygen levels in the blood.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/coronavirus-finger-clip-device-gives-warning-on-oxygen-level-v35qkzz0p
They can be bought relatively cheaply from Amazon. Non-referral link here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=pulse+oximeter&ref=nb_sb_noss_2
If you buy one there is guidance on what is normal here:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/symptoms/hypoxemia/basics/definition/sym-20050930
In summary from the Mayo Clinic: Normal pulse oximeter readings usually range from 95 to 100 percent. Values under 90 percent are considered low.
Originally Posted by: Brian Gaze