Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is safe, efficient and easy. An experienced practitioner can customize a treatment schedule specifically to your condition.
First, you will enter a large, clear chamber. There, you will breathe pure oxygen at pressures three times higher than sea-level atmospheric pressure.
Intensive Treatments
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy may be most commonly associated with scuba diving accidents or carbon monoxide poisoning, but it can be useful for numerous conditions. It works by administering large quantities of oxygen directly into your bloodstream to speed healing and fight infections; repair tissue damage due to crush injuries or wounds that won’t heal; provide boost for skin grafts/flaps where other treatments fail; as well as provide support during skin graft/flap transplant procedures.
Procedures may differ depending on your condition and its severity. If, for instance, you have an infection resistant to antibiotics, we may use HBOT therapy to provide your body with enough oxygen so as to overcome and ultimately overcome it. Sometimes more intensive sessions will be necessary so as to fully recover from an infection.
Once in the chamber, we will gradually increase pressure to your desired level. The process should not be painful; some patients may experience a popping sensation similar to taking off on an airplane; if necessary we can slow or stop this step as needed. Once pressure has reached comfort, we’ll allow you to rest for several minutes before diving deeper – during this time you can watch television, listen to music, meditate or simply relax; your therapist will communicate with you throughout this journey.
After a few minutes, we will gradually increase the pressure to your prescribed levels. You can communicate with your therapist through the mask, who can hear your voice clearly through its microphone; regular readings of vital signs will be taken during this period as well. Once we reach your prescription, you can relax or sleep comfortably in our chamber; many patients find this time especially relaxing, particularly those suffering from chronic stress or anxiety disorders.
Some patients may need daily HBOT sessions, especially those suffering from serious conditions or injuries that need healing quickly. We will work closely with your physician to establish the most beneficial frequency for therapy in your particular circumstance.
Chronic Conditions
HBOT can be an effective therapy for chronic wounds that take an extended amount of time or fail to heal, arterial and venous insufficiency, carbon monoxide poisoning, refractory osteomyelitis (bone infection) and certain infections associated with diabetes. HBOT helps increase new small blood vessels in tissues with low capillary density such as diabetic foot ulcers; neutrophils (white blood cells) play an integral part in killing bacteria as a part of chronic infections treatment as well.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatments tend to be painless. You’ll lie on a special bed before entering a transparent acrylic chamber where pressure will gradually increase — similar to changing altitude in an airplane or rising and falling with diving bell pressure — causing an uncomfortable full feeling in your ears that quickly subsides when depressurization begins. When leaving, your ears might pop as they adjust back to atmospheric pressure levels again.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy typically lasts around two hours per session and its frequency will depend on your condition and doctor’s recommendations. You can watch TV or listen to music while in the chamber; most people don’t find it claustrophobic; just make sure not to bring any items that could spark static electricity, like beards or long hair, to reduce static. You will receive gown and cotton clothing as part of this therapy treatment, along with an oxygen hood which provides 100% pure oxygen.
At each session in the hyperbaric oxygen therapy chamber, your doctor will carefully monitor you and can make changes to your treatment as needed. They’ll also communicate with your primary care provider and most insurance policies cover this cost.
Some insurance plans require that you continue taking medications during hyperbaric oxygen therapy sessions, so it is essential that you inform both your physician and insurance provider of what to expect before beginning therapy. Furthermore, smoking impedes healing as nicotine causes small blood vessels to constrict thus decreasing blood flow to damaged tissue and inhibiting healing.
Short-Term Treatments
Pressurized oxygen chambers have long been recognized for speeding the healing process and combatting infection, providing effective care for numerous conditions including nonhealing wounds, stubborn bone infections (osteomyelitis), lung injuries due to smoke inhalation or carbon monoxide poisoning, decompression sickness and decompression sickness. Treatment often falls under insurance plans’ coverage though a referral from your physician or specialist may be required before beginning this type of therapy.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy sessions start by changing into 100 percent cotton hospital clothing and removing jewelry, hearing aids, cosmetics and plastic items that could create static electricity and damage the chamber’s interior. Once in, you will enter what looks like a large clear room where you will experience full sensations similar to when going up and down on a mountain, flying an airplane backwards, diving underwater or changing altitudes while diving.
While in treatment, you will lie or sit comfortably and be free to read, listen to the radio, or watch television through one of the many portholes within the chamber. We will periodically check on you; should any signs of illness arise such as colds or flu symptoms, we may postpone treatment until these have subsided.
HBOT can stimulate new blood vessel formation while aiding existing ones to expand. Additionally, it has anti-inflammatory benefits, reduces swelling and promotes tissue growth while strengthening immunity systems as well as increasing natural antioxidants and free radical-scavenging compounds in the body. Furthermore, some antibiotics may even work more effectively against specific infections or chronic disease processes when combined with HBOT treatments.
Studies show that hyperbaric oxygen therapy offers significant medical benefits across a range of conditions, however for optimal effectiveness it must be performed on a consistent and ongoing basis. As it may be difficult for some patients to commit to daily treatments, we suggest working closely with your provider in determining an ideal schedule that works for both you and your condition.
Not only can this treatment enhance surgical results, it may also assist skin grafts and flaps that have failed elsewhere to successfully complete. Furthermore, it may strengthen your body’s bacteria-fighting capability against specific and aggressive infections like septic shock.
Long-Term Treatments
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has long been revered for its curative powers, yet how often a patient needs this form of therapy depends on his/her condition and doctor recommendations. Consultation with an expert in hyperbaric medicine will enable you to create an individualized treatment plan suited for you.
HBOT involves patients being placed inside a specially-equipped chamber filled with 100% medical grade oxygen and gradually increasing its pressure until oxygen dissolves into plasma, where it then travels directly to tissues that need it.
HBOT treatments are safe, noninvasive and painless; in some instances patients may feel their ears opening as the pressure changes inside the chamber (similar to driving up and down hills or changing altitude on planes). Patients are encouraged to watch television, listen to music, or chat with their technician during treatment sessions.
Short term, hyperbaric oxygen therapy works to downregulate inflammatory mediators and speed tissue repair through stimulating angiogenesis. Furthermore, this therapy increases oxygen reaching wounds in order to help avoid infections and speed healing processes. Long term benefits include improving cellular metabolism while decreasing inflammation by producing antioxidants – helping the body heal more rapidly while maintaining normal blood flow.
Chronic conditions often necessitate daily hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatments for optimal results, according to research studies on its benefits. On average, most of these studies use five treatments every week as the benchmark of success for hyperbaric oxygen therapy outcomes.
We employ this same protocol when treating severe conditions like carbon monoxide poisoning and decompression sickness, where we have seen dramatic improvements to patients’ wounds – some begin healing within just a few treatments; for others, their healing progress may take more time but still significant steps forward.
HBOT can augment the effectiveness of other treatments such as antibiotics and platelet-rich plasma therapies, and improve quality of life in chronic illness patients. When applied to radiation damage of the head and neck area caused by radiotherapy treatments such as radiosurgery or radiation damage from other causes such as chemotherapy or surgery, this therapy can reduce symptoms like dry mouth (xerostomia) and osteoradionecrosis (bone damage) associated with radiotherapy treatments such as radiotherapy treatments themselves.
