Insights

Why Use a Pulse Oximeter

Pulse oximeters are used in hospitals, operating rooms and homes to measure blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) and pulse rates. These adaptable, inexpensive devices give you key insights into how your body is responding to strenuous activities, supplemental oxygen and more—allowing you to make more intelligent and confident treatment decisions.

At Nonin, our mission is to empower clinicians, first responders and patients alike with flexible pulse oximetry solutions they can count on every time. To give you a better idea of whether a personal pulse oximeter is the right choice for you, let’s talk through how you can use this powerful measurement tool to better understand and manage your medical needs.


Using an Oximeter to Expand Your Level of Activities

Pulse oximeters are lightweight, intuitive, and can be used in almost any treatment environment, making them the perfect tool for measuring your oxygen saturation level at home, in the workplace or during recreational activities. You can use your personal oximeter to gain valuable feedback on the efficacy of breathing interventions and the impact certain activities have on your respiratory and cardiovascular systems—granting you a better grasp on which behaviors you can engage in safely.

Meeting Your Home Oximetry Goals

If you have asthma, COPD or other adverse respiratory conditions, your doctor will prescribe a specific oxygen saturation target for you—and the regular flow rate that will usually keep your oxygen saturation at that level. A self-management plan or your doctor’s instructions will let you know exactly how and when to adjust your oxygen flow.

Titrating Your Oxygen Flow

With your doctor’s guidance, you can use a personal oximeter to help you titrate your oxygen flow, adjusting your settings to ensure you receive the right amount of oxygen in any situation. For example, the body usually requires more oxygen during strenuous activities and while traveling on an airplane. By learning the lowest flow rate on your portable oxygen device that provides your target oxygen saturation, you can increase the duration of your oxygen supply. This gives you more time away from home, more time between refills and—most importantly—peace of mind knowing that you have enough oxygen with you.

Participating in Pulmonary Rehabilitation at Home

Pulmonary rehabilitation is an established standard of care for patients seeking to expand their treatment plan beyond conventional therapy, including drugs. Rehabilitation can improve your exercise tolerance and reduce shortness of breath at a given task. Moreover, pulmonary rehabilitation can help you “train through your dyspnea.” This sensation of shortness of breath can be reduced or eliminated during a given task (such as walking up stairs), significantly improving your quality of life.

Nonin Personal Pulse Oximetry Solutions

It’s important to remember that not all home pulse oximeters deliver the same level of performance and reliability. For example, many self-monitoring solutions are compromised when assessing patients with poor perfusion. That’s why it’s so important to invest in high-performance oximeters that deliver accurate readings across a range of patient conditions. It’s also critical to invest in devices that can stand up to repeated daily use—particularly if you intend to monitor your pulse and oxygen saturation levels while on the move.

Nonin Medical is an industry leader in versatile, dependable self-monitoring devices. Our pulse oximeters are designed to deliver fast and accurate results across a wide range of patient conditions, enabling users to assess and maintain their oxygen saturation levels at any time. Customers who purchased our personal fingertip oximeters, for personal or prescription use, give these devices a very high satisfaction rating and report using them to monitor their ability to tolerate activities. Nonin devices can help you optimize supplemental oxygen use, manage asthma and COPD, or monitor your heart rate and oxygen saturation during sports and high-altitude activities.

Count on Nonin for Reliable Home Pulse Oximeters

Call or message Nonin today to learn more about our peerless self-monitoring pulse oximeters. You can also reach out to us for general information on pulse oximeters and how they may help you manage and improve your condition. No matter which challenges you face, our team can connect you with the optimal self-monitoring solution for your unique treatment needs.