This is a situation where the oxygen level of the patient may be low but he feels absolutely fine.
Corona Cases are increasing rapidly in the country. Many patients are hospitalized while many are being treated at home by being isolated. In such a situation, the most troubles are those patients whose oxygen level goes down. Corona patients are advised to keep track of their oxygen level on the oximeter and if a patient’s oxygen level is continuously low, he is admitted to the hospital. But do you know that there is a situation where even if the oxygen level of the patient is low, but in that case also he feels absolutely fine. This is called Happy hypoxia.
According to an India Today report, in March 2020, a patient went to the hospital in Indonesia. He complained of fever and sore throat. However the patient was fine and was also able to walk. His pulse, temperature and BP were also normal. But his oxygen level was 77. This was one of the first cases of corona where the patient did not know that his body needed oxygen. After this people came to know what is Happy hypoxia in corona cases.
Why is Happy hypoxia?
One of the reasons for this is that the capacity of the lungs to take oxygen through the breath is low due to which it is not able to send oxygen to the blood vessels. This can happen only if the blood vessels do not properly circulate blood in the body due to any blockage.
According to an India Today report, Dr. Rajkamal Choudhary, Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine of Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Bhagalpur in Bihar, said, “This is a serious situation.” According to my estimate, 30 percent of patients admitted to the hospital have Happy hypoxia.
He told that in many cases, oxygen saturation falls by 20-30 percent, which is the main reason for the death of the patient. At the same time, doctors treating Corona patients in Delhi say that this situation is seen more in the youth.
How to identify Happy hypoxia
According to doctors, for this, patients will have to continuously check their oxygen level on the oximeter. If the oxygen level is less than 90 percent, then the patient may need oxygen. If the oxygen level of the patients falls below 94, then they should talk to their doctor immediately, while if the oxygen level is below 90, the patient may need to be admitted to the hospital.
