Tips to Improve Your Oxygen Saturation Levels

You could have low blood oxygen levels due to many reasons including from hypoxemia, asthma, being at high altitude or suffering from sleep apnea. Most of the time, it is important to keep in mind that you have to have oxygen to survive. If you think your oxygen levels are low or you prefer constantly monitoring the levels, you can do that by using a pulse oximeter to measure your blood oxygen level. First, please consult with your doctor to determine the correct course of action. The concepts below are some common guidelines but are not to be interpreted as medical advice, ask your doctor.   Normally, your level should be somewhere between 95 to 100 percent. Anything below 90 percent is considered to be low. Thankfully, if you do find you suffer from low oxygen levels, there are things you do to improve your oxygen saturation.

Using Oxygen Units

To use oxygen units, you will need to contact a supply company that distributes them. Most of the time, the company will deliver them right to your doorstep. In addition, the company will provide you with instructions on how to use them.

Learning How to Breathe Properly

In order for your oxygen saturation to be at a healthy level, you must breathe properly. To help you do this, you can listen to breathing method tapes. You could also do breathing exercises with Yoga which will help body to relax and better circulate oxygen in your blood.

Staying Away from Smoke

Smoke, as well as smog and other types of air pollutants, can severely lower your oxygen levels. You need to stay away from these things as much as possible; this is especially targeted towards those of you who smoke. To overcome an addiction to smoking, consider joining some type of support group.

Exercising

Exercising is beneficial for a wide variety of reasons, with one of the most important being that it can help improve your oxygen saturation levels. Some of the more popular exercises that can be partaken in to improve your oxygen levels include walking, jogging and swimming. If at any time you endure breathing problems while exercising, make sure you contact your physician.

Taking Vitamins

By eating healthy and taking vitamins, as well as iron supplements, on a daily basis, you can improve your oxygen saturation levels. Great foods to eat to make sure you get the vitamins you need include green veggies.

Losing Weight

If you are overweight, even if it's only 10 to 15 pounds, you need to do your best to lose your excess weight. For many people, being overweight can lead to major sleep disruption, which in turn results in low oxygen saturation levels.

Concord Emerald Digital Finger Pulse Oximeter Product Review

The Concord Emerald Digital Finger Pulse Oximeter is the complete package and the only pulse oximeter you will ever want to use again. The Concord oximeter utilizes the most advanced technology to give you reliable blood-oxygen saturation levels, pulse rate, and pulse strength readings via an easy to read, red LED digital display.  It is easy to use, having efficient one-button operation with programmed auto shut-off after 8 seconds to help you conserve battery power. It is designed to last and comes backed by a full two-year warranty. This digital finger pulse oximeter is designed to be used by athletes, professionals, pilots, or any individual having a condition that specifically requires the monitoring of oxygen saturation and/or heart rate.

The Concord Emerald Digital Finger Pulse Oximeter comes with everything you need:

• A pulse oximeter
• 2 AAA batteries for 30 hours of operation
• A shock resistant protective rubber cover
• Black canvas carrying case
• An around-the-neck lanyard for easy carrying

The Concord Emerald oximeter beautifully reflects its name by its bright green color, uniquely standing out from other finger pulse oximeters, guaranteeing you will always know which one is yours. When you purchase this oximeter at Concord Health Supply, you can be confident knowing you are getting the absolute best quality at value price. And the best part is that it qualifies for free shipping allowing you to save even more money. 

Nonin Onyx Vantage 9590 Finger Pulse Oximeter Review

Nonin Onyx Vantage 9590 Oximeter is one of the most popular fingertip pulse oximeters that can be used both at home and in hospitals to measure the oxygen level in blood. Made by Nonin, this oximeter is well known for its accuracy and performance. It works great on a wide range of patients from children to adults in a variety of settings.  It is commonly used by doctors, dentists, ambulance services, or emergency room personnel, EMTs and first responders as well as individuals. People with sleep apnea, asthma or any heart or lung condition or sport enthusiasts such as rock climbers or bicyclists can use this effortlessly to monitor their own oxygen levels.

Compared to previous models of the Nonin Onyx, this oximeter comes with some great new improvements, including sleek new design, 6,000 highly efficient spot checks, a longer warranty of 4 years, and scientifically proven accuracy. It is lightweight, portable, can read the pulse rate and is perfect to do spot checks on oxygen levels. It accommodates 8 mm to 25.4 mm (0.3” to 1.0”) of finger thickness, making it useful for patients of all ages and is also approved for use on the toe for children. The battery can be easily changed and it comes in four fun colors – black, blue, red and purple.  Similar to other Nonin oximeters, this model is lead-free, latex-free and made in USA. 

Nonin 9590 Onyx Vantage Pulse Oximeter is a durable oximeter with its rugged design and its 36 hours of continual operation on 2 AAA batteries. It is a great replacement for both the Nonin Onyx 9500 and Nonin Onyx II 9550 or any other fingertip pulse oximeter. When you buy it at Concord Health Supply, you also get a free carrying case and free shipping along with your purchase.

How to Choose a Pulse Oximeter

A pulse oximeter is a device that is designed for measuring the oxygen levels in a patient's blood.  The amount of oxygen in the body is critical to many different dimensions of health that has led to a variety of technological advantages in order to come up with the most efficient and accurate ways of testing a patient's oxygen saturation levels. The latest oximeter products that have a widespread use are ones that are non-invasive and suitable for individuals of all ages.

How does it work?

The technology is relatively simple. The oximeter uses a sensor that is placed over a thin part of the patient's body, typically the fingertip or earlobe to measure the oxygen levels.  It takes measurements using a photo detector that is reading two wavelengths that pass through the patient's body. The absorption rate of the light is then measured. The readings focus on the arterial blood, measuring the de-oxygenated and oxygenated hemoglobin.

Who can use it?

A Pulse Oximeter is commonly used in two scenarios: in medical/hospital and at home. At home, a person with asthma, respiratory problems, sleep apnea or anyone who is concerned with their blood oxygen level can use it. They are also used by sports & recreation enthusiasts such as mountain climbers, pilots, scuba divers, and athletes.

In the medical and hospital area, it is used to monitor patients before, during and after a procedure or surgery. It is also beneficial when monitoring patients who are in critical conditions as well. They are largely found in a hospital setting in wards such as the emergency room, operating room and the intensive care unit. Doctors, dentists, EMTs and firefighters also use this device to monitor the oxygen levels in their patient. The devices are highly versatile, allowing them to be used on patients of any age, although, devices designed for infants are typically outfitted to be placed over the foot or toe.

What are the different types of oximeters?

Some of the popular types of oximeters that you could choose from are:

• Finger Tip Pulse Oximeters
• Handheld Pulse Oximeters
• Tabletop Pulse Oximeters
• Wrist-worn Pulse Oximeters

What should I look for?

Many oximeter devices have different features that you could choose from. We suggest you pick the one that satisfied your basic requirements. Here are some features that we recommend you look at:

• High level of accuracy
• Simple Display screen that are easy to read
• Single-touch operation
• Compact and lightweight design
• Efficient power usage. E.g.  30 hours on a single battery
• Neck/wrist cords and carrying case along with good warranties
• Alarms to indicate high/low oxygen levels or pulse rates.

What are the benefits?

The in-home oximeter devices are designed to be extremely accurate and are being put to use for growing numbers of patients in need of careful monitoring outside of a hospital setting. People using these devices in the home are finding that they have invaluable applications when it comes to monitoring sleep apnea, arterial blood gas, or an integrated pulmonary index. The only real limitations is associated with the fact that it is measuring hemoglobin's saturation of oxygen rather than the complete ventilation status of the respiratory system itself. This concern causes some people who are suffering from respiratory illnesses to rely on other devices in addition to this one when receiving treatments in the home.

Few things to consider

There are three primary situations in which these devices have been shown to give false high or low readings consistently. These occur due to the fact that hemoglobin in the body is binding to elements other than oxygen. In the event of carbon monoxide poisoning, hypoxia will cause the readings to be inaccurate. Cyanide poisoning causes problems that create artificially high readings due to changes in arterial blood. Lastly, methemoglobinemia causes ratings that consistently stay in the middle 80's range.

A bonus feature in oximeters

The latest Pulse Oximeters on the market also have the ability to monitor heart rates as well as oxygen saturation levels in the body. The oxygen level measurements are indirect recordings while the heart beat is based directly on the pulse in the finger. The best models feature easy to understand, digital readouts for patients.