"Tim+" wrote in message
...
Jethro_uk wrote:
On Tue, 28 Apr 2020 14:03:29 +0100, tim... wrote:

"Jethro_uk" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 27 Apr 2020 01:32:45 +0100, Graham. wrote:

It seems that monitoring your blood oxygen concentration is an
excellent way of determining if you need urgent medical intervention,
even when your symptoms are otherwise mild.

Simple finger-clamp pulse oximeters are available from UK sellers for
under £20, but I expect that to rise, just like the isopropol I
managed to buy just in time.

This Dr Levenson was interviewed on Radio 4 a few nights ago, he was
very convincing.

https://www.beckershospitalreview.co...fety-outcomes/
viewpoint-
pulse-oximetry-could-save-covid-19-patients-ease-burden-on-healthcare-
system.html

Of course the problem with that is convincing the 999 operator that
they should believe your £20 POS Chinese knock-off "meter" and despatch
an ambulance on blues and twos "just in case" ...

a low oxygen reading with no other symptoms is likely to return to
normal when resting

AIUI the key symptom of COVID respiratory distress is low oxygen to start
with.

A key *sign*, not symptom. A symptom is something you feel. A
characteristic of Covid19 is that people arent feeling that bad when they
are in fact dangerously ill. This is what makes the oximeter useful. If
can detect this sign before you can.

but can it?

surely you need to have a breathing problem for O2 to be low

and you really ought to notice that you have a breathing problem.

tim

tim... wrote:


"Tim+" wrote in message
...
Jethro_uk wrote:
On Tue, 28 Apr 2020 14:03:29 +0100, tim... wrote:

"Jethro_uk" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 27 Apr 2020 01:32:45 +0100, Graham. wrote:

It seems that monitoring your blood oxygen concentration is an
excellent way of determining if you need urgent medical intervention,
even when your symptoms are otherwise mild.

Simple finger-clamp pulse oximeters are available from UK sellers for
under £20, but I expect that to rise, just like the isopropol I
managed to buy just in time.

This Dr Levenson was interviewed on Radio 4 a few nights ago, he was
very convincing.

https://www.beckershospitalreview.co...fety-outcomes/
viewpoint-
pulse-oximetry-could-save-covid-19-patients-ease-burden-on-healthcare-
system.html

Of course the problem with that is convincing the 999 operator that
they should believe your £20 POS Chinese knock-off "meter" and despatch
an ambulance on blues and twos "just in case" ...

a low oxygen reading with no other symptoms is likely to return to
normal when resting

AIUI the key symptom of COVID respiratory distress is low oxygen to start
with.

A key *sign*, not symptom. A symptom is something you feel. A
characteristic of Covid19 is that people arent feeling that bad when they
are in fact dangerously ill. This is what makes the oximeter useful. If
can detect this sign before you can.

but can it?

surely you need to have a breathing problem for O2 to be low

You need to have a gas exchange problem. In CV infection, O2 absorption is
very much more affected than CO2 elimination.


and you really ought to notice that you have a breathing problem.

If you have CV pneumonia, you probably will know that youre poorly. The
point is, you wont feel breathless until youre nearly at deaths door as
respiration is driven by your blood CO2 level, not your O2 level.

This is what makes the oximeter handy, it can detect he severity of your
illness long before you can.

Tim+


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