Be Prepared For Building Second Wave Of Deadly Pandemic With A Home Pulse Oximeter: Early Detection Of Oxygen Deprivation Earlier From COVID-19, Can Help Avoid Need For Ventilator Treatment

Patients came in with alarmingly low oxygen saturations, but they did not, subjectively, actually feel short of breath.

[Editor’s Note: With the willfully ignorant leadership in the nation and most states, the ‘reopening’ of the economy is going to lead to (just as in 198) a tremendous second wave of Covid-19 infections, illnesses and hundreds of thousands of deaths. If you can still find them, get a thermometer and oximeter and appropriate over-the-counter medications for fever, aches, nausea and diarrhea. I am not qualified to give medical advice, so go online and do your research NOW. Make sure your medical power of attorney is done and family is aware of your wishes regarding end-of-life decisions. A tragic shitstorm is heading our way in the weeks and months to come. — Mark L. Taylor]

Democracy Now! (5/4/20)

We speak with Dr. Richard Levitan, an emergency physician based in Littleton, New Hampshire, who volunteered at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan for 10 days at the height of the COVID-19 surge in April. Based on what he saw, he argues patients should be going to hospitals sooner and that medical professionals could use a small device you clip on your fingertip, called a pulse oximeter, to help detect the virus earlier by revealing oxygenation problems and elevated heart rates.

“A pulse oximeter is just a measure of identifying how well the lungs are working, and, I believe, can be basically an early warning system in terms of patients to know who has COVID pneumonia,” says Dr. Levitan.

Link To Story, Transcript And 9-Minute Video