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Pulse Oximeter explained, normal and warning readings, manage COVID-19
What is a finger pulse oximeter?
A pulse oximeter checks how much oxygen is in your blood - it's that simple.
A digital thermometer can go in your ear, but a pulse oximeter fits over your finger. It shines light through your finger to measure oxygen levels and shows you two readings - blood oxygen and pulse rate.
If you would just like to buy a pulse oximeter, scroll down to go straight to our recommended picks, they have clear 'CE' clinical safety marking, and they have numerous positive reviews on Amazon.
Above all, please download, print and keep handy this NHS leaflet for on what to do if you catch COVID-19 and need to self-isolate, which includes how to use your own pulse-oximeter, and how to interpret the readings to decide whether to call for help.
Don't be tricked, there are no "NHS Approved Pulse Oximeters", the NHS doesn't recommend types of Pulse Oximeter.
Use a Finger Pulse Oximeter to manage COVID safely
If you catch COVID, it can sometimes cause oxygen levels in your blood to drop quickly without you noticing. You may not feel breathless, or horribly ill, but actually be in serious trouble, due to something called 'silent hypoxia'. If you are unvaccinated, this is more likely. If silent hypoxia does strike, it can kill you, or lead to a long hospital stay lasting months, in bed, unconscious intubated on tubes in ICU. During this time your body fitness fades away, and you can come out very weak and unable to work, 10% of the person you were before. This is because your internal organs get trashed by silent hypoxia, secretly, before you notice.
So, to defend against this life-changing outcome, you can use a pulse oximeter three times a day to measure your blood oxygen if you get COVID, following the NHS recommended guidance leaflet. Make sure you take some blood oxygen readings before you get ill to learn 'what's normal for you' and #knowyournumbers.
If you catch COVID, knowing your reading for 'what's normal for you', and then giving a reading for right-now can be a real help to your GP, or any other doctor trying to assess you over the phone, and can help them decide what's best for you - whether that's remaining at home, or going to hospital.
During the COVID pandemic, the NHS has learned that if you use oximeters at home, and catch 'silent hypoxia' early, you can be taken to hospital and treated before it gets too bad, staying fin hospital for only a few days, rather than months.
For clinicians, some relevant links:
Recent South African studies show using finger pulse oximeters at home cuts death-rates 50%.
Dan Goyal / Vicki Martin Video: are we falling short in community COVID management?
How can I choose the best Pulse Oximeter?
We advise you only buy a Pulse Oximeter that is 'CE Marked' and a Class 2B medical device- this shows that it meets a basic medical equipment safety and accuracy standard and can be sold in the European Union and United Kingdom. Oximeters that say 'for sports and recreation only' don't meet this standard and shouldn't be used medically. All the oximeters we list are CE marked [we have checked the packaging or supplier website].
What should I do next?
If you get your pulse oximeter, make sure you try it out on yourself and your loved ones, to establish what oxygen level readings are 'normal for you'. This is really important if you have an existing illness that affects your breathing, or darker skin [as unfortunately, this can affect the readings a little].
Then if you get COVID badly, you can advise 111 or your GP what's normal, and what your current blood oxygen is, and how much it has dropped by.
They will be pleased you can help them with this extra information, as it will help them decide the best care for you. (Sometimes telephone health-care is described as 'trying to treat the patient whilst reaching through a letter-box'!)
Best Buy Finger Pulse Oximeters
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Low cost and OK - The Anapulse is a CE marked medical device, and so meet EU standards. I have one of these at home. It seems to work OK, but feels a bit flimsy compared to the Beurer.
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Mid-range - The Beurer P40 is a well-known German brand. We use this one regularly at home. It works quickly, the display rotates so it is comfortable to use. The build feels very solid.
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The most popular purchase from our site is the Kinetik Oximeter, I believe this is because people trust their relationship with St John's Ambulance.
If you want to know more about Finger Pulse Oximeters and using them to manage COVID19 , frequent questions and answers
Q1 - Can I use my sports watch or mobile phone to monitor my pulse oxygen instead?
A1 - Apart from the Withings Scan Watch, no sports tracker watches have CE accreditation yet. So it's up to you to decide if what you have feels accurate enough, read about Apple devices, Fitbit and Samsung devices.
Q2 - Can I use a pulse-oximeter at home and get safe accurate readings?
A2 - If you follow the NHS guides, yes, clinicians understand the results can vary from person to person, they will mainly be interested in how different the reading is from 'what's normal for you', so remember to take some practice readings and make a note of the results.
When typing the following: oxymeter, oximiter, oximetrr, oxomiter, oxymeter reading, oxi meter, oxemeter, oximeter did you mean Pulse Oximeter?