Your body needs air to breathe and stay healthy. The air we breathe has something called oxygen. Oxygen helps keep your body working properly. When you breathe in air, the oxygen goes into your blood and travels all around your body. Oxygen saturation is a way to measure how much oxygen is in your blood. It can change depending on different things like when you are sleeping or going up to high places like the highlands. It’s important to check how much oxygen is in your blood, especially if you have problems with your lungs or heart. If you don’t have enough oxygen in your blood, your organs like the brain and heart might get hurt. Checking your oxygen saturation can help you to find out if you have any health problems earlier and make sure your organs get enough oxygen to work probably.
Oxygen saturation is presented in percentage – kind of like a score. If you’re feeling good and healthy, your score should sit between 95% to 100%. Here’s a table that shows what scores are good for different stages.
| Stage | Normal Oxygen Saturation Levels (SpO2) |
|---|---|
| Infants | ≥ 97% |
| Adults and children | 95-100% |
| Older adults over 70 years old | ~95% |
Now that you know what SpO2 levels to expect, let’s explore how you can measure for your own levels.
When you are visiting the clinics or hospitals, doctors or nurses can measure your oxygen saturation in different ways. The most common way is using pulse oximetry. It’s like putting a little clip or sticker on your fingertip or earlobe. The clip or sticker shines a light through your skin to see how much oxygen is in your blood.
Besides, you can also do the measurement with smartwatches or even simply on your phone with Vitals™. It is a technology that uses cameras to check on your health. It’s like taking a picture with your phone, but it can tell you how healthy you are in just 30 seconds. With Vitals™, you can measure different vital signs with just a smile, so you don’t have to purchase any devices like before.
As an average individual, it is important to seek medical support if your SpO2 level drops below 90%, which is considered low and potentially dangerous.
Sometimes, you might feel sick when there isn’t enough oxygen in your body. This can happen because of things like having a cold or breathing problems. Other factors such as smoking, overweighted, or not exercising enough might also make it harder for your body to get enough oxygen. But don’t worry, it can be improved by eating healthy foods, doing exercises, and quit smoking. These will help your body get more oxygen and stay healthy.
Low SpO2 level is especially dangerous for babies and kids because their organs are still growing and they might not show signs when they are not having enough oxygen, so it’s important to check on them and make sure their SpO2 levels are within the normal range.
In most cases, people with low SpO2 level have potential symptoms as follows:
If you are experiencing the symptoms mentioned above and your oxygen saturation drops below 90%. it’s important to seek immediate medical help. You might need to have extra oxygen or other treatments. If you’re worried about your breathing, you can talk to your doctor. This is the best way to get your answers and discover treatable problems early.
Vitals™, powered by PanopticAI, is an award-winning camera-based health and wellness monitoring solution that makes measuring, interpreting, and managing personal health contactless, affordable, and as easy as smiling at a camera. Built on state-of-the-art artificial intelligence and signal processing, Vitals™ delivers comprehensive digital biomarkers with medical-grade accuracy in under 30 seconds. It can be installed on common consumer devices and used remotely or in person, revolutionising remote healthcare, personal wellness, and much more.
