One of the most obvious presentations for people with symptomatic COVID-19 is 'shortness of breath'. This can be very distressing, particularly for individuals who are normally fit and well with no pre-existing respiratory conditions.
As we all know, our NHS hospitals, GP surgeries and Emergency Ambulance Service are experiencing unprecedented activity levels and prioritising patients that require their care is an ongoing challenge.
COVID-19
Those with suspected COVID-19 staying at home has never been more important to prevent further transmission of the virus. The NHS 111 system is a great platform to enable a patients condition to be assessed over the telephone by a clinician.
For those patients who maybe in respiratory distress, (shortness of breath) it is extremely useful for the clinician to have an idea of what their current oxygen saturation levels are in blood.
Oxygen Level Monitoring
There is one tool that is simple to use and freely available at low cost and kept at home in a first aid kit, it is called a 'Pulse Oximeter'. This small piece of equipment can provide the clinician with an early indication of whether the oxygen saturation levels for that particular patient require further investigation by a doctor or paramedic. It presents a % measurement of your oxygen saturation levels in haemoglobin. A pulse oximeter will also present a 'pulse' indication as beats per minute.
One of the symptoms associated with COVID-19 is shortness of breath and a pulse oximeter is now the best 'at-home' monitoring device, together with a thermometer to record a patients temperature, that can be used to complement the information passed to NHS 111 or GP surgeries over the telephone.
So which pulse oximeter should you buy?
There are a large number of 'pulse oximeters' (oxygen monitoring device) available on-line from different manufacturers. The most important benefits of any monitoring device is that it is consistently accurate, and reliable. Like any product, people feel comfortable purchasing products from a manufacturer they recognise and/or trust, and these products should be no different. If you do not recognise any manufacturer then explore the product reviews and make your decision on consistency.
To view a range of 'pulse oximeters' click here
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