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Since there is an uptick of covid, I want to repost this very vital information:
If someone suspects that he may have Covid-19, even if he doesn’t know for sure, he should start monitoring his oxygen level right away with a pulse oximeter, and then continue monitoring regularly. This is due to the fact that low oxygen levels are very often NOT OBVIOUS with Covid-19 (i.e. the person does not experience difficulty breathing, etc.) and can become critically low before the patient realizes there’s a problem. Regular oxygen levels are between 97 and 99. Anything below 92 is cause for alarm. If the low oxygen level is caught early, the patient may be able to get oxygen at home – and in many cases avoid the need to go to the hospital.(If he does use oxygen at home, he should constantly monitor his saturation levels then as well).
If you have access to HCQ, it’s important to take it early to kill the virus before it does more serious damage. Even if you don’t take HCQ do whatever you can naturally to try to kill the virus because it can become much more serious over time even if it looks like its getting better.
Everyone should stay well and not need this!
zinc with the hydroxychloroquine, and check your heart with the doctor first
If someone suspects they have COVID and does not have any breathing issues, such as shortness of breath, coughing, or any other breathing related symptoms (such as shortness of breath after a relative normal exertion), there is no need to check the oxygen saturation.
2scents – i have to disagree on this. My neighbor heard that warning and was able to save her husband by checking his levels even though he did not believe he had any breathing issues. I heard third hand of a coupleothers as well.
It was explained to me that one of the big issues was that people’s levels were decreasing slowly and tthey were acclimating to it until it got too low and then they would struggle but it would be late in the game by then.
I’m sure you know more about tjis than i do, but if theres no harm in it, and i know at least one who was saved, i wanted to post it.
Syag,
Disagreement is healthy.. But I believe that if one has zero breathing related issues. (zero as in not feeling short of breath after a brief walk around the room), it is unlikely that their oxygenation is effected.
Syag,
Most people that had oxygen levels that were low usually had some breathing issues. What was weird was that the low saturations usually was way worse than the presentation. Usually, only patients that are very sick have very low oxygenation levels, with COVID even people with general decent presentations, and only mild respiratory symptoms had low oxygen levels.
2scents- from what i understand this was exactly why so many couldn’t be saved. Their oxygen dropped little by little as with people who mountain climb. Er docs said people walked in to the er texting and talking with oxygen levels below 60. For this reason – not feeling it until it was too low- it was recommended to test o2 levels even if shortness of breath wasn’t an issue
Syag -“i have to disagree on this”
YOU ARE Right.
But a lot of Med. Professionals are not uptodate, Just like our Gov.From USPharmacists:
“In a recent editorial in the New York Times, Dr. Richard Levitan, a New Hampshire–based emergency medicine physician with a specialty in intubation, noted that a substantial percentage of patients he saw while working in a busy New York hospital in March suffered from silent hypoxia. They were utterly unaware they had low, sometimes extremely low, oxygen levels and clearly compromised lungs with moderate-to-severe pneumonia.
“Widespread pulse oximetry screening for COVID pneumonia—whether people check themselves on home devices or go to clinics or doctors’ offices—could provide an early warning system for the kinds of breathing problems associated with COVID pneumonia,” he wrote.
He urged patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 to check their blood oxygen levels with a pulse oximeter for 2 weeks after diagnosis or any symptom onset to detect dropping oxygen levels before pneumonia advanced.”2cents,
Not only do I disagree with you, you’re VERY wrong. Many people couldnt be saved because when you’re laying in bed with Covid, you dont feel a shortness of breathe until it’s too late.
I speak of this first hand, and from hearing from many others directlyI had corona back in March. I was monitoring O2 early, and when my oxygen dropped to 88 after a week, I went to the hospital and was able to to get oxygen and not need intensive care. Doctor told me catching low %O2 was VERY good.
I didnt feel ANY shortness of breathe, but O was VERY much out of full lungs.
Like OP said- if you have corona, get a pulse oxy. Monitor your breathing and pulse. You might not feel shortness of breathe until it drops to 75-80%- and that can cause FAR more damage.
It’s a very cheap piece, and only costs a small battery to us.
Dont argue on amazing advice, one that saved my life
Or significant damage; and many others I know personally.Syag,
“Er docs said people walked in to the er texting and talking with oxygen levels below 60. For this reason”
Why did they present themselves to the ER?
As pointed out, some people have had extremely low oxygen saturations, which are usually only seen on extremely sick patients, such as those that are in severe respiratory distress and are nearing cardiac arrest (peri-arrest).
Some providers have reported talking to patients with sp02s of 30 and 40. And had a registered sp02 of zero on another patient.
This was new and crazy.
But I have not heard of people with zero respiratory distress or dyspnea with sp02s in the 60s.
OtherTzad,
Are you saying that you had zero breathing symptoms at the time?
Most people that had symptoms, had mild symptoms that did not correlate with the extreme low peripheral sp02s, but I do not think that they had zero respiratory symptoms.
Telling people who have aches and weakness not associated with exertion to keep on measuring their sp02, seems a bit too much.
2scents – exactly that. They came in in distress with extremely low levels of oxygen. While those levels were dropping all the days or weeks(
?) before, they were not in distress and an oximeter would have identified the lowering levels before it became criticalSyag,
That is not necessarily the case, a lot of patients were monitored at home (with respiratory symptoms, borderline sp02, oxygen concentrators) and a lot of them had a rapid decrease in sp02. This was usually not due to a gradual decline in oxygenation saturation.
From Yale Medicine.
Should you buy a pulse oximeter?
There is debate among doctors about whether or not people need a pulse oximeter in their medical supply kits at home. “In normal times, unless a patient has true lung disease, there is no need for them to use pulse oximetry monitoring,” says Denyse Lutchmansingh, MD, a Yale Medicine pulmonologist. But these aren’t normal times. The American Lung Association advises against buying pulse oximeters unnecessarily and recommends people focus their awareness on other COVID-19 symptoms. However, in a recent New York Times opinion piece, an emergency physician from New Hampshire said if resources were directed toward earlier detection of silent hypoxia, doctors could do more to keep those patients off ventilators.
At this point, Dr. Lutchmansingh says the benefits of pulse oximetry monitoring are most clear among patients who have COVID-19 symptoms such as cough, fever, and shortness of breath. “If you are symptomatic that is a reasonable time to check your oxygen. That is something we’ve been trying to do from an outpatient standpoint,” she says. “We have COVID-19 patients who we are monitoring at home and one of the deciding factors for bringing them into the hospital is their oxygen level.”
– Cough, Shortness of breath.
@2scents,
Correct. Literally zero. It’s because I was in bed with a high fever (103-105) that my body didn’t need as much oxygen compared to days that I would normally be up and about. So I didn’t notice it at all.
You’re correct that most people who had symtoms barely had anything happen to them, however no one is saying to “keep on mesuring”. You can easily find someone who will lend you one, and check it twice a day is more than enough. I left it by my bedside and checked every 4 hours, but my experience with corona was that it takes a day or so to drop significantly.
But to tell EVERYONE that there’s no need to check their O2 saturation unless they have shortness of breath or the symtoms you described is far from the truth. And not just my first hand experience, look at how many others are arguing with you here. And EVERYONE in the jewish community knows someone personally who this virus effected, so everyone here speaks either first or second handed.What would be a reason not to use a pulse oximeter?
If anyone has symptoms of covid AND they feel weak (or getting weaker) they absolutely should check their oxygen level even if they don’t feel they have breathing issues.
When my mother had covid, and her saturation level was at 72, she insisted that she had no trouble breathing!! I called hatzalah and they took her in.
Yidd23 -“What would be a reason not to use a pulse oximeter?”
They think using a pulse – ox will make a shortage. You can’t practice medicine, without many years of schooling. A lot of of med. profs have a lot of Gaiva. I agree with Doc Levitan.
“What would be a reason not to use a pulse oximeter?”
Not necessarily any reason not to, but in general not necessary.
If we would do random EKGs on people in shopping centers, or other diagnostics, we would probably catch a few people with heart attacks or other stuff, but in general its not necessary.
Thats a bit of a flippant response. There have been enough people with covid symptoms put on vents or compressed o2 due to low levels they didn’t feel to makenit unfair to equate it with random people in a shopping mall. How about glucose tests for pregnant women? Why draw my blood 9 times just cuz other random people get gestational diabetes?
Point is, even if only my neighbor was saved, and it seems there were more than just him, 30 seconds on a $40 meter is worth it. I actually got mine from hatzalah.
Interesting add on. We found that those of us with covid, while we were fever free, had pulse range of 102-120 at rest.
Syag,
“Thats a bit of a flippant response.”
I am not discounting anyone elses opinion, we are all entitled to our opinions, I have not done anything other than stating my opinion. You are free to do as you please and as you understand.
Syag, those were usually associated with being out of breath with some exertion.
I know you are not discounting anyone’s opinions, but you were also making an apples and oranges comparison to make a point of pointlessness when it is not a fair comparison.
What were you refering to in your second response?
Syag,
“What were you refering to in your second response?”
To this
“There have been enough people with covid symptoms put on vents or compressed o2 due to low levels”
There have been so many people (all with good intentions) that have made a lot of public announcements, thus driving the public crazy.
Everyone is free to do as they see fit, But having a million people get pulse oximeters when in general people with no shortness of breath (or being out of breath or unable to walk around the room) or any other breathing symptoms will not have a lower than usual sp02 reading.
On the other hand, some people that had very good readings had a sudden decrease in saturations and deteriorated very rapidly.
It is not very clear as to the etiology of this. There are many theories.
I hear you, but no, they were specifically NOT associated with shortness of breathe, that was the whole point.
I personally don’t think i prescribe to use if *any* of the onlineor social media advice and tips, nor am i the type to pass tips along, but this i heard first hand, and it’s too easy to pass up considering the consequence.
2scents -“Not necessarily any reason not to, but in general not necessary. If we would do random EKGs on people in shopping centers, or other diagnostics, we would probably catch a few people with heart attacks or other stuff, but in general its not necessary.”
The title of this Topic is Covid Breathing – So why are you comparing it to the General Public?!?
I think the American Lung Assoc. is off Base on this one.
There is No Reason NOT to do Home Pulse-Ox!“Dr. Levitan – He urged patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 to check their blood oxygen levels with a pulse oximeter for 2 weeks after diagnosis or any symptom onset to detect dropping oxygen levels before pneumonia advanced.
At this point, Dr. Lutchmansingh says the benefits of pulse oximetry monitoring are most clear among patients who have COVID-19 symptoms such as cough, fever, and shortness of breath. “If you are symptomatic that is a reasonable time to check your oxygen.”Health,
“The title of this Topic is Covid Breathing – So why are you comparing it to the General Public?!?”
I am not understanding your question.“I think the American Lung Assoc. is off Base on this one.
There is No Reason NOT to do Home Pulse-Ox!”
The question was not if there is any reason not to do it, rather if there is any reason yes to do it. And if this is sound public advice. Some believe that yes.“If you are symptomatic that is a reasonable time to check your oxygen.”
What symptoms? Achy bones?2scents -“rather if there is any reason yes to do it. And if this is sound public advice.”
A quote from Poster “Flowers” – “When my mother had covid, and her saturation level was at 72, she insisted that she had no trouble breathing”
From the posters here you see you can have Low O2 Sat. & Not realize it! So it’s sound Advice since there aren’t Millions upon Millions with Covid19.“What symptoms? Achy bones?”
Read the whole Post – Next Time:
“COVID-19 symptoms such as cough, fever, and(/or) shortness of breath.”Health,
I am not going to argue on someones story/facts, especially when I am not privy to the actual details. I do not take my advice from random online posters. (we are all random online posters, including myself, always assume that any poster, despite their online persona is a nobody posting from their mothers basement).
Read the whole Post – Next Time:
“COVID-19 symptoms such as cough, fever, and(/or) shortness of breath.”That was my point, the advice is specifically for those with symptoms that include the respiratory symptoms, how mild they might feel it might be a good idea to do a pulse ox check. But not a blanket piece of advice for everyone.
Srivka,
“Hatzolah and Bikur Cholim (as well as many individuals) have pulse-oximeters that they usually can lend out”
I believe they are or were actually handing them out to anyone that needed them, these are cheap devices.
2scents -“That was my point, the advice is specifically for those with symptoms that include the respiratory symptoms, how mild they might feel it might be a good idea to do a pulse ox check”
But Why do you Contradict Yourself?!?
From Your previous Post:
“But having a million people get pulse oximeters when in general people with no shortness of breath (or being out of breath or unable to walk around the room) or any other breathing symptoms will not have a lower than usual sp02 reading.”Does not seem like a contradiction to me.
2scents -“If someone suspects they have COVID and does not have any breathing issues, such as shortness of breath, coughing, or any other breathing related symptoms (such as shortness of breath after a relative normal exertion), there is no need to check the oxygen saturation.”
Ok. How about this? Why don’t you and Hatzola do like Dr. Levitan?
Maybe you could save some Jewish Lives?!?Dear Two,
Is there any reason not to check oxygen levels on a whim?
Health,
I am not sure why your asking me to do anything.
N0m,
No, but its a false assurance, as changes can happen rapidly and usually unnecessary for someone that has zero respiratory related symptoms.
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