The COVID test you can do yourself -- a fingertip oximeter.

mamooth

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Aug 17, 2012
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What is a fingertip oximeter? You clamp it on your fingertip. It shines a bright light into your fingertip. It then uses that to measure how red your blood is, which measures the oxygen saturation level of your blood. No finger pricking is necessary.

Why is that important? Because COVID kills by affecting the lungs so that oxygen no longer gets into the blood. Unlike regular pneumonia, people with COVID don't feel bad or out of breath until their blood oxygen level has already gone way down low, when it may be too late.

That's why you monitor your blood oxygen level. If you're just sitting around, your blood oxygen saturation level should be close to 100. A few points off, no biggee. If it's going below 90, you've got problems, probably COVID, or maybe you're lucky and it's just congestive heart failure.

You can still buy these on Amazon, but the $40 model I bought is now unavailable. There are doubtless other sources. Also note that Amazon has about a two-week shipping delay now.
 
No, I don't know. They do tell you to take measurements when your fingertips are warm. Ear lobes can also be used. if your fingertips are blue when you're warm, that's probably also a really bad sign.
 
I once monitored a pulse oxymeter on a dying patient. She already had COPD and left-side heart failure so her sats were in the high 80's normally. As her respirations failed and her sats dropped into the 60's I could see her face lose shape as her facial muscles no longer had enough oxygen to keep their shape. By the 50's, her lips and extremities were cyanotic. By, the 40's, her eyes began to roll back and she was dead shortly after. It was interesting to see such a direct correlation between muscular function and blood oxygen saturation.

I submit that if you have 02 sat number lower than 90, you should have been seeing a doctor for some time.
 
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A quick test you can do to check your O2 sats without an oxymeter. Measure the rate of capillary refill.

Pinch the end of your finger tip until it turns white. Release the pinch and count the seconds before it turns red again. If it consistently takes more than two seconds, see a doctor.
 
A quick test you can do to check your O2 sats without an oxymeter. Measure the rate of capillary refill.

Pinch the end of your finger tip until it turns white. Release the pinch and count the seconds before it turns red again. If it consistently takes more than two seconds, see a doctor.
I wonder how many board members read you post and intermediately started repetitively started testing on multiple fingers? Thanks fncceo. Looks like I'm gonna live. :cool:
 
A quick test you can do to check your O2 sats without an oxymeter. Measure the rate of capillary refill.

Pinch the end of your finger tip until it turns white. Release the pinch and count the seconds before it turns red again. If it consistently takes more than two seconds, see a doctor.
I wonder how many board members read you post and intermediately started repetitively started testing on multiple fingers? Thanks fncceo. Looks like I'm gonna live. :cool:

Mazel tov.
 
Pinch the end of your finger tip until it turns white. Release the pinch and count the seconds before it turns red again. If it consistently takes more than two seconds, see a doctor.

Dam. How do you do that to hot chicks you meet now?
 

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