Fluctuating Spo2 Levels

Why is my SpO2 reading on the pulse oximeter fluctuating between 90 and 95? Is normal?

Fluctuations in SpO2 readings are common, but what matters is whether they are associated with:

Any known lung disease
Any symptoms noticeable by the patient, for example, shortness of breath, chest pain, dry cough, etc.

In the absence of any of the above, a fluctuating oxygen saturation level between 92 and 95 should not be a cause for alarm, as long as it does not drop below 90%.

Fluctuating oxygen saturation

Having a constant SpO2 level below 90 is generally indicative of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and you should seek immediate medical help.

If you are wondering why these fluctuations occur, it is mainly due to changes during activity. Although the flow or volume of blood in our arteries remains more or less constant, the difference in the pulsations can cause slightly fluctuating readings.

Another cause can be the wrong position of the finger. Usually, the middle finger of the dominant hand is used.

Since the oximeter measures the absorption of infrared light by oxygenated versus deoxygenated blood, an incorrect position or obstruction in the light path can make readings difficult.

The Spo2 below 92% in young people and below 90% in older people justifies medical intervention.

Spo2 or oxygen saturation measures the oxygen content in the blood. The medical device measures the amount of light that passes through the tissues and is detected by the sensors.

Fluctuating spo2 levels at rest

A study alerts on the lack of oxygenation of the blood detected in many patients with respiratory problems.

The mysterious pathophysiological feature that has most puzzled the scientific and medical community is what is known as ‘silent hypoxia’ or ‘happy hypoxia’.

Patients suffering from this phenomenon, the causes of which are still unknown, have severe pneumonia with markedly decreased arterial blood oxygen levels (known as hypoxemia).

However, they do not report dyspnea (subjective feeling of shortness of breath) or increased respiratory rate, which are usually characteristic symptoms of people with hypoxemia from pneumonia or any other cause.

Does oxygen saturation fluctuate?

Does oxygen saturation fluctuate?

Everyone’s blood oxygen levels fluctuate, for example, they are lower during sleep, due to a slightly reduced level of breathing. Also, some alveoli are no longer used during sleep. If your awake oxygen saturation is greater than about 94 percent in room air, your saturation during sleep is unlikely to drop below 88 percent.

What causes high oxygen variations during sleep?

When we sleep, the oxygen level in our blood drops due to interruptions in breathing. Lung and sleep disorders tend to lower these levels even further, and in dangerous ways. But the range of those levels during sleep varies greatly between individuals and, researchers suspect, is heavily influenced by genetics.