THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As the covid crisis is intensifying, the state is witnessing a severe shortage of pulse oximeters. There only a handful of pulse oximeters left in medical shops. The pulse oximeter is used for measuring the level of oxygen in the blood of patients. It has not even reached retail shops for the past three months. The shortage was due to reduced production and supply while COVID was declining.

Those who stay at home quarantine need a pulse oximeter to check their oxygen level and heart rate every three hours. Doctors recommend that health workers should be notified as soon as the oxygen level drops below 90 percent. Oxygen levels in a healthy person range from 95 to 100 percent.

The price of a pulse oximeter ranges from Rs 500- Rs 2000. It is learnt that some medical shops have begun selling the oximeter at a much higher price. Covid patients are at increased risk for respiratory diseases and pneumonia. In these, the air sacs in the lungs fill with pus. It affects the rate and volume of air entering the lungs and reduces the amount of oxygen in the blood. Therefore it is important to check the oxygen level periodically.

Shortage of oxygen concentrators
The state is also experiencing a shortage of oxygen concentrators. Oxygen concentrators are required for inpatients who need low levels of oxygen. Due to Covid, the supply of concentrators to the state was cut off due to the high oxygen demand. While the distribution is concentrated in Mumbai and Delhi, where Covid cases are high, it is not available elsewhere. Oxygen concentrators come mainly from China. The only way out is to rely on China as few companies make machines locally.

Sharp hike in price

With the increase in demand, the machines, which were priced at Rs 60,000, now cost up to Rs 1 lakh. The price of those that were priced between Rs 35,000 and Rs 40,000 has doubled. These are not available on online sites.