Understanding The Oxygen Monitor Readings: What are the Normal Blood Oxygen Levels?

One of the most valued devices in the medical world today is the oxygen monitor. This gadget, usually available in a portable unit called the pulse oximeter (or finger oximeter, because it is usually attached to the fingertip), measures the blood oxygenation in the blood. Anyone can now buy a pulse oximeter for their own convenience. Although these products usually come with a manual which explains how to operate and use the device, do you know how to interpret the results of the oximeter readings?

Before anything else, you should know the proper way of using the oxygen monitor. The results of oximetry actually depend on the usage of the device. If the device, for instance, is not properly placed on the right body part, the findings may be distorted.

First, the oximeter should be clipped onto a translucent part of the body, such as the fingertip or earlobe. You also need to ensure that the device will be able to give you accurate results. One way of ensuring this is to compare the pulse rate displayed by the monitor and the pulse rate that you get through manual measurement. If they do not correspond to each other, there is a possibility that you are not getting accurate readings from your device. There are also several scenarios that hinder an oxygen monitor to offer accurate results, such as the presence of a nail polish, hypothermia, blood loss, carbon monoxide poisoning and even the excessive movement of the patient.

Before clipping the device onto your chosen translucent body part, first turn on the instrument and wait until it calibrates through a series of checks. Once the device works well, place it on your finger or earlobe. Avoid exerting too much force when you attach the probe since it may cause damage to the sensitive skin. Wait for a few seconds until it displays the measurement of pulse and oxygen saturation levels on the screen.

For a normally breathing person, the reading of the blood oxygenation level (SpO2) should play around in the high 90s. Any reading from 96% SpO2 to 99% SpO2 still should not be a cause of panic. But if the reading results to 95% SpO2 and below, it might indicate hypoxemia (a condition characterized by low levels of oxygen in the blood) and should be investigated. If the result falls down to 90% SpO2 or less, the patient is indeed suffering from deprivation of oxygen; thus immediate action is required.

The amount of oxygen also decreases as the altitude gets higher. For example, a person at sea level may have a 98% reading. When he goes to a higher place, say 5,000 ft, his reading may decrease to 95%. At 10,000 ft, it may decline to 90%. More than 10,000 ft, his oxygen level may drop to 80% which may result to hypoxia.

As mentioned, the oxygen monitor also measures the heart rate of the patient. An elderly person with an age of 75 or greater should have a pulse of 90 beats per minute (bpm) in order to be healthy. Adults must have between 60 to 80 bpm while adolescents should have 60 to 105. Healthy children, with an age of five to 12 normally have 60 to 120 bpm, while those who are one to five years old have 80 to 150 bpm. Infants have generally a faster heart rate, usually 120 to 150 bpm.