Any medical condition that interferes with a child's ability to breathe or to absorb oxygen in the bloodstream can cause serious and long-term problems to the child's developing body. Doctors ensure enough oxygen is making it to internal tissues by measuring blood oxygen saturation, typically using a painless clip-on device called a pulse oximeter. If the child's blood shows low saturation, an external oxygen source will help get more oxygen into the red blood cells and to the tissues.
Definition
One of the functions of your bloodstream is to carry oxygen from the lungs to organs and other tissues. Oxygen saturation is a measure of how much oxygen the red blood cells in the bloodstream are carrying. The more oxygen carried, the healthier your organs are going to be. If the oxygen saturation drops, you can quickly suffer tissue damage, which in some cases could be irreversible.
Normal Saturation Levels
MayoClinic.com says normal blood oxygen saturation runs in the range of 95 percent to 100 percent. It may occasionally fall below this level, but as long as it stays above 90 percent, there is no cause for alarm. Oxygen saturation readings below 90 percent indicate a condition called hypoxemia, or low oxygen. An occasional and brief drop to this level is not unusual as your breathing patterns change, but a low saturation reading that persists is a reason to be concerned.
Diagnoses
Any condition that interferes with a child's breathing can cause hypoxemia. Conditions such as bronchopulmonary dysplasia or cystic fibrosis might be a source of long-term or permanent inability to process oxygen efficiently and a persistent low blood oxygen saturation level. Other conditions such as asthma or pneumonia also interfere with the lungs' ability to transfer oxygen to the bloodstream and so can have long term effects on the rest of the body.
Monitoring
For an exact oxygen saturation reading, a doctor will take blood from an artery and send it off for an arterial blood gas test. However, it isn't often doctors need such a precise reading. Instead, most children's oxygen saturation is monitored using a pulse oximeter. This is a device which clips to the child's finger or toe. It shines a red light through the digit, which is picked up by a sensor on the other side. The amount of light that gets through is a measure of how saturated with oxygen your child's blood is.
Therapy
In addition to treating the underlying cause of hypoxemia, doctors will also address the child's immediate need for normal oxygen levels. Your child will be given oxygen through a face mask that covers the mouth and nose, or a cannula, which is a pair of small tubes inserted directly into the nostrils. The child will merely have to breathe normally and go about daily activities. This maybe a temporary or a long-term solution depending on the underlying cause of low blood oxygen.
