What is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy? ...

What is the purpose of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy? ...

How often are treatments given? ...

Are there any side effects to Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy? ...

What happens during the treatment? ...

What about safety? ...

What items should not be brought into the chamber? ...

What about Medications? ...

What if I am Afraid of being in Confined Spaces ? ..

Why won't some wounds heal ?...

What is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?       BACK TO TOP  

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBO2 or HBOT) is a unique method of delivering high doses of oxygen in order to help the body heal. 'Hyperbaric" means greater than barometric or sea-level air pressure. It is accomplished by breathing 100% oxygen while inside a Hyperbaric Chamber that is pressurized to greater that normal barometric pressure. At normal atmospheric pressure the only way oxygen can be carried to body tissues is by the red blood cells.

The increased pressure produced in the hyperbaric chamber permits the oxygen you breathe also to be dissolved in the liquid (plasma) part of your blood. This extra disolved oxygen in the blood plasma permits the delivery of oxygen to tissues in your body in amounts that cannot occur by any other form of oxygen treatment. This increased oxygen promotes the bodies own healing mechanisms and helps fight infection.

What is the purpose of Hyperbaric Oxygen       BACK TO TOP  
Therapy?

HBOT is an "adjunctive therapy"; that is, it is used along with other forms of medical treatment prescribed by your Doctor. HBOT is not a "cure all", but a part of your total medical or surgical care. The extra oxygen not only helps wounds heal; it also stimulates the body's own immune system and helps the body fight infection.

How often are treatments given?       BACK TO TOP 

Each treatment takes approximately 90 minutes. Patients are generally treated once a day, 5 to 6 days per week, for a total of 20 to 60 treatments depending on the medical condition and response to therapy. Some medical conditions may require therapy twice a day. During the therapy, you may watch your favorite movie or TV program, listen to the Radio, or even sleep. You are always in direct communication and under the visual supervision of our staff.

Are there any side effects to Hyperbaric        BACK TO TOP 
Oxygen Therapy?

Normally, the only significant side effect is that it is necessary to equalize the pressure in the ears. A few patients have noticed an improvement in vision; others have had a slight worsening of their vision over a very long course of treatment. This is only a temporary condition, so save your glasses, because if your vision changes, it will normally return to its pretreatment condition. If you have a change, you should wait 3 or 4 months after you have finished treatments before having your eyes reexamined.

If you have cataracts, there is a remote chance they may ripen. If you have questions about this, our staff will be glad to answer them for you.

What happens during the treatment?       BACK TO TOP 

The first thing you must do to prepare for your treatment is to change into a garment made of 100% cotton. You may come to the hospital already dressed in clean all cotton clothes. Many patients like to wear a sweatshirt and pants during treatments.

A Technician will assist you onto a stretcher and place you in the chamber. Now we are ready to pressurize the chamber; at this time you will need to equalize the pressure in your ears.

As the treatment begins you will hear some noise, like wind blowing, as the chamber fills with oxygen. Compression takes about 4-10 minutes and you will have to equalize your ears several times during this phase. Notify the Technician at the first sign of discomfort in your ears or sinuses so we can stop compression and help you equalize.

You will notice the chamber gets warm during compression. When our treatment pressure is attained, we will continually ventilate the chamber with fresh Oxygen and control the temperature during the entire treatment.

After your treatment is finished we slowly decompress the chamber. This takes about 4-6 minutes and you will notice that the chamber temperature is cooler. You don't need to blow into your ears during the decompression phase. Your ears will clear automatically, but you may notice a "crackling" or "popping" sound. This is completely normal.

What about safety?       BACK TO TOP 

A Hyperbaric Treatment is much safer than, for example, flying in a commercial airplane. To eliminate any risk to your safety while inside the chamber, we take several precautions. Precautions include electrically grounding your body to the chamber, and the use of 100% Cotton to eliminate any possibility of static electrical sparking that might occur with synthetic fabrics. Here are more precautions:

What items should not be brought        BACK TO TOP 
into chamber?    

•  Smoking materials, lighters, or matches

•  Hand warmers, or any device that may create heat, fire
   or sparks

•  Vaseline or oil based products like lipsticks, hair oil, hair
   spray, make-up, and skin lotions

•  Hearing aids, some pacemakers, and other electronic
   devices

•  Newspapers, or other loose papers except one book or
   magazine

•  Synthetic garments such as polyester, nylon, rayon, etc.

•  False teeth or other appliances;consult the Technician
   about this.

What about Medications?       BACK TO TOP 

Your Doctor will determine what medications may be continued or must be interrupted during your course of HBO2 therapy. Bring your medications with you when you first come in for your initial Hyperbaric Therapy orientation, so we may include your medications in your medical chart.

What if I am Afraid of being in Confined Spaces ? BACK TO TOP 

Some patients have an initial concern about being inside the hyperbaric chamber. But the fact is that we have conducted thousands of treatments without the patient feeling "confined" or "claustrophobic". The key to alleviating any "confinement anxiety" is in your Pre-Treatment Orientation so that you understand the complete procedure. Always remember that:

You can See - The chamber is clear acrylic plastic and the Patient can see through it. In fact, you may be so busy watching TV or your favorite video; patients often forget time.

You can Move - The Chamber is nothing like being in a MRI; the chamber is large, and you can move around to get comfortable, anytime.

You can Communicate - You can speak and always be heard and spoken to by the Technician.

You can Always Get Out - A Patient's feeling of "confinement anxiety" comes from the misunderstanding that the patient is not in control of their treatment and cannot get out of the chamber. This is simply not the case. A Patient may speak to the Technician and get out of the chamber at any time. However, Patients must understand that a short treatment or missed days will dramatically reduce the positive medical effect of their Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatments.

Why won't some wounds heal ?       BACK TO TOP 

Many non-healing wounds are actually caused by another illness or underlying medical condition that the patient may not be aware of. Diabetes, smoking and other causes of poor blood circulation, heart problems, poor nutrition, and conflicting combinations of medications can cause problems to develop—especially in the legs and feet—-that simply will not heal using conventional medicine.