Measuring Pulse and Temperature [Video] | hioscar Blog | Oscar
Measuring Pulse Ox and Temperature [Video]
Dr. Stephanie Reznick discusses how to check your oxygen levels and your temperature from home.
Virtual CareClinically Speaking
5 min read
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Dr. Stephanie Reznick returns to "From the Frontlines" to discuss how to check two important vital signs from your home — your oxygen levels and your temperature. Watch (opens in new tab) her latest video.
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Video Transcript
“Hi everyone, I'm Dr. Stephanie Camaglia Resnick. I'm a board-certified internist and one of the medical directors for virtual care here at Oscar.
In this video, I'm going to be discussing more vital signs that you can take from home. If you want to learn more about taking your blood pressure, please see the prior video (opens in new tab).
Using a pulse oximeter
First, I'm going to start with pulse ox, 'ox' being oxygenation. It can be taken easily with one of these little gadgets that you can get from many retailers or online. Now, what this tells you is 1) your pulse or how fast your heart is beating and then 2) the oxygen part which is indicated on here by something that says "Percent SpO2". This tells you what percentage of the space on hemoglobin which is the part of the red blood cell that moves the oxygen throughout your body actually has oxygen on it.
Most of the time, normal is somewhere between 95 to 100 percent. Totally normal to be like 97, 98, not everyone runs at 100. To put this in perspective, 88 is the cutoff we use for when somebody would need some oxygen such as by nasal cannula where you see them wearing the clear ring around their face.
So, to go ahead, a few tips. One, you want to make sure your fingers are nice and warm. You're going to be putting this on your finger. If your fingers are cold, try to rub them, warm them up. Cold fingers don't read so well on this.
Another tip is if you're wearing nail polish to remove it because that can make this reading inaccurate. For some people who have a lot of difficulty getting a reading on their fingers, sometimes you can use your toes or even your earlobe.
All you have to do is push the button on and it opens up like an alligator mouth and you just stick your finger in. Your fingernail will be facing the screen for most models but you can read the directions that comes with yours just to make sure there's nothing different.
Give it a minute or two. You'll see this little part going up and down, up and down, meaning that it's reading. One other thing to keep in mind if you have trouble getting a reading is if there's enough battery. You can always check the battery or change the battery.
And there we go. Now you can see I know I don't have any lung diseases that are giving me problems. My oxygen is reading at about 96 which is considered normal. My pulse is 68, a nice good resting heart rate.
Why do we care how much oxygen is in your blood? Well, a lot of people have been checking because of COVID-19 because it can be an early indicator that you're getting more severe symptoms. It can also be used for other people who have all kinds of different conditions that affect how much oxygen can get into your blood.
Common examples include severe asthma, but if your asthma is so severe that your oxygen is low you should be going to the emergency room. COPD patients, or patients who have emphysema or chronic bronchitis, often live at a lower oxygen level normally about like 90 to 92 and that's okay. People with heart failure or other types of lung disease, lung cancer — these are all people where we're monitoring their oxygen levels.
Like I said before, living like 95 to 100 is normal. If you're below 88, that's the cutoff for oxygen and you should be seeking immediate medical help. If you feel like you have any symptoms like shortness of breath, chest pain, something's off, please don't defer getting care and either call to get immediate advice or go to your local emergency room.
Using a thermometer
Another vital sign that's very commonly taken is the traditional temperature. This is a digital thermometer. Of course there are lots of others available such as the ear thermometer or the non-contact where they're basically aiming at the forehead. That's pretty common during COVID-19 since it doesn't touch your skin.
A digital thermometer can be used in three different places: under your arm (that's considered axillary), under your tongue (which is considered oral), or into the rectum (which is the rectal temperature). Normally, rectal temperatures are saved for infants or when you really need a very, very accurate check. If you're going to use a rectal temperature check, make sure you have a thermometer that's dedicated to rectal.
Before you use a digital thermometer for any reason, make sure to clean it off. Soap and water is always a good choice.
All you're going to have to do is get it out of the case. Pretend I did the soaking water already. All you have to do is hit the button and then one trick is you want to wait until it says "low" on there. If it already has a temperature on there it hasn't recalibrated itself. Once it hits "low," go ahead and either put it under your arm, under your tongue or, if you're going to give somebody a rectal temperature check, go ahead and do that.
It takes about a minute, you'll hear it beep again and it'll give you your temperature. 100.4 is the cutoff in Fahrenheit, 38 degrees in Celsius for it to be a fever. If you have an elevated temperature that's not 100.4 or above, we don't really consider it a fever. That said, we normally don't recommend getting medical help for a fever alone. It's only other symptoms that come along with the fever.
If you have a fever, make sure you stay hydrated because you actually sweat more and lose fluid that way. If you have a high fever meaning above 103 or 104 degrees Fahrenheit and you take something like Tylenol or Advil to bring it down and about an hour so after taking the medication, the temperature's still not coming down at all, go ahead and reach out to your physician or other health care provider for next steps. You may or may not need to be seen in person but it's good to be talking to a healthcare professional in that kind of situation.”
Video published 2020-09-17
This content does not constitute medical advice and is not meant to be a substitute for professional medical advice, including diagnosis or treatment. Contact your physician with any questions you may have regarding COVID-19 or your personal health. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, dial 911 for immediate assistance.
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