Got Asthma? Volunteer as a Research Subject C'mon, let's get this done!
Most frequently asked question
"Can you have an asthma attack with a normal sat reading"? The answer is..YES!
While it's a little unusual to see a person with a perfect O2 sat of a 100% during a severe exacerbation, its pretty typical to see sats in the 94-97% range. The reason for this, is that asthma is a disease of the airways , not the alveoli where gas exchange takes place. You have to be extremely sick before your sats will start dropping. Most asthmatics dont desaturate during the early stages of an attack, it usually only occurs if the attack gets worse or if there is a secondary underlying problem, such as pneumonia. An asthmatic with a low sat reading (below 88%) is considered critically ill.
