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[Andy H]

Has anyone got any experience of these things?

When family members have been stuck in hospital they have been hooked up to professional monitors for pulse rate and oxygen concentration. When we go to see the GP the first thing they use is a little clip on meter that goes on the end of a finger.

A quick search on the internet brings up lots of choice with prices starting at £20.

When we have been worried we have gone and got help - that will not change - but there have been occasions when we haven't been worried but probably should have been. If these little monitors actually work reasonably accurately it might be worth having one next to the inhalers

[Mister Rog]

Has anyone got any experience of these things?

When family members have been stuck in hospital they have been hooked up to professional monitors for pulse rate and oxygen concentration. When we go to see the GP the first thing they use is a little clip on meter that goes on the end of a finger.

A quick search on the internet brings up lots of choice with prices starting at £20.

When we have been worried we have gone and got help - that will not change - but there have been occasions when we haven't been worried but probably should have been. If these little monitors actually work reasonably accurately it might be worth having one next to the inhalers

That needs a bit of explaining

Personally if there were any existing health conditions, I would absolutely not offer or provide any medical advice whatsoever here. Another issue is that of "false positives". You also say "haven't been worried but probably should have been". Why ? The internet is quite dangerous when it comes to medical matters, people search things and come up with "advice" plus a host of adverts. Trust in gut feeling and common sense rather than gizmos.

[steve6367]

Would the hospital / GP advise you on what maybe suitable?

[Rods2]

Personally, I would be wary of any cheap sytems, how accurately have they been calibrated and how will that change overtime? Professional system will have guaranteed calibration and be backed up with regular recalibration, if this is necessary.

IME the setup and calibration along with the quality of the critical components are where corners are cut on cheap systems.

[Andy H]

Has anyone got any experience of these things?

When family members have been stuck in hospital they have been hooked up to professional monitors for pulse rate and oxygen concentration. When we go to see the GP the first thing they use is a little clip on meter that goes on the end of a finger.

A quick search on the internet brings up lots of choice with prices starting at £20.

When we have been worried we have gone and got help - that will not change - but there have been occasions when we haven't been worried but probably should have been. If these little monitors actually work reasonably accurately it might be worth having one next to the inhalers

That needs a bit of explaining

Personally if there were any existing health conditions, I would absolutely not offer or provide any medical advice whatsoever here. Another issue is that of "false positives". You also say "haven't been worried but probably should have been". Why ? The internet is quite dangerous when it comes to medical matters, people search things and come up with "advice" plus a host of adverts. Trust in gut feeling and common sense rather than gizmos.

The 2 year old (as shown on my profile picture) has been kept in overnight 5 times since February with a 'viral wheeze'. It is probably asthma but she won't get a definite diagnosis until she is older as kids often grow out of it. We are not looking for medical advice (though if it were offered it might prompt us to ask a few more questions next time we see a doc).
We are getting quite good at predicting when she needs to go to hospital but it would be nice to have an insight into how well her lungs are working when she appears well.

[Andy H]

Personally, I would be wary of any cheap systems, how accurately have they been calibrated and how will that change overtime? Professional system will have guaranteed calibration and be backed up with regular recalibration, if this is necessary.

IME the setup and calibration along with the quality of the critical components are where corners are cut on cheap systems.

I agree absolutely - hence the question.

[Kevin Wood]

No personal experience but I know a few glider pilots who find them useful when flying at altitude. There you have the advantage of being able to put yourself in a position of mild hypoxia (in a 2 seater with a safety pilot) and verify that the oximeter is detecting the situation. It then becomes a useful indicator that complements good training in keeping yourself functional at altitude.

Using it in your scenario is a different matter, of course.

.. and it wouldn't have helped me yesterday when I was belting up through 10,000 feet and the valve on the oxygen bottle hadn't been opened. 

[tigers_gonads]

Standard issue for the yank F22 pilots at the moment