Monday, November 25, 2013

Managing Hypoxia



Now that I have clued in to the problems Hypoxia is causing myself, the next thing is what to do about it? I have just ordered an Oximeter, a small device that clips on your finger, and it looks at the colour of your blood. Oxygenated blood is bright red, and this little machine shines an LED light and measures the transmission/reflectance to figure out the percentage of Oxygen in the bloodstream. I expect to get it in about two weeks, and will have it at the Kwoon. I have used these devices at the lung clinic, and always thought that they were cool, so must be expensive. Then one day, I was reading an article about why US health care costs so much, and the example given was an oximeter that you could buy through your health insurance provider for $150, with a $30 co-pay, or just order a new one for $30 direct. So I did some research (Google) and sure enough, it was on sale for $27 cdn from a company in Honk Kong, air mail shipping included. I had previously bought LED lights through this same company, so I thought it is worth a try.
The device my lung specialist uses clips on your finger and gives a reading in seconds, as well as pulse rate. If you want to try it once I get it, just ask. It will probably be with my water bottle at the back of the Kwoon, as it is not suitable to wear while actually exercising.

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