Oximeter

[Sbic]

The reading on my Pulse Oximeter was BPM 56 and Oxygen 21 and I have a dull pain on the right hand side of my chest close to my armpit. I can't go to my local hospital after insidents where I don't feel safe and I do not have a GP. Is there anything I can get from a pharmacy. I am in the UK. Thanks

[CDreamer]

Ring 111. Are you sure about those numbers? O2 sats that are consistently low are an emergency and I’ve never heard of anyone still conscious with those numbers.

[Sbic in reply to CDreamer]

Sunday was BPM 58/ Oxy 21. Monday was BPM 60/ Oxy 24So it's kinda in the same ball park. I'm going to see if I can get a different brand Oximeter later to check if the one I got is wrong. My blood pressure is 122/87

[Tomred in reply to Sbic]

A nurse told me one time if oxygen go below 45 ish you are dead,,, your still functioning , id try another oximeter..

[jeanjeannie50]

Remember that oximeters don't work accurately when you have AF. I don't see how you could remain conscious if your Sp02 is really 21. As CD has said please call 111 and ask for advice.

Jean

[Gumbie_Cat in reply to jeanjeannie50]

That’s good to know. We have one that often doesn’t give a reading at all for me. My husband puts it on and gets 98%. I waved my finger and said ‘look nothing’ - and he read a fleeting 91%. After a quick panic I coaxed 96% out of it.

Yet the ones at GP and in hospital seem to work fine, and recognise that I exist!

[Rainfern]

While I was recently being cared for by an ambulance crew they asked me to take my own oximeter reading after the beta blocker had started to work. I told them my oxygen level was 68 and they laughed - pointing out I was reading an upside down HR! They said I'd be unconscious if oxygen was as low as 68!

[Gumbie_Cat in reply to Rainfern]

I did that at the GP a few months ago. I said ‘oh dear’ - and he said ‘what do you mean it’s 98’.

[Cat04 in reply to Rainfern]

I was recently in hospital and read the oximeter upside down making my HR 201 when it was 102 🤣

[Rainfern in reply to Cat04]

🤣🤣

[bantam12]

I would think your machine is not working correctly as the Oxygen sats don’t make sense, anything below 92 is dangerous so at 21 I doubt you would be conscious.

[etheral]

Agree regarding pulse ox readings, impossible. But if you are having chest pains , this could be a heart attack, which is potentially deadly. You should call an ambulance. Best etheral

[Ewloe]

In the hospital environment sats machines/ oximeters are notoriously unreliable if the results are taken alone. You have to look at the whole situation/patient. With sats of 21 ( air has 21% oxygen in it ) if you’re talking and a good colour then there definitely wrong. Some brand’s are better than others but none should be taken without considering the whole person.

Personally after working in the Nhs for nearly 40yrs o2 sats machine’s are the 1 machine I don’t bother with at home. They are an aid to helping determine a patient’s condition only when everything else is taken into consideration. And we all knew if you got readings that didn’t correlate with the actual wellness of the patient to treat the readings as erroneous and try another part of the body to test or take blood oxygen levels.

[Ppiman]

If the oximeter is registering your pulse accurately (you can count this with your finger on your wrist), then it ought to be registering your blood oxygen accurately, too. But that doesn't sound accurate at all. As you don't have a GP, why not call into a pharmacy with it and ask them to check it and you?

Steve

[Samazeuilh2]

Could the reading have been caused by a very cold room temperature which can affect electronic devices like iPhones etc.?

[john-boy-92]

I don't know what SpO2 (blood oxygen) you're reading, but 21 isn't right. You may have "white finger". At SpO2 of 92%, it's the knee point that it drops in a straight line. I was told to go straight to A&E at 76%. That night I went to a hairs breadth from critical. Later, a doctor told me "you were on 70% oxygen [at 25 litres / minute] and nearly died".

[frazeej]

I think you need a new oximeter.

[Avatel]

Hi, I found oximeters to be unreliable, so got rid of mine. Sometimes it's best not to know.

[riffjack846]

I'm pretty sure your Oximeter is malfunctioning.