How does my nail polish affect my pulse oximeter readings

Jan 15
12:28

2011

Jacob  Walters

Jacob Walters

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Pulse oximeter readings affected by nail polish.

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Nail polish is one of the factors that has a profound effect on the pulse oximeter readings of individuals. The reason why this is is because of the way the device actually works. Essentially the individual has to place their finger inside the pulse oximeter device in order to get their pulse rate and oxygen level readings for healthy monitoring. Once the finger is placed inside the device a beam of infrared light passes through the finger and based on the percentage of light that passes through the device computer computes that actual readings for the heart beat and the oxygen levels. If you are using nail polish what this does is that it affects the amount of light that actually passes through you finger and as a result you will get very abnormal readings due to the fact that the light that passed through was not the natural amount that typically would go through. One of the ways to prevent this is very simple and involves not wearing any polish when you are going to use the device. There are pulse oximeter devices in the works that will be able to overcome this obstacle and still give you the vital sign readings without error,How does my nail polish affect my pulse oximeter readings  Articles but they are still in development and more time is needed for them. As of now the only way is to actually not use any until the newer models come out that can be able to withstand the polish factor. However you have to remember that pulse oximeter devices are normally very accurate and it is mainly because of this factor that they tend to not get normal readings for individuals. One of the other things that you can do is actually try to find a polish that actually still allows the device to function properly as not all of them prevent accurate readings. A pulse oximeter works quite effectively to measure the pulse rate as well as the blood oxygen saturation of an individual The device is only a fraction of the size of a typical cell phone and thus it is extremely portable. It also is very accurate and instantly gives a reading of the oxygen saturation as well as pulse rate within seconds. By inserting your finger inside the portable device an infrared light passes through you finger. Hemoglobin absorbs light at different frequencies and as such the infrared light that goes through the finger bounces back to the oximeter device computer with a number that represents the oxygen levels of the body. This number means the world to people who live with conditions that require accurate monitoring of the oxygen levels in the body. Oximeter devices continue to break ground not only in the hospital setting but also the home setting as well. No longer do individuals need to be at their physician’s office or a hospital in order to take advantage of such a device to monitor their health. The newest generations of devices are not only extremely small and portable but they also are extremely affordable. So individuals living with various health conditions that are necessary to measure their oxygen levels can now use the device in the comfort of their home without ever having to worry about not monitoring their health on a continuous basis. The portability also allows them to take the device wherever they desire to go.