HAPPY HYPOXIA

MRS. NANCY THOMAS
Page No. 6-11

The pandemic COVID-19added to the misery in the life of the people. The destiny of the world after
this unremitting pandemic remains as mystery.In spiteof practisingall the safety measures including
frequent handwashing, staying indoors, imposing curbs in society, maintaining social distancing
and ongoing vaccination drive,the contagious infection still grabs the earth.The symptoms
ofCOVID-19include fever, dry cough, tiredness,shortness of breath, chest pain or pressure,sore
throat, headache, diarrhoea, loss of smell and taste, rashes on skinetc. The latest symptom to get
included inCOVID-19list is ‘happy hypoxia’.Normally,our body shows symptoms of less oxygen
saturationsuch as headache, breathlessness, increased heart rate, confusion, bluish colour in skin,
fingernails, and lips. But, doctors who treat COVID-19 have noticed that the even after the oxygen
levels dip to a very dangerous level, patients do not get any breathing difficulty and seems to be
alright. Many patients may have arterial hypoxemia without any signs of respiratory distress. This
entity is described as silent or ‘happy’ hypoxemia.1Although some clinicians call this condition
‘Happy Hypoxia’ colloquially, the proper medical term is ‘Silent Hypoxia.3Understanding the
essentialpathology and symptoms of happy hypoxia may help us nurses to educate the general
public regarding the dangers of this entity and thus save the lives of many people around us. This
article focuses on various mechanisms involved in hypoxemia in the human body.
Keywords : COVID-19:Coronavirus Disease 2019
SARS-CoV-2:Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2
SpO2 :Oxygen saturation measured by pulse oximetry
PaO2 : Partial gas pressure of dissolved oxygen in the blood
PaCO2 : Partial gas pressure of dissolved carbon dioxide in the blood
V/Q:Ventilation/Perfusion
FiO2: Fraction of inspired oxygen
P(A-a)O2 gradient: the alveolar to arterial oxygen gradient