The natural life span of a human being is around 82 years at the moment. We've come a long way from two hundred years ago when people were happy if they got to 50. But here's a fun experiment. We all have about two minutes left to live, but when we take a new breath, the timer resets.
If we stopped breathing for more than two minutes, most of us wouldn't make it. Oxygen is the thing that fuels our bodies and all of our processes. It's abundant in the atmosphere, and we don't think about it until we find ourselves in a dire situation.
Of course, this even rings true for people who have respiratory issues, cardiovascular problems, or young infants. These groups of people need a pulse oximeter to measure the percentage of this gas in their blood. Click here to read more.
This entire process is called saturation, and it tells us how much oxygen is going into all of our organs. The standard amount is around 95 to 100 percent. However, if the levels drop below 90, that has the potential to be a clinical emergency.
All medical contraptions are works of pure genius. Whenever there is a new breakthrough in physics, the first two places that use the idea are the military and medical scientists. The military wants to weaponize every possible thing in the world, while medicine wants to cure all diseases. We're going to focus on the latter.
Pulse oximeters are simple devices in the shape of a clip. You can attach them on a wrist, finger, foot, or any other place where there is blood flow. The mechanism works by shining a bright light from one side and registering it with a sensor on the other side of the clip.
The amount of light that passes through tells us how much saturation there is. Of course, it's not that simple. There are loads of complicated equations and higher mathematics that go into the device, telling us the exact number.
If you've ever asked yourself the question: do I need a pulse oximeter? we're going to tell you all the situations in which you might need it. First of all, oxygen levels can drop due to many reasons. If you've ever been to a jiu-jitsu class, you might have gotten choked out.
Choking and suffocation are not good for you since they limit the amount of oxygenated blood that comes to the brain. Whenever that sort of thing happens to you, make sure to schedule a visit to the doctor and see if everything is okay.
Infections such as pneumonia need to be closely monitored. Patients have a clip-on on their finger at all times because of the nature of the disease. The same thing applies to people who have recently experienced drowning. The added water in the lungs could limit the natural airflow in the valves. People who have lung diseases use them often, as well as those who suffer from allergies and sleep apnea.
People who have cardiovascular issues have a hard time recovering. The heart is quite a delicate organ. It works every second of every day from when we're born until the day we die. To keep it healthy, we need to exercise. Well, patients that have heart problems have a hard time working out.
Even a simple walk may put a ton of strain on this organ. That's why putting a simple oximeter on their finger while they go on a walk or a light jog is a great thing to do. They will monitor their levels, and they'll know how fast their heartbeat is, as well as the saturation. View this link for more info https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/303239-overview#a5
Many stress tests and sleep tests are performed by using these devices. For example, if you have snoring or apnea issues, the first thing your doctor will recommend is to use a pulse oximeter and sleep with it for a few nights.
That will give them all of the info they need in order to help you. They are mass-produced, and you can find them either in stores or online. Even people who don't fall into a risk category can use them to see how their bodies work.
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