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Learned something today about SpO2 [1]
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Date: 2025-02-13
The Veterans Administration still exists, and its medical centers are still in operation. President Elon Musk’s DOGE stooges haven’t gotten around to dismantling it just yet. I don’t think I’ve heard Schattenführer Musk nor Ersatzführer Trump explicitly say anything about doing that, but reporters like Rebecca Kheel at Military.com have good reason to be worried about that sort of thing.
I went in today for a general check-up at the VA Medical Center closest to me (not the one in San Antonio pictured above, but one that is rather more interesting architecturally). A nurse quickly did the vitals. My blood pressure is good. And my SpO 2 is 94%. My what? I had to ask the doctor about that. She said it’s an estimate of my blood oxygen level.
I wasn’t sure how the nurse could have gotten that, since I hadn’t yet gotten around to the blood drawing part, where they would take out what felt like a liter of blood. The doctor said anything less than 92% would be cause for concern.
The doctor had a bunch of other things on her checklist to get through, so I decided to save any further questions about SpO 2 for some Google searches later on. I found a page on the Cleveland Clinic website that explains it pretty well.
After you breathe in oxygen, it goes through your lungs and into your bloodstream. The amount of oxygen in your blood is your blood oxygen level. Your body needs a certain amount of oxygen in order to function properly, and low blood oxygen levels can lead to serious complications. [...] … Oxygen enters your body through your nose or mouth when you breathe (inhale) and passes through your lungs into your bloodstream. Once in your bloodstream, the oxygen then goes to cells all over your body. All of your cells need oxygen to create energy efficiently, and your body needs energy to fulfill all of its processes, such as digestion and even thinking. Once your cells use oxygen, they create carbon dioxide. Your bloodstream then carries the carbon dioxide back to your lungs, and you breathe it out (exhale it) through your mouth or nose. Your body tightly regulates the amount of oxygen saturation in your blood, because low blood oxygen levels (hypoxemia) can lead to many serious conditions and damage to individual organ systems, especially your brain and heart. Low blood oxygen levels indicate that your lungs and/or circulatory system may not be working as they should.
Naturally the next question is: how do they measure blood oxygen? The most precise way is probably to draw blood and measure that. The levels in the location of the blood draw should not differ by any significant percentage from other parts of the body, at least not under normal circumstances.
Pulse oximetry is less precise, but it should be good enough for an initial assessment.
A pulse oximeter can also measure blood oxygen saturation levels through a small clip that’s usually placed on your finger or toe.
Okay, I remember that now. That’s what that was that the nurse put on my finger.
An oximeter reading only indicates what percentage of your blood is saturated with oxygen, known as the SpO2 level, as well as your heart rate. It’s a quick and harmless way to check if someone’s blood oxygen level is too low. Healthcare providers use pulse oximeters frequently in hospitals. You can also use a pulse oximeter at home — you can usually buy one from a pharmacy or certain stores and websites.
Nah, I’m okay, I don’t need a pulse oximeter at home. Now, if the reading had been exactly 92%, I’d be worried about it. And less than 88% is cause for alarm, as in, go to the emergency room.
The Cleveland Clinic gives three suggestions for raising blood oxygen for patients not in immediate danger:
Breathing in fresh air : Opening your windows or going outside for a walk can increase the amount of oxygen that your body brings in, which increases your overall blood oxygen level.
: Opening your windows or going outside for a walk can increase the amount of oxygen that your body brings in, which increases your overall blood oxygen level. Quitting smoking : Only two to three weeks after you quit smoking, your circulation will likely improve significantly. After one to nine months, your shortness of breath decreases. Both of these aspects contribute to your body’s ability to take in more oxygen.
: Only two to three weeks after you quit smoking, your circulation will likely improve significantly. After one to nine months, your shortness of breath decreases. Both of these aspects contribute to your body’s ability to take in more oxygen. Practicing breathing exercises: Simple breathing exercises like pursed-lip breathing and deep belly breathing can open your airways and increase the amount of oxygen in your blood.
The page notes that pulse oximeters can be off by as much as ±4%. Hypothetically, my blood work could indicate an actual level of 98%, which would be good, or it could instead indicate 90%, which would not be good.
I’m sure the VA will still exist for some time after my blood work is processed. How much time, though, I have no idea.
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