"To self-assess the seriousness of breathing issues I intend to make us of a pulsoxymeter."
I like the idea of owning a pulse oximeter and have them in all of my first aid kits. However, I think of them as providing immediate information about an acute breathing problem.
Your SpO2 should be around 98 always. If you go below 95, something is really wrong and requires immediate attention. You will be displaying signs of breathing difficulty and you're not going to see if it lasts 24 or 48 hours.
If you are not tremendously affected by a cold/flu/coronavirus, I would expect you to have a ~98 SpO2 throughout, even if you feel terrible and perhaps feel your breathing is a bit labored.
" ... below 80% immediately ..."
Just to put this in perspective, all else being equal, you're not going to be coherent or functional in any way below 80%. I would personally call 911 if I saw an otherwise normal person below 90 and I would be very concerned if I saw readings below 95 - especially if the trendline was down ...
> If you think you’ll fret a lot about whether you need to go the hospital, get a pulse oximeter ($20 on Amazon). Readings consistently below 90-94% are pretty bad and mean you should seek immediate treatment.
[1]: https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/03/02/coronavirus-links-spec...
Is there somebody here who could suggest a rule set for when to seek help?
Something like: seek help if SpO2
- between 85% and 90% for more than 48 hours
- between 80% and 85% for more than 24 hours
- below 80% immediately
(actually I do feel mildly ill and as if breathing is a little bit more uncomfortable than usual - but according to my pulsoxymeter SpO2 is at healthy 98% with a pulse around 60 bpm. so everything seems perfectly fine)