Oxygen sats oximeter

[purplemonkey654]

Currently have covid feel fine apart from a blocked nose.
Keeping an eye on oxygen levels and I've noticed they drop slightly when laid down? Is this normal?
They can fluctuate down to 92 and then start creeping back up again to 98/99.
I have health anxiety and I'm sure this is making me more paranoid keep checking the numbers.

Yes it’s normal readings are lower when lying down. Try not to worry. I hope you feel better soon

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26879626/
It was found that the average oxygen saturation value when measured while sitting in an upright position in a chair was significantly higher than that measured when the individual was lying on the right or left side of the body

www.barnsleyccg.nhs.uk/patient-help/using-a-pulse-oximeter.htm

Thank you so much for this. It's 98/99 when up and about so I appreciate you finding this article as I am so anxious 😊

Sorry, the bit about it creeping back up didn’t post

The reading takes time to steady. Keep the pulse oximeter in place for at least a minute, or longer if the reading keeps changing
Record the highest result once the reading has not changed for five seconds

Keep an eye on it.

Yes they can wander about a bit, but as you note they are returning to the normal high 90s. It's a bit like your temperature can hop about a bit, sometimes running a low grade fever, other times normal.

What you're looking out for is whether the change is a settled trend. So does a hopping about low-grade temperature start inexorably rising and then stay at a definite fever? Do SATs fall below 90-92 and stay there?
(Or if you're on a virtual 'covid ward' use the figure for SATs that they gave you, number can vary depending on a number of factors)