Our New Device—The Pulse Oximeter—and Why You Want To Get One
Those of you that have been in for acupuncture since we reopened in May have experienced a new medical device—the pulse oximeter. It’s loosely clamps onto your finger and measures your oxygen saturation and your pulse rate.
Why measure your oxygen saturation?I think knowing your baseline oxygen saturation is a good thing right now. Not surprisingly, people that get pneumonia from Covid-19 have low oxygen saturation. But there are 2 weird things in Covid-19 patients:
- Some patients don’t show any breathing problems even though chest x-rays show pneumonia and their oxygen saturation is well below normal.
- Some patients have such extremely low oxygen saturation that they should have passed out, but they are awake and alert.
So it’s a good thing to know what your baseline is while you are healthy in case you get sick and need to monitor your oxygen saturation.
What is normal?Normal oxygen saturation is between 94%-100% at sea level. Some patients with COVID-19 have oxygen saturation as low as 50%. I’ll measure it at your appointment and let you know what your normal level is.
Why do you want to have one at home? Pneumonia and low oxygen saturation without symptoms is known as “silent hypoxia” and it often goes unnoticed because it’s hard to detect without the normal symptoms. But it’s very easy to measure and detect with this simple device. If you come down with virus or cold-like symptoms, it’s recommended that you measure your oxygen saturation twice a day. Then you can rest assured or seek treatment early.
Where to get one? They sell them online and at drugstores. They were hard to get your hands on at the start of the pandemic, but there are lots in stock now. We just ordered this high quality one to replace the one I got in a pinch back in April: https://innovo-medical.com/collections/innovo/products/ip900ap.
Please share this helpful information with your loved ones. I have one at home and so do my parents!
What We’re Treating In The Clinic–And How You Can Help!NEW Patients! That is not what I would have predicted in a global pandemic. I thought people that know and trust us would feel comfortable coming in, but most others would be wary of trying anything new. However it turns out that more people are now motivated to get and stay healthy. And they’ve realized that western medicine does not have all the answers–especially for stress reduction, immune boosting, pain, and chronic conditions with underlying inflammation. I think people have also realized that small medical practices like ours have a lot of control over our sanitization and safety protocols to help keep them as safe as possible.
So while there are still patients that are choosing not to come in for appointments, our business is being kept alive with new patients. We get a boost of energy because we love helping people learn about different options for their healthcare and help them to thrive for a long time. And we’re grateful for their trust and their business.
The best ways for us to connect with new patients that are a great fit for our brand of wellness care are through your personal referrals and online reviews.
If you know someone who is facing a health challenge or is just wondering how to stay healthy in our current world, ask them if they have considered acupuncture. If they are interested, have them call or email us so we can answer their questions.
We know that the number one concern is that getting stuck with acupuncture needles will hurt. You can tell them that most people get really relaxed and even fall asleep during their treatment – which would not be happening if they were in pain! If your referral gets in touch with us, we can explain that Christina practices a style of acupuncture which is really gentle while still being extremely effective, and that she is well known for treating needle phobic people. Many of those patients end up loving acupuncture and referring their needle phobic friends!
The number one question people have is “Will it work?” That’s where it’s helpful to both share your experience and have them get in touch with us. We can let them know if we’ve treated their condition before and what to expect.
And if you’ve enjoyed your care here, we’d really appreciate you taking the time to leave us a personal review online. Pretty much everyone who researches online and chooses us, ends up being a great fit here. That is because when they read personal reviews, they can feel that we’re the place for them. It would really help us out for you to leave a personal review on Yelp and Google Business (just scroll down to “Write a review”) so more of our people can find us and get the help they need.
Here’s to a renewed interest in health and being open to new options for health care–two of our favorite things!
Thrive Is Open To All PatientsA lot of patients have been asking so I’ll let you know that we are not in danger of closing. As primary care providers of medicine in CA, we don’t expect to be asked to close down. Additionally, we are well stocked with cleaning supplies and masks and have our sanitization procedures dialed in.
We closed during the initial period of shelter in place because there was so much unknown and we couldn’t get reliable supplies of the basic things we needed to operate safely (masks, hand sanitizer, cleaning product, or even paper towels!). Although it feels like we are still lacking a lot of information, we’ve actually learned a lot since March. We know that the main way the virus spreads is through respiratory droplets and that surface transmission is less of a concern than originally feared. This does not mean we’ve reduced our sanitization, but it does mean that I’m confident in our mask wearing, air purifying, and surface sanitizing protocols to keep us AND you as safe as can be so we can continue to help as many people as possible.
Patients keep telling me that having acupuncture back in their life has really made a big difference in their health! Everyone is reporting they feel more like themselves and their different imbalances are feeling a lot better–pain, stress and anxiety, hot flashes, sleep, digestion – you name it. Plus they’re excited to be supporting their immune systems!
All the info about our COVID-19 screening and protocols can be found here on our website.
If you would like to schedule an appointment you can call, email, or use our online scheduler (don’t forget to click CONFIRM in the confirmation email, otherwise we won’t know you tried to make an appointment). We’ll reach out to screen you. If you would like to discuss your needs and whether it makes sense for you to come in, let us know and we’ll give you a call.
Join the Quiet Revolution: Growing More Peaceful Membership Community
Back in March I started hosting a weekly stress reduction zoom session with my mentor Julie Gleeson of The Art of Living, Inc. We have been delighted, moved and touched by the feedback we have gotten from participants, so we’ve decided to continue to grow the community.
While we started this group because we wanted to support people who were overwhelmed with navigating the unknown of a pandemic, life has continued to unfold with heated upset and divisiveness that people are having big emotions about. The intention of Growing More Peaceful is not to ignore our anger, frustration, anxiety, or sadness, but to take a moment to put down nagging, all-consuming negative feelings that are distracting us from who we are and what is ours to do. It’s worthwhile to take a breather and look in the direction of growing more peaceful, because that is just the thing that will give you the clarity, creativity, and energy to see what is yours to do that can help make the world a better place.
Here’s some of what people have been telling us they get from the sessions:
- “I have to tell you that I have felt so much better mentally in general since the Tuesday meeting. Thank you.”
- “For me, these meetings reinforce that concept of quieting the intellect/monkey mind and waiting to hear the whisper of one’s inner wisdom/common sense. I learn this again and again, and yet it is not the first place I turn, so obviously I need the repetition of the lesson!”
- “I felt so grounded after listening last Tuesday. My mind was quiet. I was relieved. Body and mind at peace.”
- “The meetings also give me a sense of community, a feeling of unity of purpose that lingers after the close of the hour. “
We’re so confident in how helpful this understanding is that the first month is FREE, so you can come check it out without any pressure. Click this link for all the information about the community and the link to register.
Sending you, our community, the animals, the plants, and the whole world so much love!
Christina Ness-Hawks, LAc
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