Question 1

could sepsis cause oxygen saturation levels to fall?

Accepted Answer

Yes: Sepsis can cause acute lung injury (ali) and adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) which are both reactions of the lung to the toxins and cytokines in the body and cause the alveoli to fill with inflammatory exudate thus preventing the exchange of gases and causing the oxygen saturations to fall.

Question 2

what finger are you actually supposed to check your oxygen level on? anytime i go to the dr theyre using the left i googled it and it says the right hand so wich hand and finger are correct?

Accepted Answer

: Any finger on either hand should have the same blood oxygen content. We occasionally look for different numbers in newborns as a sign of a heart defect. (Different flow to different sides with defect) That is not an issue for regular adults or older kids.

Question 3

is 5 minutes of oxygen level below 90% while sleeping every night bad for you? i suffer from sleep apnea? i wear continuous pulse oximeter every night?

Accepted Answer

: If it is 5 continuous minutes, that is more of an issue than if it is one minute at a time and it adds up to 5 minutes over the course of the night. If you are using CPAP or BiPAP, perhaps it needs to be adjusted if you are still having a pulse ox of less than 90% for 5 minutes at a time. Let your doctor know so that adjustments can be made if needed. Good luck!

Question 4

i have covid (3rd day) the weirdest thing happened to me... i was taking my decaf coffee now and suddenly i felt very weak, sweating profusely, dizzy, i went to my room where the a/c is and in 3 minutes it was gone. oxygen level 95 what was that?

Accepted Answer

: All these symptoms suggest one should revisit the PCP or go to Urgent Care or ER for appropriate evaluation and management.

Question 5

why does my oxygen saturation sitting up read 95-96% but while laying down( nor sleeping) fall to 92-94%? lung disease possible?

Accepted Answer

: Recumbent position will generally decrease oxygen saturation, but "92-94 %" is still considered normal.  A drop from upright may be due to activity or more shallow breaths when recumbent and does not necessarily indicate "lung disease".

Question 6

my arterial blood gas says p02 is 72 and the oxygen saturation is 95 and calcium (ionised) 1.12 . are these normal numbers?

Accepted Answer

: Such numbers suggest the "ABG" was actually obtained from a vein, not the artery. A saturation of 95% would  correlate with an arterial blood gas above pAo2 94.

Question 7

currently on apap for mild sleep apnea. oxygen saturation 94%-98% most of the night with some dips to 90%. is 90% oxygen saturation considered hypoxic or normal during sleep? not sure if my treatment is adequate?

Accepted Answer

: The duration of the low oxygen saturation readings less than 92% may be assessed by a sleep study or overnight oxygen saturation study. if there are brief desaturations, usually there is no sequelae.
Watch for signs of excessive sleepiness during the day.

Question 8

m25, xray,ecg,cbc all normal. but oxygen saturation using a fingertip oximeter drops below 90 and sometimes 80 while sitting down or laying down. is this normal or do i have a disease the doctors missed?

Accepted Answer

: !.Are you a smoker?
2.What is your occupation?
3. Have you had blood work done in terms of hemoglobin?
4.What is your family history.?
There is a condition called Methhemoglobinemia which could be inherited commonly acquired due to medications such as nitroglycerin or dapsone etc. Hence check with your physician for this. Your list of medication is important prescription as well as over the counte

Question 9

my mother has pneumonia and her lungs are also traumatized by a recent colonscopy, her po2 is 61. her oxygen saturation drops to 49 every now and then it comes back to 80,s and 90,s. she also had a cardiac arrest 2 days ago due to hypoxia. what to do?

Accepted Answer

: It sounds as though your mother needs to be in a hospital, perhaps even in intensive care unit, to be sure that she is getting enough oxygen to her organs. Future plans will depend on how she is doing after she gets out of the hospital. Good luck.

Question 10

can the body adapt to low oxygen levels ?

Accepted Answer

Yes: Think about americans who live in denver, sherpas that live in tibet, & the maya in south america. These are populations of people who have become accustomed in one way or another to a lower atmospheric oxygen level, and in the mayans a lower blood oxygen level. Another sea-level example would be a person with emphysema who may run a blood oxygen level of 88% and still be walking around home depot.

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Doctor answers about:

How to keep my body oxygen level up

A member asked:

Could sepsis cause oxygen saturation levels to fall?

A member asked:

What finger are you actually supposed to check your oxygen level on? anytime i go to the dr theyre using the left i googled it and it says the right hand so wich hand and finger are correct?

A member asked:

Is 5 minutes of oxygen level below 90% while sleeping every night bad for you? i suffer from sleep apnea? i wear continuous pulse oximeter every night?

A member asked:

I have covid (3rd day) the weirdest thing happened to me... i was taking my decaf coffee now and suddenly i felt very weak, sweating profusely, dizzy, i went to my room where the a/c is and in 3 minutes it was gone. oxygen level 95 what was that?

A member asked:

Why does my oxygen saturation sitting up read 95-96% but while laying down( nor sleeping) fall to 92-94%? lung disease possible?

A member asked:

My arterial blood gas says p02 is 72 and the oxygen saturation is 95 and calcium (ionised) 1.12 . are these normal numbers?

A member asked:

Currently on apap for mild sleep apnea. oxygen saturation 94%-98% most of the night with some dips to 90%. is 90% oxygen saturation considered hypoxic or normal during sleep? not sure if my treatment is adequate?

A member asked:

M25, xray,ecg,cbc all normal. but oxygen saturation using a fingertip oximeter drops below 90 and sometimes 80 while sitting down or laying down. is this normal or do i have a disease the doctors missed?

A member asked:

My mother has pneumonia and her lungs are also traumatized by a recent colonscopy, her po2 is 61. her oxygen saturation drops to 49 every now and then it comes back to 80,s and 90,s. she also had a cardiac arrest 2 days ago due to hypoxia. what to do?

A member asked:

Can the body adapt to low oxygen levels ?

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