For years, athletes have monitored their pulse and blood oxygen levels as a way to measure improvements in performance. If you’ve recently visited the doctor, you’ve almost certainly had those measurements taken with a fingertip pulse oximeter. Your pulse and blood oxygen saturation levels can provide important clues about our overall health.
While these devices are seeing a surge in popularity for monitoring your health at home, are pulse oximeters really necessary for self-care? It depends. The data, when tracked, can help your doctor to diagnose issues like sleep apnea and even COVID-19 related pneumonia, as the disease significantly reduces blood oxygen saturation, even when you may not show symptoms. They’re also useful for those folks who suffer from chronic breathing ailments like emphysema, COPD, and asthma.
From fingertip units to wearables like rings and bracelets that connect to your smartphone and offer downloadable data, we’ve found the best simple to use pulse oximeters available for both home and medical use. They’re all surprisingly affordable and make great gifts for the elderly members of your family as well as the athletic ones.
When a large, easy to read display is one of your main criteria, the Elinker fingertip pulse oximeter has to have one of the biggest, and this device gives you nearly instantaneous readings in just five seconds. This pulse oximeter can accurately determine your SpO2 (blood oxygen saturation levels), pulse rate and pulse strength.
It allows you to set the upper and lower limits for readouts on pulse rate and oxygen saturation and features an alarm when your readings fall out of your set range.
One button control makes operation simple, and it has an auto-shutoff feature after eight seconds. It’s made of durable ABS and the fingertip grip is lined with soft silicone for comfort. We also think you’ll like that it features a battery reading on the screen, so you’ll always know when it’s time to swap batteries. It comes with a lanyard included.
It’s very lightweight and affordable enough that you could easily stow a second device in a purse or backpack, especially if you were planning a strenuous climb. It also allows you to toggle display direction so you can easily read it.
If you’re looking for the perfect way to keep tabs on your heart rate and blood oxygen levels, whether you’re sick or healthy, this fingertip pulse oximeter is an easy way to monitor your real-time data in a matter of seconds. This handy unit runs on two AAA batteries and it comes with a lanyard, so you can keep it with you while working out or going for a run or walk. That means you’ll have more than 30 hours of use. You’ll also appreciate the automatic shut-off feature which happens within ten seconds of removing the device from your fingertip, so you’ll literally get thousands of uses.
It features a large and easy to read OLED screen that makes it simple to see your heart rate, SpO2 (blood oxygen,) and blood flow perfusion, plus a waveform to show pulse strength. It has a high-performance acceleration sensor that quickly allows the device to assess your readings, minimizing battery usage. The built-in silicone sheath keeps it comfy on your finger so it won’t feel pinched during use. It also features an alert if your reading are outside the normal ranges.
This is a great gift for seniors or anyone who may have health concerns, but it’s also a great way to keep tabs on your own health on a day to day basis.
If you’re someone who loves technology, and you also value a longer-term analysis of your health, the unique Wellue O2Ring Oxygen Tracker might be a perfect fit for your lifestyle. This ring connects with your smartphone via an app that allows you to continuously measure and track your blood oxygen levels and heart rate. In fact, this ring has a vibration alarm should your oxygen level or heart rate fall outside of normal thresholds.
This ring is comfortable enough to be worn at night, and the data from your app shows your overall graphic sleep report and trends for blood oxygen levels, heart rate, and motion. These reports can be important for your doctor if you’re showing signs of apnea or other sleep and breathing disorders.
Rechargeable in two hours via USB, the ring can be worn for up to 14 continuous hours on a single charge, although it’s also easy to use if you’re simply monitoring your heart rate and blood oxygen a few times per day. The automatic power sensor instantly puts this ring to work right when you slip it on your finger and the adjustability makes it suitable for most finger sizes.
Key Features:
Unique ring design
Vibration alarm for when heart rate or blood oxygen fall out of normal range
Smartphone app allows for longterm tracking of health data
When you’re shopping for a medical device like a pulse oximeter, it can feel comforting to buy one you know is among the most popular with users. That’s the case with the Fisi fingertip pulse oximeter. It offers five levels of brightness, six display modes, and four directional display meaning it’s one of the easiest to read of all.
In this era of COVID-19, one symptom of disease-related pneumonia is low blood oxygen saturation according to this article in The New York Times. In fact, many patients who do have pneumonia don’t report feeling the signature chest tightening or difficulty breathing. Having a device like this while you’re feeling ill is a good way to monitor your symptoms.
This pulse oximeter rapidly reads SpO2 and Pulse Rate which are graphed on the bright LED display. The LED display cover prevents ambient light washout, making readings crisp and clear. The average time for a reading is 8 to10 seconds. The unit automatically powers off when you’re finished using it.
This pulse oximeter comes with a lanyard. It operates for up to 40 hours on two AAA batteries, which are not included
Looking for both flexibility and serious accuracy when measuring your blood oxygen levels? The Rofeer fingertip pulse oximeter features an advanced single-chip and gravity sensor and uses the photoelectric sensor principle to collect your data and report it back to you in as little as six seconds. The silicone film fits the profile of your finger perfectly to ensure the most accurate results.
We like the flexibility of this unit for its rotating display modes giving you easy viewing of your blood oxygen levels, pulse rate, and pulse strength. Depending on the direction you hold this oximeter, you’ll see your pulse strength on a simple bar graph or a waveform graph. The screen is sizeable and easy to read. This unit also features an automatic shutoff feature and comes with a lanyard.
One thing we like is the larger power button which is simpler to use for those with dexterity issues. It operates up to 30 hours on two AAA batteries, however, this is one of the few models that doesn’t include them with the oximeter.
If you’re specifically looking at a pulse oximeter to monitor your sleep patterns, this wrist pulse oximeter from ViATOM is a less invasive and more comprehensive option that a fingertip model. It continuously tracks and records oxygen level, heart rate and body movement throughout the night through a ring sensor that is guaranteed not to fall off your finger.
Thanks to an integrated smartphone app, you can download all your sleep data and export it into a printable PDF or CSV file to share with your physician, although you also have the option to share the data electronically with your doc if they’ll accept the information that way. The bracelet has a bright LED readout and is comfortable to wear. This oximeter also has a vibration alarm should your heart rate or blood oxygen fall below the norm.
With this device, you can track your data by the day, week, month and year to give a longterm snapshot for evaluation. The rechargeable battery provides for up to 16 hours of continuous operation. While the device itself can store up to four sessions, you’ll want to download your data every couple of days so you don’t lose track of the health picture you’re trying to create.
When you’re looking for a fingertip pulse oximeter, you might like the ease of this pulse oximeter that has all the information you need available in just 6 seconds. This device not only shows the key information about heart rate and blood oxygen levels, but it also has a histogram to show your pulse strength as well.
The bright 1.5 LED display is brightness enables so you can easily read and interpret the numbers even in bright sun or dark rooms. This model self adjusts to different directions (think of your smartphone) so that the view is always positioned the right way to easily see your stats. It gives you a readout in seconds and automatically shuts off once removed to save on battery life.
When you’re that person who wants all the bells and whistles, or at least alarms when something is off-kilter, the ViATOM oxygen saturation monitor lets you know with an audible signal that either your pulse or blood oxygen levels have dropped below the norm. Because this wearable oximeter comes with and the Vihealth app for both Android and iOS devices, it will also send you an audible alert to your device.
It has a simple power button that’s easy to use and the longer ring length means the display is somewhat easier to read than the smaller wearable ring oximeter featured elsewhere in this post. You can also read your realtime results via Oxylink on your smartphone if that makes it simpler and when using the app you can also track your history for blood oxygen saturation, heart rate, and motion during sleep.
The soft silicone ring band makes this device comfortable to wear for longer periods of time, especially while sleeping. A rechargeable lithium-ion battery lasts up to 16 hours per charge. Get accurate readings within ten seconds.
Key Features:
Larger display size than other rings
Comfortable to wear while sleeping
High power rechargeable lithium ion battery
Double alarm option for oxygen saturation or pulse falling below normal
Vihealth app for Android and iOS lets you track data over time
If you’re looking for the ultimate multitasker to enhance and track your overall fitness and health, why not choose a device that includes a pulse oximeter, as well as a watch, calendar, fitness tracker, and more? The Garmin vívosmart 4 is a great way to focus on overall fitness that encourages and motivates you to keep data on all kinds of your health goals.
This isn’t any ordinary activity tracker. It has advanced sleep monitoring including information about your REM sleep and it can gauge blood oxygen saturation levels during the night with the wrist-based pulse ox sensor. The health-based monitoring tools include estimated wrist-based heart rate, all-day stress tracking, a relaxation breathing timer, Vo2 Max, body battery energy monitor, and more.
It’s the best combination of smartwatch, fitness tracker, and pulse oximeter in one, although the pulse ox function isn’t necessarily as accurate as a device devoted to those few data points.
The vívosmart 4 gives you vibration alerts for all notifications, including calls, text messages and more, with text reply available for Android users. It comes in five different wrist band color options and is safe for swimming and showering. Love that.
When you’re in the market for a medical-grade pulse oximeter, you want one that is FDA approved and comes with Windows compatible software for storing data on multiple patients. While you can certainly use the ChoiceMMed wristband pulse oximeter in a professional environment, it’s also reasonable to use it in the home environment to detect sleep apnea, low blood oxygen saturation, and more.
This pulse ox uses Medview software for measuring, displaying, storing and transmitting functional oxygen saturation of arterial hemoglobin (SpO2) and pulse rate for adult, adolescent, child and infant patients that can allow for careful medical evaluation if used in a clinical setting. This device is powered by two AAA batteries and it comes with a USB cable to download information.
Realtime stats are easy to read on the wristband’s LED display. A soft silicone finger pouch means there’s no discomfort during long term monitoring, and the adjustable wristband fits most sizes.
Key Features:
Medical grade device
Windows compatible software for tracking and analyzing data
When you’re little, any kind of medical testing can seem frightening, even one as simple as assessing blood oxygen saturation. That’s why we’re fans of this children’s fingertip pulse oximeter that is designed to look like a cute and friendly animal instead of something medical. Don’t mistake it for something less serious, because this pulse ox is meant to do the serious work required.
It can measure your blood oxygen level (SpO2) and pulse rate in as little as five seconds, and it features a plethysmograph that indicates the amount of blood flow for additional accuracy. The high-quality OLED display is bright and easy to read and because it offers rotatable multidirectional display, it can be viewed from any angle. If you’re curious about plethysmography and what kind of information it can provide, you’ll find this article from the experts at Healthline worth reading.
This unit comes with two AAA batteries, a lanyard, and a convenient carrying case to keep it protected. This device is suitable for kids from 2 to 12 years of age.
A pulse oximeter is a useful tool to have in your healthcare arsenal. It can help you keep tabs on your overall health and help you to push your athletic performance goals as well.
