Oxygen saturation is the percentage of oxyhemoglobin present in the blood. In other words, oxygen saturation tells us the measure of hemoglobin currently bound to oxygen when compared to unbound hemoglobin. In case your oxygen rate in the blood is low, the oxygen delivered to other organs including the brain will be less, leading to a condition called hypoxia. If the condition persists for a long time, it might affect the proper working of the brain and heart. This means that lowered oxygen levels in the blood can even result in death. Therefore, checking oxygen saturation levels is significant.
Oxygen Rates in Adults
Normally, an adult’s oxygen saturation rate must be somewhere between 95% to 100%. However, in certain medical conditions obesity can alter the rate as it can adversely affect your body. Smoking will also reduce oxygen levels in adults. Thus, you should be vigilant in avoiding smoking habits and incorporating healthy lifestyles so that you can promote optimal oxygenation. If not, you may end up experiencing any of the common respiratory problems such as sleep apnea, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and pneumonia.
Oxygen Rates in Older Individuals
With age, oxygen saturation levels may decrease as aging is related to natural changes that can impact oxygen rates. This happens because old adults are more prone to respiratory conditions like lung diseases, heart diseases, and other conditions that decline oxygen saturation levels like pulmonary fibrosis, COPD, and pneumonia. Unlike adults, regular respiratory checkups are mandatory for older adults.
Oxygen Rates in Adolescents
Adolescents is a period when your body undergoes significant changes due to puberty. During this period, you will have an oxygen saturation somewhere between 95% and 100%. However, this is only a standard rate that can easily fluctuate due to an unhygienic lifestyle or uncontrolled exposure to environmental pollutants. So, take special note that maintaining a healthy lifestyle is important for those in the adolescent period to optimize oxygen levels. If not taken care of, then your health will start to decline over time, leading to respiratory conditions like bronchitis, asthma, and allergies.
Oxygen Rates in Children
A child needs proper care and regular intervention from medical authorities to ensure their health condition as they have the maximum physical activity when compared to people of other age groups. Yet, they have a similar oxygen saturation rate to that of adults, ranging from 95% to 100%. But, due to their growth spurts, alterations in the oxygen levels are common. On top of that, respiratory conditions like asthma, and allergies can also bring significant changes in the oxygen saturation levels.
Oxygen Rates in Infants
Infants or newborn babies are slightly different from the other class of people. This is said because their oxygen saturation levels are considered normal even when they have 95% to 100% or 92% to 94%. The reason stated for this phenomenon is their natural lung development. However, the case of premature infants is different from healthy infants. They might require additional care as health concerns like respiratory infections, congenital heart defects, and others can cause major differences in the oxygen rate.
Is Medical Assistance Necessary?
Once you find that you are going through respiratory conditions like asthma or frequent dizziness, make sure to visit a health professional so that you may diagnose the issue as soon as possible. Timely diagnosis and accurate treatment can cure most of the ailments that are reported so far. So, you can expect an optimum result from your medication.
However, in the case of infants, children, and older adults, regular respiratory check-ups are required as they might ignore symptoms unknowingly.
