Be alert to silent hypoxia in the elderly. What are the symptoms of low blood oxygen saturation?

Science Fiction Network December 27 (Xu Mingyang) According to CCTV.com, experts said that if the elderly usually have a normal blood oxygen index of 95%-98%, but the blood oxygen saturation is significantly lower than the basic value of blood oxygen, and is lower than 94% or 93%, this is likely to be a precursor indicator of severe illness. In addition, the patient's mental state can also reflect the indicator of his breathing condition.

Silent hypoxia refers to the fact that some elderly people do not have obvious chest tightness or breathing difficulties even when they are in severe hypoxia, or even when their blood oxygen saturation is below 70%. This is because they are slow to react to hypoxia, so they do not feel chest tightness or breathing difficulties. This phenomenon can be called "silent hypoxia". At this time, the patient's lungs have been damaged and the body tissues have been deprived of oxygen. If not discovered in time, it may be life-threatening.

Blood oxygen refers to the oxygen in the blood. Generally speaking, the normal human arterial blood oxygen saturation is 95% to 98%, and the venous blood oxygen saturation is 64% to 88%. If the blood oxygen saturation is too low, it will cause insufficient oxygen supply to the body, thus causing various diseases.

The main manifestations of low blood oxygen saturation are dyspnea and increased respiratory rate, which may also be accompanied by the phenomenon of the three-depression sign. The three-depression sign refers to the obvious depression of the suprasternal fossa, supraclavicular fossa, and intercostal space during inspiration.

Because low blood oxygen saturation can cause brain hypoxia, patients may also experience symptoms such as headaches, memory loss, mental confusion, and even coma.

Low blood oxygen saturation can also damage the liver and kidneys. Patients may experience gastrointestinal discomfort and symptoms such as upper gastrointestinal bleeding, gastric mucosal erosion and bleeding.

In addition, low blood oxygen saturation may also manifest as cyanosis of the lips and nail beds. The degree of cyanosis is related to the content of reduced hemoglobin.

Doctors say that elderly people over 65 who are obese, smoke, or suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, tumors and other diseases are prone to "silent hypoxia". It is recommended to prepare a pulse oximeter at home and check it regularly to detect abnormalities in the elderly's body in time.