What Is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Used For?

The tissues in your body require an adequate supply of oxygen to function. When these tissues sustain an injury, they’d need even more oxygen to survive. As you may already know, your body quickly starts to work and heal itself when you suffer from a wound. But as impressive as this process is, wound healing can sometimes happen slower. This particularly occurs in more severe injuries or issues. Medical treatment that can promote healing time would be extremely beneficial. Fortunately, hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) offers just that. This treatment can increase the amount of oxygen your blood can carry. Medical doctors use HBOT to treat a wide variety of health conditions, including:

• Crush Injuries.

• Gas Gangrene.

• Cyanide Poisoning.

• Air or Fat Embolism.

• Delayed Radiation Injury.

• Decompression Sickness.

• Carbon Monoxide Poisoning.

• Necrotizing Soft Tissue Infection.

• Compromised Skin Grafts and Flaps.

• Skin or Bone Infection That Can Cause Tissue Death.

Experts also use HBOT for treating burns, severe anemia, and non-healing wounds such as a diabetic foot.

How Does It Work?

HBOT doesn’t need any needles, nor does it involve any incisions. Instead, the treatment only requires you to enter a highly pressurized tube-like chamber. It’s known as the hyperbaric chamber, and this is where you will be given pure oxygen to breathe. The air pressure inside is about three times higher than the normal pressure outside. At this elevated air pressure, your lungs can take in more oxygen as compared to normal circumstances. This lets your body carry more oxygen to your organs, enhancing the healing process. As you know, the tissues in your body need oxygen to live and stay healthy. In a hyperbaric chamber, your lungs take in more of this vital element. The oxygen is then transported throughout your body, restoring affected tissues. Besides reducing infection and inflammation, oxygen also helps in encouraging new blood vessels to grow.

What to Expect During Treatment

Every patient is different. So, treatment will vary depending on your condition and response to therapy. Nevertheless, most patients receive around 30 to 40 treatments. Each treatment lasts approximately a couple of hours.

The HBOT staff will conduct safety checks before each treatment. They will take your vital signs, listen to your lungs, and examine the inside of your ears. They will ask you about the pain you’re experiencing and see if you have diabetes. The staff will provide you with an item of clothing to wear and ask you to remove wigs, hairpieces, loose-fitting dentures, and contact lenses, among others.

HBOT is safe, and it’s not painful. You may feel some pressure in your ears, though, at the start of your treatment. The discomfort is similar to when you drive up into the mountains or fly in a plane. The staff will tell you methods on how to clear your ears. These include yawning, swallowing, or opening and closing your mouth.

Do you have wounds that haven’t healed for four weeks? At Bagnell Brain Center, we can look at your tissue injury and see if HBOT is right for you. Call our office today in Pinecrest, Florida, to schedule your appointment.

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