Anyone understand oximeters?

[NotMyUsualOne]

Name changed for this as so embarrassed. Tested positive for Covid exactly 14 days ago. Have been managing at home, not feeling great but not feeling in any danger. Cough (still mild) started a few days ago.
Anyway, I have an oximeter I bought at the start of everything for reassurance, and I consistently measure 99. However today (feeling a little tight chested for context) I have been briefly dipping down to 93 on occasions, before it comes back up.
Reading a previous thread, I left it on for five mins, and it was consistently between 97 and 99, but twice it went down to 93 before coming back up again.
I know this is very much the danger of having this sort of thing at home if you're not medically qualified, so no lectures please.
Just wondering if these dips are something to worry about, or is it ok as long as a few deep breaths brings me up again?

It wouldn’t worry me too much, so long as it’s not consistently low. My normal is between 90-95, but sometimes drops below 90 and I take a few big breaths to get it back up.

I wouldn't worry about a few dips, but if it's consistently low then it can be a cause for concern.

I find butekyo breathing to be quite effective at increasing my sats when I am suffering from asthma.

Thanks everyone, it's reassuring me. It never stays that low for long (we're talking seconds not minutes), but today is the first time it's ever got so low, and it spooked me.

I would go to a&e or try and see out of hours gp or at least speak to them on phone. A lot depends on any other medical problems, age, usual lung function.

If you went to a&e they may be able to do a more sensitive test to measure oxygen in your blood. Blood clot in the lungs can be a complication of covid- can have symptoms of breathlessness, chest pain.

A and e wouldn't do anything yet. Keep an eye on it - every 4 hours or so (unless you feel really unwell suddenly) if it drops and stays at below 94 phone your GP. Anything below 90 straight to A and E.

It could just drop due to movement, unable to pick it up briefly, nail varnish, cold hands etc and the home ones aren't as reliable in my opinion.

And to add that's because you have said it's usually 99. Everyone has different baselines

@notmyusualone mine was briefly down to 89 one day when my chest felt really tight but deep breaths got it back to 98, which is normal for me. I would try not to worry, I've actually stopped using the thing as it makes my anxiety worse.

Ah, ok. Had thought about ringing 111 as it's making me incredibly anxious now, but having called them in the past, they have said the same thing - only to worry if it doesn't come up with a few deep breaths. Which it always does.
Will see how it is in the morning.
What a horrible, horrible virus this is.

In my hospital you wouldn’t be put on oxygen with sats of 93, even if they remained at 93. Lots of people will have dips but you wouldn’t necessarily know about them because we don’t monitor ourselves permanently. I’d check every few hours, and only really worry if it goes 92 or below. Also, try to relax. It’s easy to get fixated on things but when you’re poorly try and get some rest. Hope you feel better soon

I couldn’t say for sure as I’m not a medic but my daughter has sleep apnea and regularly drops into the 60s for prolonged periods without her ventilator at night. Her consultant likes everything above 90, even for longer periods. If you are struggling to breathe when it drops or at any time then definitely seek help but if it comes up quickly I wouldn’t worry about my DD in that circumstance if that makes sense. Hope you are well again soon

I work on a respiratory ward.

For a 'normal' person, target sats are 94 - 98%. For those with COPD it's 88 - 92%

When you say it dips to 93, how long do does it do that for? If I was doing obs on someone and got that reading, I'd ask them to sit up and to take deep breaths. If the sats then came up, I wouldn't be concerned.

@PolytheneHam, this is where I do sound like a right drama queen. They were at 93 for maybe 10 seconds, then slowly made their way back up to 98/99.
I am now in the midst of a full-blown panic attack, trying to do some breathing exercises to calm myself down. While rationally I know I'm being ridiculous, the health anxiety in me is thinking this is the early signs of a blood clot or worsening Covid

Honestly, it's a perfectly normal thing to happen. I understand your concern but you really have nothing to worry about. I hope you manage to relax a little.

You have my sympathy though. I tested positive for Covid on Monday (caught at work during an outbreak on the ward) and I'm not feeling fab either.

My DH has long covid. His chest pain increased and similar to you with home o2 monitor. We had to ring 111 initially as the GP wouldn't make direct appointments for any post covid problems (it was day 14 for him). He had a strong course of antibiotics as was being suckered by a secondary infection

Is it low when you first put your finger in? I have an oximeter and I do find it takes a few minutes to stabilise.

@JammyGeorge, sometimes, but then it goes up and then down again. Trying not to look at the bloody thing for a bit now.
When I calm down, my breathing is actually fine, so I think I'm going to have a bath and an early night.
Thank you

we were told it goes down when you move about. I have two as dd is asthmatic and did not one to get accidently broken in an autistic meltdown and be without. Now one is in the holiday bag and one for everyday use. they measure slightly differently.

Thank poly, it is helpful knowing when to worry. and when to know it is sort of normal.

It sounds like it is not fluctuating until it gets a true reading. I wouldn’t worry about that tbh.

Oh, and thank you @Kaitness for reminding me that there is a whole world of things it could be between perfect health and on a ventilator!

Take care. If you are feeling any worse or the chest tightness increases then ring 111 and put the options to get through to the Covid assessment team - they have more experience if needed of covid treatment and can point your GP towards what to try next.

If you're generally in the high 90's the likeliest cause of the dips is user error/physiological fluctuations in that if your finger gets cold/pinched/the clip squashes the blood vessels etc then the reading will be less accurate.

If you aren't actually clinically unwell/breathless then it's unlikely to be a problem.