Some reasons you could be short of breath but your oxygen saturation is good can be from the flu, common cold, illness, exercise, anxiety or allergies.
More serious conditions such as a heart attack, sudden airway narrowing or blood clot can also lead to acute dyspnea and shortness of breath with good oxygen saturation levels.
Shortness of breath does not equal saturation (SaO2%) and your level of dyspnea, or air hunger, does not always correlate with your oxygen saturation.
What this means is that you can be short of breath, even extremely short of breath, even in the presence of normal oxygen saturation.
A critical oxygen level is 88% or lower and you should get to the emergency room as soon as you can.
If you're using an at home oximeter and your oxygen saturation level is 92% or lower then you should call your doctor.
The normal oxygen saturation level for adults is between 97 percent to 100 percent and older adults will usually have lower levels of oxygen when compared to younger adults.
If someone is older than 70 years of age then a normal oxygen level can be around 95%.
Low oxygen levels can be dangerous if the oxygen levels in your body get way too low.
The normal oxygen level reading should be between and in a range of 75 to 100 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg)
If your oxygen level drops slightly below that level then there's likely not a serious health issue and you likely have nothing to worry about.
But when your oxygen levels get way too low then it can cause serious health issues and may even cause death and brain damage.
If you think your oxygen levels are too low then you need to see a doctor or go to urgent care for treatment to get your oxygen levels back up.
You may need to use oxygen to breathe properly if your oxygen levels drop way too low or stay too low.
Oxygen levels can sometimes drop a little which is normal but they should not drop a whole lot.