Would anaemia cause this?

[Popthepringles]

Hi. I think I may be anaemic or have low haemoglobin - obviously I’m going to visit my doctor but I was just wondering, would that cause oxygen saturations on the finger test to be low? I had this done before and it was lower and just wondered if it could be caused by anaemia or if I’m putting 2 and 2 together and making 5. Thanks in advance

Sorry- cheeky bump!

It can make you breathless on exertion so maybe

Are you short of breath? The oxygen saturation should be over 95%.

I wouldn't have thought so. The machine measures how well the haemoglobin molecules are saturated with oxygen, it doesn't really care how many haemoglobin molecules are there. So unless your Hb levels were critically low (close to death), I think your sats would still be ok.
Interestingly your sats will still show high if you are suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning because the machine cannot differentiate between oxygen and carbon monoxide attached to the haemoglobin.

It’s possible, hemoglobin is in red blood cells that transport oxygen around your body. Do you have any yellowing of the eyes or skin, any breathlessness?

Anaemia shouldn’t have any impact on your sats level. Sounds like you need a chat with your doctor to try and work things out.

There are different types of anemias, some can cause changes in oxygen saturation, especially hemolytic types.