Jakarta (ANTARA) – COVID-19 patients experiencing shortness of breath can check their respiration rate to determine their oxygen saturation levels if they do not own a pulse oximeter, an official has said.
“Record the temperature and oxygen saturation if you have an oximeter, otherwise you can count your breaths,” Health Ministry’s COVID-19 vaccination spokesperson, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, advised during a health webinar here on Saturday.
A patient is said to be short of breath when his or her respiration rate is above 24 breaths per minute, she informed. The normal respiration rate is in the range of 16-20 breaths per minute, she added.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), United States, has reported that about 31-40 percent of COVID-19 patients experience shortness of breath, Tarmizi said. Patients may have difficulty breathing and end up panting, she added.
During Saturday’s webinar, head of the emergency department (ED) of Prikasih Hospital, Dr. Gia Pratama, affirmed that patients with low oxygen saturation may complain their chest is feeling too tight to fully inhale or exhale.
Each short breath alone requires greater effort and leaves patients panting, he said. It feels like breathing through a straw, he added.
“The capacity of the lungs (in normal adults) is good and large as they can load liters of incoming air. However, with COVID-19 patients’ lungs, just after a few hundred milliliters (of air), they already need more breath, hence, the breath count increases. When the inhaling breaths are above 24 times per minute, they must check their lungs,” Pratama said.
Meanwhile, patients who have a pulse oximeter must make sure their oxygen saturation is not less than 94 percent, he advised. Normally, oxygen saturation in the range of 95-100 percent indicates the body’s organs such as the lungs, heart, and circulatory system are working well, he expounded.
An oximeter can help patients check how much oxygen is in their blood, he said. It is a small, pocket-size device with sensors that use light to detect oxygen levels, he explained.
When their oxygen saturation drops below 94 percent, symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19 patients in self-isolation should immediately seek treatment in health facilities, he said.
Source: ANTARA News