Help????checking oxygen level??circulation???

Question

Is it possible to know if you lack oxygen without a monitor thing? I remember being in the hospital and the nurses pressing lightly on my nail, does this work, if yes how do u do it and what should you see?

And how do you know if your circulation is bad, i pressed on my fingers on my left arm because it has been feeling numb and they didint turn pinkish or red. Does that mean anything??

Answer 1

Pressing on your nail bed is a non invaisive test which checks for capillary refill time. This is a rough measure of peripheral circulation, and has nothing to do with oxygen levels in the blood. A pulse oxymeter is a machine which non-invasively meaures blood oxygenation levels.
With the capillary refill, you press the area until it blanches whitish. Then you release the pressure and the skin should blush back to pink within two seconds. If it takes longer than that, then you may have circulation issues from diabetes, or peripheral vascular disease or low blood pressure or clotting disorders.
If your left arm is numb, you need to see a doctor to get it looked at because it could be anything from simple neuralgia to a fibroma.

Answer 2

I am not sure what symptoms you have..... lacking oxygen or circulation ... trying to give any type of diagnosis with out more information is... pretty much impossible.... They were pressing on you nail.... to check for capillary refill.... to determine the amount of time it took for the capillaries in your finger to refill with blood..pressing on your nail... stops the flow of blood into it... then the see how long it takes after its blanched or turns white to refill with blood and turn pink... this is only 1 single test that alone wont give a diagnosis...

Answer 3

Brilliant Very funny. lol