“Silent hypoxia” is all over the news! Is it necessary to buy a blood oximeter or oxygen concentrator? Can smart watches replace them?

Recently, products such as blood oximeters and oxygen concentrators have been hot-selling, and many brand stores have run out of stock. The hot sales of these two products are mainly due to the impact of the current COVID-19 epidemic. Everyone hopes that when the elderly at home are infected, they can monitor their blood oxygen saturation and replenish oxygen in time. Is it necessary for ordinary families to equip themselves with these products?

After the adjustment of epidemic prevention and control policies, products such as blood oximeters and oxygen concentrators have gradually become popular. In the "New Coronavirus Pneumonia Diagnosis and Treatment Plan (Trial Ninth Edition)", the relevant treatment measures mentioned "closely monitor vital signs, especially finger oxygen saturation at rest and after activity"; many experts also pointed out in the disease popularization: "Oxygen saturation below 93% is more dangerous", hypoxia can cause damage to the body's organs, and it is especially necessary to be vigilant about "silent hypoxia" in the elderly.

What is silent hypoxia?

A doctor from a tertiary hospital in Beijing explained: "Silent hypoxia" refers to the fact that some people are slow to respond to hypoxia.

A doctor from a tertiary hospital in Beijing: Some patients, especially the elderly, are not sensitive to hypoxia and do not show symptoms of chest tightness or difficulty breathing, and it is not easy for their family members to notice it. However, by the time they are sent to the hospital, they have already shown type I respiratory failure.

Tian Tian said that this is the reason why she wanted to buy a blood oximeter and an oxygen concentrator - a blood oximeter costs from a few dozen to over a hundred yuan and can usually be clipped on the finger to monitor blood oxygen levels. If you are suffering from a lack of oxygen, you can use a home oxygen concentrator to supplement oxygen and increase blood oxygen saturation.

Tian Tian said that if the elderly cough, if the blood oxygen saturation is not 90%, we will send him to the hospital for treatment. If the blood oxygen saturation is above 90%, he can be treated at home. The main reason is that we are afraid that the elderly will cough and feel chest tightness after being ill. If they can't breathe, we can use an oxygen concentrator to directly supply oxygen, which can also buy more time for them to go to the hospital in time.

However, it is not easy to buy blood oximeters and oxygen concentrators recently. The prices of many products have risen sharply. Some stores are out of stock, and even pre-sales have quantity restrictions. The reporter asked a certain brand of oxygen concentrator, and the customer service said that it would take more than a month to ship.

The customer service of a store’s live broadcast room said: There is no blood oximeter in the live broadcast room. As for oxygen concentrators, there are only 3-liter machines at the moment, and the 5-liter machines have been sold out.

In the comments of another brand's live broadcast room, a consumer asked about the delivery time, and the store replied: "The previous treatment of immediate delivery after purchase is no longer available." The customer service said that now there is no stock if you want to order, and you have to wait, and it will take about 20 days for the goods to be shipped.

The platform page shows that many oxygen concentrators are out of stock. Under what circumstances should I buy a blood oximeter and an oxygen concentrator?

Are blood oximeters and oxygen concentrators essential for families with elderly people? What should you pay attention to when using them?

Han Shuhua, chief physician of the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine at Zhongda Hospital Affiliated to Southeast University, believes that if the elderly have no underlying diseases and have been vaccinated, there is no need to prepare an oxygen concentrator.

Han Shuhua said that if the elderly have underlying diseases or low immune function, and their family members are really worried, they can prepare an oxygen concentrator. Underlying diseases refer to those who are undergoing chemotherapy for lung cancer or other tumors, have not been vaccinated, have low immune function, and may be prone to co-infection.

Some elderly people have some autoimmune diseases, or have undergone organ transplants and are taking immunosuppressants. These patients may be prone to severe complications . If you need to buy an oxygen concentrator, you need to prepare a pulse oximeter (oximeter) before that. If the pulse oximeter shows that the blood oxygen is indeed lower than 93%, you can breathe oxygen. Some experts suggest that patients with extremely severe COPD, patients with cardiovascular diseases who have hypoxemia, patients with other diseases who have hypoxemia, and some special cases need oxygen. Han Shuhua suggested that even if you need oxygen, you should use it according to the doctor's orders, otherwise it may be counterproductive and lead to serious health problems.

Han Shuhua said that oxygen inhalation is medically divided into low-concentration oxygen inhalation, medium-concentration oxygen inhalation and high-concentration oxygen inhalation. Generally speaking, if you are worried about not being able to control the concentration when inhaling oxygen at home, you can use low-concentration oxygen inhalation. If the concentration is too high, carbon dioxide may be retained, and the patient's breathing rate may slow down, and some adverse reactions may occur, and type I respiratory failure may turn into type II respiratory failure. There are many patients with COPD in China, and they may have slight carbon dioxide retention. At this time, if the oxygen concentration is high, the patient's condition may worsen.

Han Shuhua said that from a clinical perspective, the proportion of severe cases has been greatly reduced. For the elderly, the most effective measure to prevent the risk of infection with the new coronavirus is still vaccination. Can smart watches replace blood oximeters?

Recently, due to the lack of blood oxygen meters in stock on various online shopping platforms, a group of consumers have begun to consider purchasing smart watches/bracelets with blood oxygen monitoring functions.

Can smart watches replace blood oxygen meters? The reporter called several Huawei stores, Xiaomi stores, Apple official stores and authorized stores in Shanghai. The staff of each store said that a few customers have recently inquired about the blood oxygen measurement function of watches, but not many people bought watches for this reason. Some store staff also said that the blood oxygen measurement function of sports watches is not a problem in daily use, but there is definitely a gap compared with professional medical devices such as blood oxygen meters.

Huawei said that the functions and data accuracy of smart wearable devices can already be used as important equipment for daily health monitoring and medical auxiliary data. Continuous monitoring of heart rate, observation of heart rate variability, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, skin temperature, and even blood pressure monitoring have all gained great practical applications.

A staff member of Xiaomi Home said that the "blood oxygen" function in Xiaomi Watch is not recommended for medical use. "In the past, people bought watches for sports, but now the trend has changed a bit. Recently, some people have come to inquire about the blood oxygen measurement function of the watch, but we dare not let customers buy it. After all , it is just a watch. It can have the function of health monitoring, but it is only for reference and cannot be used for medical purposes. "

An Apple authorized store staff member said that there should be no big problem with daily monitoring, but if you emphasize accuracy, it cannot be compared with professional equipment . Another Apple official customer service representative said that the blood oxygen sensor function is only used for daily monitoring values, and actual testing is still mainly done by doctors or professional medical equipment.

The reporter checked Apple's official website and found that the official website has relevant tips on how to use the "Blood Oxygen" App on Apple Watch: The measurement data of the "Blood Oxygen" App is not suitable for any medical purposes (including self-diagnosis or consultation with a doctor) and can only be used for general fitness and health purposes.

In addition, a doctor from a tertiary hospital who wished to remain anonymous said that the blood oxygen measurement function of a watch is definitely not as accurate as a blood oximeter, but it is not unusable and can only be used as a reference.