Article Series Health Monitoring
At Home Health Monitoring Tools & Tips
At-Home Health Monitoring Tools & Tips
Listening to your own body and learning to recognize when something isn’t right is an important way of keeping control of your health at any age. However, sometimes you need a bit of extra help to keep tabs on your health. That’s where at-home health monitoring tools come in. We’re going to take a look at two of these – at-home blood pressure monitors and oximeters.
Blood Pressure Monitoring
It’s common to experience high blood pressure as we get older and you used to have to visit your doctor to get this checked. Luckily, it’s now possible to monitor blood pressure at home with a device that you slip onto your arm and which displays the reading on a digital screen.
Why monitor your blood pressure?
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Self-monitoring can help you catch high blood pressure earlier than if you only get it checked when you visit the doctor. This means you’ll be able to start addressing it through lifestyle changes or medicines sooner.
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Self-monitoring can also help you know whether these treatments are working – allowing you to alter course if necessary.
Tips for blood pressure monitoring
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Avoid smoking, caffeine, and exercising 30 minutes before taking your blood pressure.
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Sit upright with your feet flat on the floor and your arm on a flat surface at heart level while taking the reading.
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Measure at the same time everyday.
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Keep a blood pressure journal to track your readings and your progress.
Decoding the numbers
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What to do if you have
severely high blood pressure
If your blood pressure reading is above 180/120 mmHg, wait five minutes then repeat the reading. If the reading is still unusually high, contact your doctor immediately as you may be having a hypertensive crisis.
If the reading is high and you also have symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath, back pain, numbness/weakness, change in vision, or difficulty speaking, call 911 immediately.
Blood oxygen monitoring
A less well-known measurement that can be taken at home, is your blood oxygen saturation level. This is done with a device called an oximeter that’s clipped to a body part such as your finger or earlobe, and which uses light pulses to determine the saturation of oxygen in your blood.
Why monitor your blood oxygen saturation?
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Measuring your blood oxygen saturation level can tell you how well your lungs are working, especially if you have any of the following conditions, which affect blood oxygen levels:
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Heart failure
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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
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Anemia
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Lung cancer
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Asthma
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Pneumonia
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It can also help you assess the efficacy of treatments for low blood oxygen saturation (hypoxemia).
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If you use a portable oxygen device, an oximeter can tell you if you’re reaching your target oxygen saturation.
Tips for blood oxygen monitoring
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Blood oxygen saturation can be monitored either in a hospital or with an at-home device.
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At-home devices are normally clipped onto the finger and give a reading as a percentage, which represents the percentage of your haemoglobin that’s saturated with oxygen.
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At-home oximeters are a good way of monitoring your blood oxygen levels but are not an alternative for professional diagnosis by a doctor.
Decoding the numbers
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What to do if you have low blood saturation?
If your oximeter detects a lower-than-normal blood saturation level, or you have any of the following symptoms, you should see your doctor as soon as possible:
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Shortness of breath after slight exertion or when at rest.
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Shortness of breath that gets worse when you’re physically active.
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Jerking awake due to shortness of breath (this way be a sign of sleep apnea).
If you experience sudden and severe shortness of breath that affects your ability to function, call 911 immediately.