If the tat is dark enough below the sensors, it could affect the reading. The same thing happens to some people trying to get a good heart rate measurement.
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Does blood ox work for you
- Thread starter Glene
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Sweet, you actually read the notes! Thanks for pointing that out, I obviously missed it.
My two measurements I initiated have been 100% (wut?). The ones it did on its own have been 98, 98, 99.
Consumer grade fingertip pulse oximeters have an accuracy of plus or minus 2 percent. I don’t know if Apple specifies it for the AW6.
I’ve used it a dozen times so far today to test. I’ve had no failures. Readings corespondent to the read outs on my finger oximeter. So it seems accurate.
44mm Wi-Fi Aluminum with a standard size Sport Loop. The same tightness as my previous AW.
44mm Wi-Fi Aluminum with a standard size Sport Loop. The same tightness as my previous AW.
I'm usually at 89 or 90 (not on an apple watch but I currently wear a Garmin Vivosmart - gave my version 3 to my wife to get her more excited when I get us both newer Apple Watches.). I will sometimes take an unexpected deep gasp of air. I will tell my wife I forgot to breath. She tell me I am nuts. I know I am constantly breathing but I will sometimes not breath deeply enough if I am concentrating on something else.
Lots of people hold their breath when concentrating. Google unconscious breath holding. It’s not likely to cause anything too drastic as you’ll remember to breathe eventually!
My doctor would almost certainly tell me to stop paying attention to my watch!
Instructions on these things are often frustrating. My Garmin 6x has a habit of reading a bit widely, and at times refusing to read at all for no obvious reason (can try several times), then later no problems. May be down to my state (hot/cold meaning veins are out or in etc. It would help if the instructions made this point.
I have found the fool proof procedure 4 me to get a good reading involves finding a chair that has good arm support, like the end of the couch or recliner. Set your arm completely flat on the arm of the chair, and do not move your arm, not even a little bit. I also always tighten the band one notch from my normal Settings. Then hit the button. Doing this, I get a reading every time.
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Mine read 94% first read, and then 15/20 seconds later 95% read, then a few moments later 92% read, than the last one before I uninstalled the app was that 98% read. This thing doesn’t work very, well so what’s the point of having it? And since it’s not medically certified I think we are are relying too much on this function. Might as well buy a certified reader from Amazon and get better results if you’re that much inclined to watch over your health.
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That happens to me sometimes, more often when I’m wheezing or generally not breathing well overall. I’ll suddenly find myself taking a huge breath, totally involuntarily. I think it’s like yawning: my body needs oxygen, and it just took over to get it.
100% is a normal reading for both a pulse oximeter and this type of sensor. 95-100% is optimal.
Uh, that’s exactly how my pulse oximeter fluctuates. And how the one at the hospital fluctuates. Because that’s how it works. No one is at 100% (or 97% or whatever) all the time.
If you’re not used to seeing blood oxygen results, you might want to look into it before deciding that readings that move a few percentage points up or down means the sensor is flawed. It’s not.
Geoffrey Fowler of the Washington Post just wrote an article on the inaccuracy of the oxygen sensor in both the AW6 and the Fitbit Sense. "Both [devices] have new blood-oxygen apps. They're mostly useless."
Review | The new Apple Watch says my lungs may be sick. Or perfect. It can’t decide.
Both the Apple Watch Series 6 and Fitbit Sense have new blood-oxygen apps. They’re mostly useless.www.washingtonpost.com
Thanks same type of review from the Wall Street Journal’s Joanna Stern and she is usually a great Apple reviewer. Think will cancel my 6 upgrade and just keep the 5. Apple really needs to start making better advances.
Apple Watch Series 6 and SE Review: Watch Out for the Upsell
Hoping an Apple Watch Series 6 could replace your pulse oximeter? Don’t count on it giving you reliable blood-oxygen readings, says Joanna Stern.
www.wsj.com
lol hold your breath for a few seconds and make a reading. Then take a deep breath and make a reading. Of course the numbers are different
Mild stages of COPD here as well so keeping an eye on this with a standard pulse/ox meter is key for us. I'm watching this feature with great interest but it's not looking too good, one thing we know for sure is the when it's used on the finger it requires a really snug fit to accurately measure, it also prevents motion with a foam pad. Otherwise the readings can easily skew. TBH I'm not sure how the watch can achieve this on a consistent basis without sitting just right.
don’t understand your comment there. I didn’t, nor would I, hold my breath for a few seconds and take a reading then take a deep breath and take another reading. Of course I know the readings would be different. I breathe normally as I would do with the medical grade sensor. Even Apple said this is not a medical grade device so you shouldn’t take too much stock in it. Anyone thinking about it should be used as such need to see your doctor.
Very confusing comment.
I posted enuf on this thread and made my feelings known but I’ll try one last time. The blood oxygen level that you get is a moving number. Just like your blood pressure can be high when you first get to the doctors office and after 20 minutes if they take it again the numbers change. Blood ox is exactly the same way. As long as your numbers are above 95 you’re in good shape. And as far as a lot of people saying it doesn’t work or is incorrect, there’s several people here that have said it worked fine along with the person who posted pictures of the blood ox and the finger pulse meter getting the same. Attached is the blood ox numbers for the last two years taken at my hospital with their professional instruments. As you can see it’s never the same number. As someone said above look for the trend not for the actual numbers. The watch, used the right way, is as accurate as a finger pulse ox device.
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HaHa, yeah, I actually had to go back and re-read it because I couldn't figure out why the setting was missing from my Health app.
Small variance is not the issue. That's normal. The problem is large variances like when I took a reading from the watch and a fingertip pulse oximeter at the same time. The watch read 88% and the fingertip device read 97%. I would have been happier if the watch reported it had failed to get a reading. I followed Apple's directions precisely, my wrist anatomy is normal, I have very good pulmonary function and this was just one example where the watch was much lower than the fingertip device. An accuracy range of +/- 2% is normal for fingertip monitors, but a variation of 9% is not. There were occasions where the watch and the fingertip monitor had the same or similar readings, but there were too many times where the variance was too large.
I upgraded from a Series 3 so the blood oxygen measurement was not the only reason I bought the watch and I'm happy with it otherwise. But if accurately monitoring blood oxygen levels is important for someone, they shouldn't rely on it. They'd be better off with a fingertip monitor.