Blood disorders, circulatory problems, and lung issues may negatively affect your blood oxygen saturation level, as they may prevent you from adequately absorbing or transporting oxygen. Examples of conditions that can affect your O₂ saturation level include:

• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including emphysema and chronic bronchitis
• Asthma
• Collapsed lung (pneumothorax)
• Anemia
• Heart disease (In relate to BPM, ex: PARR function)
• Pulmonary embolism
• Congenital heart defects

The most common method of measuring oxygen saturation is pulse oximetry. It is an easy, painless, non-invasive method wherein a probe is placed on the fingertip or earlobe to measure the oxygen saturation indirectly.

Measurement of oxygen saturation is particularly important for patients with health conditions that can reduce the level of oxygen in the blood. These conditions include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, pneumonia, lung cancer, anemia, heart failure, heart attack, and other cardiopulmonary disorders. For adults, the normal range of SpO₂ is 95 – 100%. A value lower than 90% is considered low oxygen saturation, which requires external oxygen supplementation.

The most common symptoms of hypoxemia include headache, rapid heart rate, coughing, shortness of breath, wheezing, confusion, and blueness of the skin and mucus membranes (cyanosis). A drop in oxygen saturation below the critical level should be treated with oxygen supplementation. Depending on the severity of the condition, a physician can prescribe supplemental oxygen, which has the most direct effect on the oxygen saturation level. Under clinical use, technical mishaps such as circuit disconnection, airway dislodgement or obstruction, or inadequate oxygen administration were identified sooner and providers could respond before adverse events occurred.

Eating a healthy and balanced diet can also help improve blood oxygen saturation. Since iron deficiency is one of the major causes of low oxygen saturation, eating foods that are rich in iron, such as meat, fish, kidney beans, lentils, and cashew nuts, can be helpful.

Diabetes is a disease that occurs when your blood glucose, also called blood sugar, is too high. Blood glucose is your main source of energy and comes from the food you eat. Insulin, a hormone made by the pancreas, helps glucose from food get into your cells to be used for energy. Sometimes your body doesn’t make enough - or any - insulin or doesn’t use insulin well. Glucose then stays in your blood and doesn’t reach your cells.

Over time, having too much glucose in your blood can cause health problems. Although diabetes has no cure, you can take steps to manage your diabetes and stay healthy. Sometimes people call diabetes a touch of sugar or borderline diabetes. These terms suggest that someone doesn’t really have diabetes or has a less serious case, but every case of diabetes is serious.

Symptoms of diabetes include:

• increased thirst and urination
• increased hunger
• fatigue
• blurred vision
• numbness or tingling in the feet or hands
• sores that do not heal
• unexplained weight loss

Symptoms of type 1 diabetes can start quickly, in a matter of weeks. Symptoms of type 2 diabetes often develop slowly - over the course of several years - and can be so mild that you might not even notice them. Many people with type 2 diabetes have no symptoms. Some people do not find out they have the disease until they have diabetes-related health problems, such as blurred vision or heart trouble.

The most common types of diabetes are type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes - If you have type 1 diabetes, your body does not make insulin. Your immune system attacks and destroys the cells in your pancreas that make insulin. Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in children and young adults, although it can appear at any age. People with type 1 diabetes need to take insulin every day to stay alive.

Type 2 diabetes - If you have type 2 diabetes, your body does not make or use insulin well. You can develop type 2 diabetes at any age, even during childhood. However, this type of diabetes occurs most often in middle-aged and older people. Type 2 is the most common type of diabetes.

Gestational diabetes - Gestational diabetes develops in some women when they are pregnant. Most of the time, this type of diabetes goes away after the baby is born. However, if you’ve had gestational diabetes, you have a greater chance of developing type 2 diabetes later in life. Sometimes diabetes diagnosed during pregnancy is actually type 2 diabetes.

Other types of diabetes - Less common types include monogenic diabetes, which is an inherited form of diabetes, and cystic fibrosis-related diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes occurs when your immune system, the body’s system for fighting infection, attacks and destroys the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas. Scientists think type 1 diabetes is caused by genes and environmental factors, such as viruses, that might trigger the disease. Studies such as TrialNet are working to pinpoint causes of type 1 diabetes and possible ways to prevent or slow the disease.

Type 2 diabetes - the most common form of diabetes - is caused by several factors, including lifestyle factors and genes.

Overweight, obesity, and physical inactivity - You are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes if you are not physically active and are overweight or obese. Extra weight sometimes causes insulin resistance and is common in people with type 2 diabetes. The location of body fat also makes a difference. Extra belly fat is linked to insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and heart and blood vessel disease. To see if your weight puts you at risk for type 2 diabetes, check out these Body Mass Index (BMI) charts.

Insulin resistance - Type 2 diabetes usually begins with insulin resistance, a condition in which muscle, liver, and fat cells do not use insulin well. As a result, your body needs more insulin to help glucose enter cells. At first, the pancreas makes more insulin to keep up with the added demand. Over time, the pancreas can’t make enough insulin, and blood glucose levels rise.

You are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes if you are age 45 or older, have a family history of diabetes, or are overweight. Physical inactivity, race, and certain health problems such as high blood pressure also affect your chance of developing type 2 diabetes. You are also more likely to develop type 2 diabetes if you have prediabetes or had gestational diabetes when you were pregnant. Learn more about risk factors for type 2 diabetes.

Normalna temperatura iznosi oko 37 °C (98,6 °F). Doduše, normalna temperatura nije jednakog iznosa kod svakog pojedinca. Temperatura varira ovisno o godinama, čak i o tome koje je doba dana. Obično je najniža ujutro, najviša popodne te ponešto niža tijekom spavanja.

Od iznimne je medicinske važnosti redovito mjeriti tjelesnu temperaturu. Razlog tome je broj bolesti koje su povezane sa značajnim promjenama tjelesne temperature. Isto tako, progresija određenih bolesti može se pratiti mjerenjem tjelesne temperature, a liječnik može procijeniti djelotvornost započetog liječenja. Vrućica je reakcija na stimuluse izazvane bolešću, u kojem se slučaju regularna temperatura u kontrolnom centru mijenja kako bi se ojačala obrambena sposobnost tijela tijekom bolesti. Vrućica je najčešći oblik patološkog povišenja tjelesne temperature (vezanog uz bolesti).

Potrebno je prvotno odrediti jasnu razliku između tehničke preciznosti samog toplomjera i kliničke preciznosti mjerenja temperature. Preciznost toplomjera se određuje u idealiziranim uvjetima koji mogu jamčiti kvalitetu instrumenta, uzevši u obzir relevantne tehničke standarde. Preciznost od +/- 0.1°C se smatra vrhunskim visokokvalitetnim termometrom. Korisnik ne smije poistovjetiti ovu tehničku preciznost s preciznošću prilikom uporabe. Ljudska temperatura koja je ovdje opisana, a ovisi o lokaciji mjerenja i vremenu, ima veze s fiziološkim faktorima te nije vezana uz potencijalno neispravan termometar.

Rektalno - Najpouzdanija metoda mjerenja je umetanjem termometra u rektum (rektalno mjerenje). Ovo mjerenje je precizno s veoma malim postotkom odstupanja. Normalni raspon temperature je između 36,2°C i 37,7 °C.

Vaginalno - Kod žena, mjerenje tjelesne temperature na ovaj način pokazuje blago niži rezultat, u prosjeku 0,1°C do 0,3°C u usporedbi s rektalnim mjerenjem slične stabilnosti.

Ušno - Ušni toplomjeri mjere temperaturu bubnjića infracrvenim senzorom. Vršak toplomjera se jednostavno postavlja u ušni kanal, a rezultati se očitavaju u roku jedne sekunde! Osim što je prikladna, ova metoda je veoma pouzdana u slučaju kad se pouzdanost može dokazati kliničkom validacijom. Pomno dizajnirani ušni toplomjeri mjere veoma precizno bez velikih odstupanja. Optimiziran oblik vrška je osnova za dobivanje pouzdanih rezultata kod novorođenčadi i beba.

Oralno - Oralno mjerenje može se vršiti bukalno (prema obrazu) ili kao sublingvalno mjerenje (ispod jezika). Oba mjerenja imaju odstupanje od rezultata dobivenih rektalnim mjerenjem između 0.3°C – 0.8°C. Sublingvalno mjerenje smatra se preferabilnijim od bukalnog.

Čelo - Čeoni toplomjer nudi najneintruzivniji, te tako i najudobniji način mjerenja temperature. Jednostavno prislonite toplomjer na čelo pacijenta, a infracrveni senzor će detektirati najviše očitanje, dok će drugi senzor izmjeriti sobnu temperaturu. Razlika u mjerenjima se analizira, te ovisno o klinički uspostavljenim odstupanjima, očitanje tjelesne temperature se određuje i prikazuje na LCD zaslonu.

Pazuh - Mjerenja površinske tjelesne temperature u kliničkoj praksi vrše se pod pazuhom (aksilarno mjerenje) te između prepona. U oba se slučaja ekstremitet pritišće uz tijelo kako bi se smanjio utjecaj sobne temperature na mjerenje. Doduše, ovakvo mjerenje je samo polovično točno, s time da je vrijeme mjerenja veoma dugo. Kod odraslih, aksilarno mjerenje pokazuje u prosjeku 0,5°C do 1,5°C niže rezultate od rektalnog. Kod novorođenčadi, ova odstupanja u odnosu na rektalno mjerenje su puno manja.

U osnovi je točno da mjerenje tjelesne temperature uvijek ovisi o mjestu mjerenja. Prema tome, unatoč uvriježenom mišljenju, ne postoji blago rečeno "normalna" temperatura. Nadalje, tjelesna temperatura zdrave osobe varira ovisno o aktivnosti i dobu dana. Prilikom rektalnog mjerenja, uobičajena temperaturna razlika od 0,5°C između viših noćnih temperatura je fiziološka. Tjelesna temperatura se obično povisi tijekom tjelesne aktivnosti. Ugrubo rečeno, postoji razlika između unutarnje i površinske temperature. Površinska temperature se mjeri na površini kože, te je time zapravo pomiješana unutarnja temperatura sa sobnom temperaturom. Unutarnja temperatura se mjeri umetanjem toplomjera u tjelesnu šupljinu. Toplomjer tad prikazuje temperaturu sluznice šupljine.