Yes, 98% is a very good oxygen level. It falls squarely in the normal range of 95% to 100% for healthy adults, meaning your blood is carrying nearly as much oxygen as it can hold. There’s nothing to worry about with a reading of 98%.
What the Normal Range Looks Like
Blood oxygen saturation (the “SpO2” number on a pulse oximeter) measures the percentage of hemoglobin in your blood that’s carrying oxygen. For most people, anything between 95% and 100% is healthy. A reading of 98% means 98 out of every 100 hemoglobin molecules are loaded with oxygen, which is excellent.
It’s completely normal for your reading to fluctuate by a point or two throughout the day. You might see 97% one moment and 99% the next. These small shifts reflect changes in breathing depth, body position, and activity level. They don’t signal a problem. Readings only become concerning when they drop below 95% consistently, which is the threshold where your body may not be getting enough oxygen to function well.
When 98% Is Actually Too High
For people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a reading of 98% can be a sign of trouble rather than health. Medical guidelines recommend that COPD patients maintain oxygen levels between 88% and 92%. Research published in the Emergency Medicine Journal found that hospitalized COPD patients with oxygen saturations above 92% had significantly higher mortality rates. Those in the 97% to 100% range had roughly three times the risk of death compared to those kept at 88% to 92%.
This happens because the lungs and brain in COPD patients rely partly on low oxygen levels as a signal to keep breathing. Flooding the body with too much supplemental oxygen can suppress that drive and allow carbon dioxide to build up to dangerous levels. If you have COPD and your pulse oximeter regularly reads 98%, it’s worth discussing with your care team whether your supplemental oxygen settings need adjustment.
Why You Might Feel Breathless at 98%
A surprisingly common concern is feeling short of breath despite seeing a perfectly normal number on the oximeter. This disconnect makes sense when you consider that oxygen saturation only tells you one part of the story. Shortness of breath can come from anxiety, deconditioning (not getting enough regular exercise), carrying extra body weight, anemia, allergies, or asthma. In all of these situations, your blood may be fully saturated with oxygen while your body still struggles with how it delivers or uses that oxygen, or your brain simply perceives a breathing difficulty that isn’t related to oxygen at all.
Being at higher altitudes also increases breathlessness even when your oxygen level looks reasonable, because the air is thinner and your muscles work harder to pull in enough of it.
When Your Oximeter Might Be Wrong
Pulse oximeters are useful screening tools, but they’re not perfect. Several factors can throw off a reading in either direction.
Skin tone. The FDA has acknowledged that pulse oximeters can produce accuracy differences between people with lighter and darker skin pigmentation. In some cases, the device may overestimate oxygen levels in people with darker skin, giving a reading of 98% when the true value is lower. The FDA is currently working with manufacturers to improve performance across all skin tones.
Nail polish. Dark-colored nail polish, particularly green, brown, black, and blue shades, can interfere with the light sensors and artificially lower your reading by 3 to 5 percentage points. Red nail polish, interestingly, does not appear to cause a significant change. If you’re checking your oxygen regularly, placing the sensor on a bare fingernail gives the most reliable result.
Cold hands and poor circulation. If your fingers are cold or your blood flow is restricted, the oximeter may not pick up a strong enough signal. Warming your hands for a minute before testing helps.
The Carbon Monoxide Blind Spot
One serious limitation of pulse oximeters that most people don’t know about: they cannot distinguish between oxygen and carbon monoxide attached to your blood cells. If you’re exposed to carbon monoxide from a faulty furnace, car exhaust in an enclosed space, or a house fire, your oximeter can display 98% while your actual oxygen delivery is dangerously low. In one study, patients with carbon monoxide levels high enough to be life-threatening (up to 44%) still showed pulse oximeter readings that never dipped below 96%, with a median reading of 98%.
This means a pulse oximeter reading should never be used to rule out carbon monoxide poisoning. If you have symptoms like headache, dizziness, confusion, or nausea and there’s any chance of CO exposure, the oximeter number is meaningless. A blood test is the only reliable way to check.
What Numbers Should Concern You
For a healthy adult, readings between 95% and 100% are normal. A consistent reading of 93% or 94% deserves attention, particularly if it’s a change from your usual baseline. Anything at or below 92% is considered low and typically warrants medical evaluation. Below 90% is a medical emergency.
Context matters more than any single number. A one-time reading of 94% when you just woke up and your hands are cold is very different from a persistent 94% while you’re resting comfortably. If you’re monitoring your levels at home, take readings at the same time of day, sitting upright, with warm hands, and track the trend over time rather than reacting to any single measurement.