Can O2 levels drop in hot dry conditions??

[Trix]

I have search the internet and cant find a thing on this...then it hit me....trachy mums will know!

Isabelle has been off O2 for about 7 weeks since having her tonsils out. The other night (just before Simon flew to Hong Kong and I was home alone for 5 nights!) her sats were hovering around 93% and the monitor kept alarming. Heart rate was fine and so was everything else. This happened every night he was away and it was driving me mad! I ended up putting her on oxygen 1/32ltr/min for 1 night.

It was our first really hot summer week - 41degree celcius. So over the last 4 nights her sats have been around 93-94 and her heart rate around 110. Normally heart is 80's to mid 90's and O2 96% and above (we have to keep her 94% for Pulmonary Hypertension). She is not coming down with anything and hasnt been around anyone to catch something - if she was getting sick she would be after 6 days of this. We were wondering if hot dry weather would increase heart rate (The bodys way of cooling down) and also decrease O2 levels a few percent??

Would an Humidifier help is this was the case??

It is driving me mad and I about to throw the saturation monitor out the window!

Thanks
Tracey

[drct1245]

HMMM Tracey... that's a stumper... Has she been throwing more tantrums than usual right before bed? Ayden has been started this tantrum mode and we find that he sats lower those nights. (?) During the trach days, I would say definitely yes... but now she would have her nose and mouth to filter the dryness.

I would actually venture to guess that she is coming down with something. Ayden has gone a whole week with funky sats (even posted on it too :D) and then finally came down with something, unfortunately. I sure hope not...

[Trix]

Thanks Dawn - I hope she is not coming down with anything! She is eating, drinking and playing fine. No tantrums before bed. I spot check her through the day and she is fine. She napping now and her sats are ok. Must be just night time but it is baffling me as to why she was so fine then over night it happened and has been going on for 7 nights now!

I have just been to pick up a different monitor and I have checked to 2 together on her and the sats are the same.

We will leave it for a while and then perhaps call her respitory doctor. I think maybe her hypertension is playing up but then it would play up all day as well and not just night. Oh I dont know!

Tracey

[Niff]

Any allergy related asthma? I doubt my sats ever dropped, but when I was younger and had major allergy issues it was always harder for me to breathe at night than during the day. Shot in the dark, but maybe?

[Trix]

No allergies at all. Must just be her!

[bryantem]

Addy's never did. She does drop at night, and always has. She is usually 96-100 during the day (closer to 100) and averages around 93 at night. I always attribute the big difference to her bronchomalacia and everything relaxing when she sleeps.