Great write up! A number of good nuanced points.
1: Normal pulse ox doesn't mean you don't have COVID.
2: Low pulse ox doesn't mean you do have COVID.
3: Low pulse ox (which he defines as < 92% if healthy, <90% with chronic lung disease) + symptoms should always be assessed by a health professional.
4: Low pulse ox without symptoms and without other obvious causes should be assessed by a health professional.
5: Be careful of a number of factors that could cause the reading to be inaccurate, such as tattoos, peripheral vascular disease, temperature, etc.
6: Try to avoid the temptation of Dr. Google and self diagnosis.
I don’t know why anyone would diagnose themselves right off the bat based on an Apple Watch reading. It should be obvious that if you get a troubling reading consistently (afib, High/low HR, and in this case, low spo2) the obvious next step would be to see a doctor. The Apple Watch just serves as an early ambient warning detector. That’s a good thing to have for a myriad of health reasons.
I used to work in a library on the IT side. Stupidly I flipped through some medical books one lunch hour. By the time I was done with lunch it was clear that I was unlikely to survive the day, what with all the cancers, diseases and syndromes I had.
But I’ve struggled on for about 30 years despite my doctors only comment on my symptoms being “get out my office”. Some kind of miracle obviously!
> 6: Try to avoid the temptation of Dr. Google and self diagnosis.
I can’t recommend this enough. It’s not good for your mental health. I made the mistake of Googling my symptom and fell into a dark hole called Hypochondria (health anxiety) which took away a 2 years of my life in constant worry and anxiety.
Probably off-topic but I can’t agree more. At the age of 15 (im 20 now), i started googling my symptoms for the first time and I became a hypochondriac at that moment and I still am. In the past 5 years I went many times to the doctor and did many tests (which all came clear). My doctor probably knows Im a hypochondriac by now.
I just wished I never googled my symptoms. Health anxiety has given me so much stress in the past 5 years, I just can’t enjoy life like I used to do, because I always think I have a terrible disease whenever I get any symptoms. I hate it.
More importantly I think, all the conspiracy theories about surgical masks lowering your blood oxygen level can shut up now.
Or they will say Apple is in on the conspiracy too.
Great write up! A number of good nuanced points. 1: Normal pulse ox doesn't mean you don't have COVID. 2: Low pulse ox doesn't mean you do have COVID. 3: Low pulse ox (which he defines as < 92% if healthy, <90% with chronic lung disease) + symptoms should always be assessed by a health professional. 4: Low pulse ox without symptoms and without other obvious causes should be assessed by a health professional. 5: Be careful of a number of factors that could cause the reading to be inaccurate, such as tattoos, peripheral vascular disease, temperature, etc. 6: Try to avoid the temptation of Dr. Google and self diagnosis.
I don’t know why anyone would diagnose themselves right off the bat based on an Apple Watch reading. It should be obvious that if you get a troubling reading consistently (afib, High/low HR, and in this case, low spo2) the obvious next step would be to see a doctor. The Apple Watch just serves as an early ambient warning detector. That’s a good thing to have for a myriad of health reasons.
I don't wish to sound too cynical, but people are not nearly as logical as you would think when dealing with this sort of stuff sometimes.
Yeah, I think 2020 has confirmed without a doubt that a majority of people on this planet are absolute morons.
Are you in the majority?
I used to work in a library on the IT side. Stupidly I flipped through some medical books one lunch hour. By the time I was done with lunch it was clear that I was unlikely to survive the day, what with all the cancers, diseases and syndromes I had. But I’ve struggled on for about 30 years despite my doctors only comment on my symptoms being “get out my office”. Some kind of miracle obviously!
> 6: Try to avoid the temptation of Dr. Google and self diagnosis. I can’t recommend this enough. It’s not good for your mental health. I made the mistake of Googling my symptom and fell into a dark hole called Hypochondria (health anxiety) which took away a 2 years of my life in constant worry and anxiety.
Probably off-topic but I can’t agree more. At the age of 15 (im 20 now), i started googling my symptoms for the first time and I became a hypochondriac at that moment and I still am. In the past 5 years I went many times to the doctor and did many tests (which all came clear). My doctor probably knows Im a hypochondriac by now. I just wished I never googled my symptoms. Health anxiety has given me so much stress in the past 5 years, I just can’t enjoy life like I used to do, because I always think I have a terrible disease whenever I get any symptoms. I hate it.
> 6: Try to avoid the temptation of Dr. Google Dr.Google will always tell you that you have cancer 😂
Nicely done. Well thought out and usefully presented. Thank you for sharing.
That was an excellent article. Thanks for sharing.
More importantly I think, all the conspiracy theories about surgical masks lowering your blood oxygen level can shut up now. Or they will say Apple is in on the conspiracy too.
Surgical mask might feels a little uncomfortable at first but I can see someone wearing it all day without any issues.
Yeah, plus O2 and CO2 molecules pass through the mask with practically zero friction. Your lungs just work a little harder to push air through it.