Why You Need a Pulse Oximeter
A few months back, I was looking to buy a pulse oximeter for my home to monitor my blood oxygen level. I was no stranger to home pulse oximeters. I have used high-tech pulse oximeters on my patients in the hospital.
Also, I have a pulse oximeter that I bought from CVS a while back for home use. However, I had never been very confident about the accuracy of this pulse oximeter that I bought in CVS. This oximeter’s readings seemed to change from one minute to the next minute. Also, it took this pulse oximeter a long time to display a reading.
So, I got on Amazon to find a good and accurate pulse oximeter. However, Amazon bombarded me with different types of pulse oximeters from different manufacturers, each manufacturer claiming that their pulse oximeter is the best. I got overwhelmed by the overload of information. Which manufacturer should I believe? Which oximeter should I buy?
Therefore, I started investigating for myself to find out which pulse oximeters are good ones. My investigation was driven by my need to find the best pulse oximeter and also to educate myself more on pulse oximetry.
My investigation on pulse oximetry led me to understand that if I wanted an unquestionably accurate pulse oximeter, I had to get a pulse oximeter that has been approved by the FDA.
Surprisingly, I found that many pulse oximeter manufacturers claimed that they have FDA approval without having such approval. When I searched through the FDA database for some manufacturers that claimed to have FDA approval for their pulse oximeters, I could not find these manufacturers’ pulse oximeter in the FDA database.
Also, from my investigation, I found that there is no one-size-fit-all for pulse oximeters. More importantly, one of the things that make an oximeter ‘the best’ is how appropriate it is for what you want to use it for. Therefore, in this article, I listed the best oximeters according to the application.
My research on pulse oximeters also led me to develop a better understanding of how pulse oximeters work. This knowledge was very useful for me in knowing which oximeter is good and which one is not good. Therefore, in this article, I will explain how a pulse oximeter works and what qualities make a good pulse oximeter. I hope this understanding will help you in picking a pulse oximeter if you decide to pick a pulse oximeter that is not on my recommended list.
In this article, I will let you know what pulse oximeter is most suited for ensuring that your blood oxygen level is always at a safe level if:
- Want to keep an eye on your general well-being
- You snore while you sleep
- You have COPD
- You have Sleep Apnea
- You exercise a lot and you want to track how well your exercise plans are working
- You are worried that you might have caught COVID-19 ( you have to be careful with your conclusions when you use a pulse oximeter to check for COVID).
- You just moved from living in a low altitude to living in a high altitude or you are a mountain climber. Low altitudes are richer in oxygen compared to higher altitudes.
- You fly in airplanes a lot. The oxygen inside airplanes is low, therefore your blood oxygen level could drop when in an airplane. Flying is more or less like sitting on a 6,000 to 8,000-foot mountain for several hours.
If you are in any of the above-mentioned situations, you must keep an eye on your blood oxygen level with a pulse oximeter. A pulse oximeter can alert you early if you need medical help. Early intervention in your health situation can prevent further complications.
Furthermore, if you are on medical treatment for an oxygen-related illness, you can use a pulse oximeter to check if your health condition is getting better or getting worse.
Also, if you are healthy, you can use a pulse oximeter to continue to make sure that your health is still on track. Moreover, if you are healthy, a pulse oximeter can give you a hint if you start developing a health condition even before you start seeing the symptoms.
In short, It is important to seriously track your oxygen if you are healthy or if you have a medical condition that can lower your blood oxygen level or if you are likely to find yourself in an environment with lower oxygen levels. A pulse oximeter is a very vital health monitoring tool that you can use to track your blood oxygen level to make sure that your oxygen level is at a safe level.
Interesting, I found that a pulse oximeter is not recommend for managing asthma. More on this later.
What is a Pulse Oximeter Used For?
A pulse oximeter is an easy-to-use device that you can use to screen yourself for breathing problems that may affect your health. A pulse oximeter detects your breathing problems by measuring your blood oxygen saturation level. Blood oxygen saturation level measured by a pulse oximeter is called the Peripheral Oxygen Saturation (SpO2).
Interestingly, the actual measure of your blood oxygen saturation level is a measurement called the Saturated Arterial Blood Oxygen (SaO2), not SpO2. However, to make a SaO2 measurement, blood has to be drawn from your wrist. This is inconvenient and painful.
On the other hand, SpO2 test with a pulse oximeter is an inexpensive and less painful alternative to SaO2 blood oxygen tests. Moreover, the SpO2 tests with pulse oximeters are accurate enough to determine your actual blood oxygen level, provided that the pulse oximeter is a good one.
Best Pulse Oximeters
Before I dive into more details on pulse oximeters are the best oximeters, based on my extensive research. I have grouped my ranking by the form of the pulse oximeter ( Fingerclip-type, wrist-worn type, and ring-worn types) and by application (general wellness, medical, fitness, etc).
Best Fingertip Pulse Oximeter
Fingerclip oximeters are the most common type of pulse oximeters. You can use this type of pulse oximeters to spot-check your blood oxygen saturation level (SpO2). A spot-check means you check it once on the spot, and not continuously.
Fingertip pulse oximeters are best suited for home use for people who want to keep an eye on their blood oxygen levels.
However, you necessarily do not have to use fingertip pulse oximeters on your fingers. You can use fingertip pulse oximeters on your toe, your earlobes, and even on your nose.
Though there are tons of fingertip pulse oximeters available online for sale, however, I find only these fingertip pulse oximeters worthy of my recommendation:
- Nonin Onyx Vantage 9590
- The Zacurate Pro Series 500DL
- NoninConnect Elite 3240
- O2Health DB11 Finger Pulse Oximeter
Nonin Onyx Vantage 9590: The Most Accurate Fingertip Pulse Oximeter
The Nonin Onyx Vantage 9590 is a medical-grade highly-accurate pulse oximeter. This oximeter is suitable for use in the home for spot-checking SpO2. Many independent researchers have carefully evaluated this oximeter and they have found that it is very accurate for all sorts of blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) tests.
This pulse oximeter is manufactured by a reputable medical device company called Nonin. A lot of academic researchers trust Nonin’s pulse oximeters. Therefore Nonin’s oximeters have been used in numerous clinical experiments. You can trust Nonin’s oximeter to give you an accurate measurement of your SpO2. Moreover, Nonin’s oximeters are FDA approved.
Features of the Nonin Onyx Vantage 9590 Pulse Oximeter
- Nonin Onyx Vantage 9590 Pulse Oximeter can measure SpO2 over a broad range from 0% to 100%
- Nonin Onyx Vantage 9590 Pulse Oximeter can measure pulse rate from 18 to 321 beats per minute (BPM).
Strong Points
- Nonin Onyx Vantage 9590 Pulse Oximeter is highly accurate compared to other oximeters. You can watch here a video that compares the accuracy of this Oximeter to that of other popular oximeters. The accuracy of the Nonin Onyx Vantage 9590 has been clinically validated.
- This Pulse Oximeter can accurately measure SpO2 for fingers that are small and for fingers that are big. Therefore, this pulse oximeter is suitable for kids and adults. So, your whole family can share the same oximeter.
- You can use this pulse oximeter not just on your fingers but also on your toes, and it will still give accurate SpO2 results.
- This pulse oximeter can accurately measure SpO2 as low as 80 %. This is remarkable because most pulse oximeters give inaccurate readings when you use them to measure SpO2 values that are low.
- You can use this Pulse Oximeter not just on your fingers but also on your toes, and it will still give accurate SpO2 results.
- This pulse oximeter measures and displays your SpO2 almost in realtime. This pulse oximeter is fast. Other SpO2 monitors measure your SpO2 level many times looking for good measurements (which takes time) before they can display your SpO2 readings to you. So, what these oximeters display to you is an old version of your SpO2 reading. However, Nonin uses a smart algorithm that allows you to see your accurate blood SpO2 almost immediately.
- Nonin Onyx Vantage 9590 Pulse Oximeter is accurate for all skin tones, from light to dark skin. Other oximeters perform poorly when used on dark skins. Nonin’s pulse oximeter accurately measures your blood oxygen saturation level no matter your skin tone.
- Nonin Onyx Vantage 9590 Pulse Oximeter can withstand severely drops on the floor. It can withstand a minimum of 50 drops to the ground before giving in.
- It is made it the USA, with a long-term (four years) warranty, and US-based customer support.
- It can withstand water spills
- It can read the SpO2 of people with low low blood circulation and weak pulses. It can accurately measure your SpO2 if the strength of your pulses is one-tenth of the strength of a normal pulse.
Weak Points
- The Nonin Onyx Vantage 9590 is not recommended for continuous monitoring of SpO2 (nothing more than 30 minutes stretch). If you want to monitor your spo2 continuously for a long time, check out the wrist-worn and the ring-worn pulse oximeters that I discuss later.
- You cannot connect this oximeter wireless to your smartphone, and track your SpO2 data with your phone. If you want a Nonin pulse oximeter with wireless connectivity to your phone, check out the NoninConnect Elite 3240 below
- It is relatively expensive (because of its higher quality) compared to other common pulse oximeters.
NoninConnect Elite 3240: Fingertip Pulse Oximeter with Bluetooth
The NoninConnect Elite 3240 has all the features, advantages of the Nonin Onyx Vantage 9590. However, the NoninConnect Elite 3240 an additional advantage. You can wirelessly connect this pulse oximeter to your smartphone via Bluetooth.
This Bluetooth connectivity feature is a big plus for this oximeter. This is because Bluetooth connection to your phone allows you to have a record of your SpO2 data. This means you can keep a record of your SpO2 on your phone for a long time for later reference. It also gives you the ability to share your SpO2 data with anyone you like (e.g your doctor, personal trainer, etc).
The Zacurate Pro Series 500DL: Best Value for Money
The Zacurate Pro Series 500DL pulse oximeter is an affordable and easy to use fingertip oximeter. This oximeter is accurate for monitoring SpO2 and heart rate. It is recommended for use in the home. It can also be used by sports enthusiasts like mountain climbers, skiers, and bikers to track how well oxygenated their blood is when they perform their sports.
Features
- It has a pulse bar indicator that tells you if your pulse is strong enough for the oximeter to be able to make good SpO2 reading
- It has a SpO2 measuring range from 0 to 100%
- It has a pulse rate range of 25 bpm to 250 bpm
- It will measure your blood oxygen saturation levels (SpO2) and pulse strength in 10 seconds
- Works for ages 12 and above
- It has a 40-hour battery life (it comes with 2X AAA BATTERIES)
- It comes with a 1-year manufacturer warranty
Strong Points
- Although it has no FDA approval, the Zacurate 500DL is manufactured according to FDA standards.
- It is very affordable. It is in the same price range as the most common pulse oximeters, but it has higher credibility
- It is accurate
- Its finger chamber is hypoallergenic and latex-free
Weak Points
- It is recommended for a wellness check in the home. It is not not recommended for health monitoring
- It has no FDA approval
- It is relatively slow in taking SpO2 measurements. You have to wait between 10 seconds to 30 seconds before you can obtain a good SpO2 reading from this oximeter
- It is suitable for use for ages 12 and above. This means you may not be able to share this oximeter with your kids.
- It has no warning alarm feature that alerts you when your SpO2 level is lower a certain limit.
- However, the Zacurate Pro Series 500C by the same manufacture has an alarm that will sound if your SpO2 goes below a set limit.
O2Health DB11 Finger Pulse Oximeter: A Compromise between Cheap and Accurate
The O2Health DB11 Finger Pulse Oximeter is a beautifully-designed pulse oximeter. This Pulse Oximeter is FDA-approved, and it is quite affordable. If you want a middle ground between the highly-accurate feature-packed Nonin Onyx Vantage 9590 Pulse Oximeter and the affordable Zacurate Pro Series 500DL, then the O2Health DB11 is the pulse oximeter for you.
Click here to watch a video that demonstrates the accuracy of this pulse oximeter.
According to the FDA, this oximeter is approved for spot-checking of SpO2 and pulse rate (PR) of adult and pediatric patients in hospitals, physician’s offices, clinical settings, and home care environments.
Features
- It can measure SpO2 in the range of 35% – 100%, and it is accurate in the 70% to 100% range
- It can measure heartbeat within 30 bpm – 200 bpm
- It comes with AAA Alkaline Batteries. The battery can operate for up to 30 hours before need for replacement
Strong Points
- It is FDA approved
- It has a warning alarm that will alert you when SpO2 is less than 90% or your pulse rate less than 50 beats per minute or your pulse rate less than 160 beats per minute.
Weak Points
- Its 30 hours of battery life is less that the industry average of 40 hours
Which Fingers give accurate SpO2 readings?
According to research, the middle finger, index finger, and the ring finger give better accuracy than the thumb and the pinky finger in SpO2 measurements. Also, another research shows that taking SpO2 readings on the fingers on the right hand give more accurate result than taking readings on the left hand.
Best Wrist-Worn Pulse Oximeter
Wrist-worn pulse oximeters are suited for measuring your blood oxygen saturation continuously all the time. Unlike a fingertip pulse oximeter that is suited for checking your SpO2 at a particular instance, a wrist-worn oximeter takes your SpO2 reading every few seconds.
Since SpO2 readings fluctuate a lot, experts say that the best way to get clinical-relevant information from pulse oximeters is to wear your pulse oximeter continuously for a long time (for up to a week). That way you can actually see an accurate view of your blood oxygen situation.
You should do your due diligence when you researching the best wrist-worn pulse oximeter to buy. You see a lot of wrist-worn pulse oximeters on Amazon for relatively cheap prices. But I found that some of the manufactures of these pulse oximeters make claims that I could not verify. One manufacture on amazon claimed that is pulse oximeter has FDA approval, but could not find this product in the FDA database. Another manufacture claims to have an office somewhere. However, the office is occupied by another business. While these oddities are insufficient for me to totally discard the usefulness of the pulse oximeters by these manufacturers, these oddities are definitely red flags for me. And because of these, I will not advise you to buy their pulse oximeters.
Wrist-worn pulse oximeters are designed to continuously monitor your SpO2 levels. The measure and record your SpO2 level every 4 seconds or less. If you intend to monitoring your spO2 level while you sleep, wrist-worn SpO2 monitors are ideal for this.
Here are the best wrist-worn oximeters that make my list. I chose these oximeters based on three important factors:
- The soundness of their technical design and accuracy of their product specification
- The opinion of independent researchers on the accuracy of these pulse oximeters
- On what other actual users of these pulse oximeters say
WristOx2 3150 with Bluetooth Low Energy: Most Accurate
The WristOx2 pulse oximeter is a wrist-worn pulse oximeter. This pulse oximeter comes as an assembly of a wrist-worn bracelet and a fingertip sensor that you attach to your finger to take your spo2 readings from your finger. A connector cable connects the watch to the SpO2 sensor.
The part of this pulse oximeter is like your regular smartwatch. This watch allows you to control and configure the pulse oximeter. The watch also grabs SpO2 data from the fingertip sensor. The watch can also transmit over Bluetooth the SpO2 data that it grabs from the finger sensor.
The WristOx2 pulse oximeter is of clinical grade. It is highly accurate such that it can be used in both a medical environment and in a home environment. You can watch a video of how this oximeter works here.
Features
- The WristOx2 Model 3150 pulse oximeter will continuously measure and record your SpO2 levels and pulse rate (even when you are asleep). It saves the recorded data to your smartphone so that you later analyze your SpO2 data.
- At a data collection rate of 4 samples per second, the WristOx2 Model 3150 pulse oximeter can collect and store up to 1,080 hours of SpO2 and pulse rate data. At a data collection rate of 2 samples per second or 1 sample per second, it can collect and record data for 540 or 270 hours, respectively.
- The WristOx2 Model 3150 has Bluetooth connectivity. This allows you to connect the pulse oximeter to your smartphone, and view your SpO2 data on your smartphone.
- It has a USB connection option that you can use to connect the pulse oximeter to your computer, dump the oximeter data on the computer, analyze the data, and share your data with your doctor.
- It can measures Oxygen Saturation from 0% to 100% SpO2
- It can measures heart rate from 18 to 321 beats per minute (BPM)
- It has a pulse strength graph indicator that lets you know if your pulse rate is strong enough to take accurate SpO2 readings.
- It has a Battery life of 44 hours if its BlueTooth feature is turned on. It has a battery life of 53 hours if the Bluetooth feature is turned off.
Strong Points
- It is highly accurate for SpO2 and pulse rate measurement.
- It allows you to use with the Nonin nVISION software to manage and analyze your SpO2 data on a computer
Weak Points
You have to wear a gadget on both your finger and on your wrist to measure your SpO2. This can appear to be too clumsy.
Garmin Watches: A SpO2 montior + A Fitness Tracker
Garmin fitness watches have SpO2 sensors in them that allow you to continous track your SpO2 levels. With Garmin Watches, you get the benefit of an SpO2 monitor and that of a fitness device all in one. The Garmin Watch has a feature that you can use to track your SpO2 level when you are sleeping. It can also track your SpO2 during the day along with a view of the user’s altitude or elevation.
Garmin’s Fenix 6X, Fenix 5X, Vivoactive 4 and Forerunner 245/645/945 fitness watches all have SpO2 sensor in them.
Although other smartwatches like the Apple Watch and Fitbit also have SpO2 sensors in them, however, Apple and Fitbit have disabled the SpO2 function of these watches by not providing app support for monitoring SpO2.
Update
Apple recently debuted SpO2 monitoring in its new Apple Series 6 smartwatch.
Garmin’s SmartWatch SpO2 feature has been around for the longest. Garmin’s technology is mature. Therefore, I recommend Garmin’s Smartwatches for continuous SpO2 monitoring.
Strong Points
- Garmin Fitness Watches give you all the perks of a fitness watch together with a SpO2 monitor
- Perfect for personal use
- Ideal for athletes who what to monitor how their workout affect their blood oxygen saturation (SpO2)
- Unlike the WristOx2 pulse oximeter, Garmi Smart Watch Pulse Oximeters do not require a fingertip sensors to support the watch to measure SpO2.
Weak Points
- Unlike the medical-grade SpO2 monitors that I have discussed, Garmin’s fitness watches are not recommended to track your SpO2-related medical condition.
- If you are an Apple, Samsung or Fitbit Smartwatcher, getting a Garmin Smartwatch can cause a conflict of interest for you
- Garmin recommends that you keep your arm still for approximately one minute for the best accuracy when using their watch to measure your SpO2.
Ring Pulse Oximeter
Like the wrist-worn pulse oximeters, ring pulse oximeters are suited for continuous long term monitoring of blood oxygen saturation. Also, like the wrist-worn pulse oximeter, you can find a lot of cheap pulse oximeter on Amazon. However, the claims made by some of these oximeters are unverifiable. But this does not mean these oximeters do not work, it is just that I cannot vouch for such pulse oximeters.
Based on my research, the ring pulse oximeter that i recommend is the BodiMetrics CIRCUL Sleep and Fitness Ring.
The BodiMetrics CIRCUL Sleep and Fitness Ring
The CIRCUL ring pulse oximeter is a medical-grade pulse oximeter that is doctor-recommended and cleared by the FDA.
This ring pulse oximeter has a fashionable design. This means you can wear this ring during the day and in the night without drawing unnecessary attention to yourself.
You can use this ring pulse oximeter to track if you SpO2 to know if are breathing normally or having shortness of breath during your exercise routine. The ring pulse oximeter also monitors your pulse rate.
This pulse oximeter has a Bluetooth wireless feature that allows you to wireless connect the pulse oximeter to a smartphone, and monitor your spo2 data from a smartphone. From your smartphone, you can share your SpO2 and heart rate data with your doctor or personal trainer.
The CIRCUL pulse oximeter has a rechargeable battery that can last up to 16 hours on full charge.
Features
- It can measure SpO2 from 50 % to 100%
- It can measure pulse rate from 30 to 240 pulse per minute
- it can be used to monitor sleep. It can track your four Sleep Stages (Awake, Light, Deep and REM Sleep)
Strong Points
- It is FDA approved
- In addition to monitoring spo2 and heart rate like every other pulse oximeter, the CIRCUL can also monitor your sleep states.
- 3 sizes fit all. It comes in three adjustable sizes small, large or xl. One of these three sizes will work for you.
Weak Points
It is not water-resistant. You have to be conscious not to wash your hands when wearing the ring, or dip your hands in any liquid when wearing this ring.
How Accurate are Pulse Oximeters?
FDA approved Pulse Oximeters are accurate within +- 2% of your actual Blood Oxygen Saturation Level. This 2% accuracy is a requirement that a pulse oximeter must meet before it can obtain FDA approval. This applies only to FDA-approved pulse oximeter. For example, if an FDA-approved pulse oximeter reads 96 %, then your blood oxygen saturation level is between 94 % and 98%.
In addition, pulse Oximeters specify the SpO2 range over which they give an accurate reading. This is because if your SpO2 is very low, for example below 80 %, some pulse oximeters cannot guarantee the standard +-2% accuracy. Check your pulse oximeter specification to know the test range over which the pulse oximeter is accurate.
What makes Pulse Oximeters Readings Inaccurate?
The following factors can make your pulse oximeter give you inaccurate readings:
- Shaking, shivering, or moving when using a pulse oximeter (except for pulse oximeters that are have been specially designed to adjust for motion in their readings)
- Pulse Oximeters become inaccurate are low SpO2 values. If your blood oxygen level is low (below 80 percent), your pulse oximeter can give your inaccurate SpO2 readings
- If you are a smoker, your blood will contain carbon monoxide, and many pulse oximeter cannot distinguish carbon monoxide from for oxygen. This will lead to inaccurate blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) readings
- If your fingers/wrist are cold (warm up your hands by rubbing them against each other before using a pulse oximeter)
- If you wear nail polish, especially dark nail polish, a fingertip pulse oximeter might give inaccurate readings of your SpO2
- Some pulse oximeters give inaccurate SpO2 readings when used on dark skins.
- If you have Jaundice
- If you put too much pressure on the probe
- If your blood pressure is low
- If you use a pulse oximeter in bright light, it could give inaccurate readings. Bright light confuse pulse oximeters
- If blood is not following properly to your wrist or fingertips or any other body part where you attach your pulse oximeter sensor, the pulse oximeter might give inaccurate results.
- If you use a pulse oximeter on the same arm as a blood pressure monitor, or IV, the pulse oximeter might give inaccurate readings
- Dyes in your blood
How Does A Pulse Oximeter Work?
A pulse oximeters that are worn on the finger works by shining two types of light through your fingers: infra-red light and red light. When these two types of lights pass through your finger, the blood in your finger absorbs the light. Blood that is rich in oxygen strongly absorbs infra-red light. Blood that does not have oxygen absorbs red light. The pulse oximeter uses a sensor to measures the ratio infra-red light that has been absorbed to the ratio of red light that your finger blood has been absorbed to calculate your blood oxygen saturation level (SpO2).
The pulse oximeter ensures that it only measures the blood flowing in your arteries and not the blood flowing in your veins. Your arteries transport oxygenated blood. This is the blood that is of interest to the pulse oximeter. Your veins on the other hand do not typically transport oxygenated blood.
The pulse oximeter can tell your arteries apart from your vein because your arteries beat with a pulse as the same rate as your heart. Your veins do not have pulses. Therefore, the pulse oximeter knows if it measures blood oxygenation in a blood vessel with a pulse, the vessel is defintely an artery and not a vein.
Since the movement of your fingers or body when you use a pulse oximeter confuses the pulse oximeter in making its readings. It is recommended that you stay still when you are using a pulse oximeter. However, some pulse oximeters employ smart algorithms that can differentiate patient erratic motion from the artery pulses. These pulse oximeters are generally more expensive.
On the other hand, wristwatch pulse oximeter with no fingertip sensor, such as fitness watch pulse oximeters uses the reflection of light, rather than the transmission of light, to measure blood oxygen levels. These wrist-worn pulse oximeters shine red and infrared light through your skin to your arteries, and they measure the amount of red and infra-red light that gets reflected back to the watch. The algorithm on these watches then uses the ratio of reflected red light and infrared light to calculate your blood oxygen level.
However, the blood oxygen level that is measured using reflection of light rather than the transmission of light is known not to be very accurate. Also, the readings from the wristwatch pulse oximeter tend to be unstable. Hence, this type of pulse oximeters is not recommended for the health-related monitoring of SpO2. However, these oximeters can be used for personal wellness checks.
What is a Good Pulse Oximeter Reading?
For health people, a good pulse oximeter reading is from 95% to 100%. You need an oxygen saturation level of at least 89% to keep your cells healthy. However, it is fine if your blood oxygen goes lower than 89%, as long as this does not happen for a long time.
If you have a lung-related health condition like COPD, then your good oximeter reading (SpO2) level will depend on close your SpO2 reading is to your baseline (typical) SpO2 level.
Which Pulse Oximeter is the best for you?
Now, I will break down the types of pulse oximeter on how they are appropriate fro different people and for different situations:
Pulse Oximeter for Snorers
Snoring is a characteristic of sleep apnea. But not all snorers have sleep apnea. The probability of sleep apnea is 3.2 times higher in snorers than in non snorers. Moreover, 70 percent to 95 percent of patients with sleep apnea are habitual snorers.
With a pulse oximeter, you can screen yourself to see if your snoring needs clinical attention. With a pulse oximeter, you can find out if your snoring affects your blood oxygen while you sleep. This early catch will make you avoid heart and brain complications that may come with untreated sleep apnea.
If you snore, I recommend that you check if your snoring seriously affects your SpO2 with the WristOx2 3150 wrist pulse oximeter or the BodiMetrics CIRCUL ring pulse oximeter.
Pulse Oximeter for People With Sleep Apnea (Obstructive and Hypopnea)
Although Polysomnography (PSG) is the gold-standard method that is used to diagnose sleep apnea, Home Sleep Testing (HST) is also used as a first step before committing to the more expensive PSG. HST can be done in the privacy of your home. You can use a pulse oximeter for your home sleep testing.
Research has shown a strong statistical correlation between the results of sleep apnea diagnosis by cheap pulse oximetry and expensive PSG.
I recommend the WristOx2 3150 wrist pulse oximeter or the BodiMetrics CIRCUL ring pulse oximeter for early screening of sleep apnea.
Pulse Oximeter for People with Asthma
A pulse oximeter is not recommended for managing asthma. This is because if you are about to have a severe asthma attack, your blood oxygen can still be in a normal range for some days before your attach. During this time before your attack, your body will silently struggle but still manage to keep your blood oxygen level in the normal range. This can go on for a while until when your body cannot compensate anymore. Then your SpO2 will suddenly fall. This happens so fast that it is impossible to catch with a pulse oximeter.
Pulse Oximeter for COVID-19
In some cases, a pulse can be used to catch one of the symptoms of COVID-19. In the early stage of a COVID-19 infection, COVID-19 can lead to something called COVID pneumonia, an infection where your lungs are filled with pus. One of the symptoms of COVID pneumonia is a drop in blood oxygen level, and this is not necessarily accompanied by difficulty in breathing. This means you may have COVID-19 and be breathing properly, however, your SpO2 level will silently go down. This situation is called happy hypoxia (you go around happy while your oxygen silently goes hypo).
A pulse oximeter can be used to detect the happy hypoxia that COVID-19 causes before you start developing the other symptoms of full-blown COVID-19. If you see with an oximeter that your SpO2 is dropping below its usual level, then you have the right to be concerned, and take action.
The pulse oximeter that I recommend for you to periodic check your SpO2 for COVID-related happy hypoxia are the
- Nonin Onyx Vantage 9590 (FDA-approved)
- NoninConnect Elite 3240 (has Bluetooth!)
- Zacurate Pro Series 500DL (affordable)
However, not everyone infected with COVID-19 will have low SpO2 levels. A lot of people infected with COVID-19 show other symptoms of COVID-19 without showing the symptom of low SpO2.
Do not rely on a pulse oximeter alone to tell you if you have COVID-19 or not. A normal SpO2 is not proof that you do not have COVID-19. The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Also, It is important that you check the CDC websites for information about all know symptoms of COVID-19.
Pulse Oximeter for Athletes
As an athlete, you may want to monitor how your workout affects your SpO2 level or you may want to share your SpO2 data with your trainer. Then, I will recommend for you any of the Garmin watches: Fenix 6X, Fenix 5X, Vivoactive 4, and Forerunner 245/645/945 fitness watches.
However, if you are already committed to a fitness watch that is not Garmin, then I will recommend BodiMetrics CIRCUL Sleep and Fitness Ring. With this ring, you can keep using any fitness watch of your choice. The ring will continuously monitor your SpO2 data independently of whichever fitness watch that you wear.
Pulse oximeter for Mountain Climbers, Highland Dwellers, Frequent Air Flyers
At high elevations and altitudes, there is always a scarcity of oxygen. Therefore, your blood oxygen level could be low at these higher elevations. You can use a puls oximeter to ensure that your blood oxygen level is not at an unsafe level.
For mountain climbers and people who just move to a city on a high elevation, you can use Garmin watches: Fenix 6X, Fenix 5X, Vivoactive 4, and Forerunner 245/645/945 to track how well you body adjust to oxygen scarcity.
For frequency air flyers, Nonin Onyx 9500 and Onyx II 9550 pulse oxi’s are airworthy. They are the only pulse oximeters that have airworthy approval to be used on US military aircraft. They are designed to be used at altitudes Operating Up to 12,192 meters (40,000 feet) and Hyperbaric Pressure Up to 4 atmospheres.
Factors to Consider When Interpreting your Pulse Oximeter Readings
Before you make conclusions about the SpO2 readings from your pulse oximeter, consider the following factors:
- The best pulse oximeters have an accuracy of 2%. This means that the reading that you see on your pulse oximeter can the 2% above or below your actual blood oxygen level.
- There is a time delay between your actual blood oxygen saturation and the blood oxygen saturation that your pulse oximeter displays. This is because pulse oximeters need time to calculate your SpO2 after they measure your SpO2. So, know that your SpO2 that you see on your pulse oximeter is a few seconds behind what is current going on in your body system
- A lot of factors can make your SpO2 change from one moment to the next moment. So, a single check of your SpO2 may not give the full picture of your SpO2 situation. Check your SpO2 many times before making any conclusion on your SpO2. Or use a pulse oximeter that can measure your SpO2 contionously.
What to Do if your SpO2 is Low
If you observe that your SpO2 is lower than its usual value, contact a physician or healthcare professional. That is the smartest thing to do.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, a pulse oximeter is a very important health and wellness screening tool. It can detect your illnesses even before you start seeing the symptoms (for example, COVID-19). Also, if you have been ignoring your medical symptoms, a pulse oximeter can let you know how serious your health condition it. Knowing how serious your health condition is will motivate you to take action to fix your health.
Furthermore, a pulse oximeter can help you manage the health conditions for which you are receiving medical treatment. For example, If you have been diagnosed and been treated for COPD or Sleep Apnea, a pulse oximeter can let you know how well our treatment is working.
If you want a pulse oximeter that is accurate for measuring your blood oxygen level for health purposes, then get an FDA-approved pulse oximeter. For a pulse oximeter to be approved by the FDA, it has to be accurate.
If you want to monitor your blood oxygen level for fitness and wellness purposes (non health-related), then fitness smartwatches are suitable for measuring your blood oxygen level.
My research had led me to make a confident decision on a pulse oximeter to buy. I have decided to buy the O2Health DB11 Finger Pulse Oximeter. This FDA-approved pulse oximeter fits well within my budget. My requirement in a pulse oximeter is basic, and this pulse oximeter satisfies my requirements.
This article was technically reviewed by Charles Fawole, PhD on August 30, 2020.