Demand for pulse oximeters rises

Demand for pulse oximeters rises

Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com

Chennai:18.06.2020

With experts advising individuals to buy pulse oximeters to measure level of oxygen in blood, demand for the device has shot up. Online stores have ran out of basic models and are selling available stock at higher prices now.

When checked at half-adozen shops in Madipakkam, Nanganallur and Velachery, average cost was ₹1,500-₹4,500 a piece.

Except for corporate-run pharmacies, which already sell devices like diabetic kits, most retail stores don’t encourage sales of oximeters because there was no service guarantee and there was no one to approach if customers came back with complaint, said KK Selvam, who owns four pharmacies in Chennai.

“Moreover, we can’t return such products to dealers if they remain unsold. In online platforms, some store away the product now and sell it in the gray market at double rate later,” he added.

“Given the increase in infection rate, it was important not to ignore any mild illness. A pulse oximeter comes in very handy to monitor oxygen saturation level and can pickup hypoxia very early,” said public health expert K Kolandaisamy Hypoxia is a term used for low-oxygen level in the blood. Since Covid-19 is a predominant infection of the respiratory system, it results in impaired oxygenation of the blood. Therefore patients end up in hypoxia for which the first symptom could be death in most cases, say doctors.

“Unfortunately not many know that they are at the risk of hypoxia because they have silent heart problems which they have inherited. Once patients notice a drop in oxygen saturation level in the device, they don’t know the risk and can’t do anything about it anyway at home,” said AB Gopalamurugan, Senior Interventional Cardiologist from Kauvery Hospital, Chennai.

Patients have to be cautious and not self-medicate with oxygen canisters as their usage in few patients, particularly smokers who have Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), without medical advice could cause death.

Once the heart stops, you only have four minutes and only very few are brought to us within this time. So the best thing is to get checked as sophisticated options like cardiac defibrillators were available to save their lives, he added.