What Is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy? And
Why It Is Worth To Be Aware Of Its Existence...
“..I've seen what Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy can do for people who felt hopeless before giving hyperbaric oxygen treatment a try. The results have ranged from subtle to dramatic - what some call miracles and, having seen the changes, I can understand why…” (Amazon.com, Customer Review of “Oxygen Revolution” written by Paul G. Harch, M.D. of New Orleans)
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) or more appropriately, High Dosage Oxygen Treatment has been alternately called “highly effective”1 and “a therapy in search of diseases”2 and for the most part has remained a nearly unknown treatment in the world of western medicine.
There may be many reasons for this, but non more important than the lack of awareness or sufficient information on the part of some physicians and the general community. The price of unawareness eventually would be too high, like in the story posted by Mr. Brodsky, a road accident victim sustained TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury). If he'd been aware of his injury and the Hyperbaric Medicine's existence 27 years ago, would he have waited for so long before having Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy heal his brain?
We hope that information on this website will help you to set up a basic understanding of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy.
It might happen, one day the awareness of the Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) would become of a great value either for you or for your dearest, like it has already done for a plenty of people.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment Defined
The explicit definition of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy was issued by Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS):
"The patient breathes 100% oxygen intermittently while the pressure of the treatment chamber is increased to greater than one atmosphere absolute (atm abs). Current information indicates that pressurization should be at least 1.4 atm abs. This may occur in a single person chamber (monoplace) or multiplace chamber (may hold 2 or more people). Breathing 100% oxygen at 1 atm abs or exposing isolated parts of the body to 100% oxygen does not constitute HBO2 therapy."
Although the main healing factor produced by hyperbaric chamber – hyperoxygenation exists only temporary during the Hyperbaric Oxygen treatment, it allows to “buy-time” for the most intensive natural tissue viability processes to take place and a new blood supply to the damaged body sites to be established. The treatment produces immidiate and delayed effects. More details about Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment, click here...
What are HBOT indications and contraindications?
Clinical evidence of last decades have provided enough data confirming positive physiologic effects of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) in a number of health conditions. The HBOT benefits and positive clinical evidence lent credibility to the employment of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy worldwide.218
Unfortunately by the late 1970s, the tendency of unprofessional and often indiscriminate use of the hyperbaric oxygen treatment was recognized. For a variety of reasons some practitioners were searching to cure anything by Hyperbaric Chambers.
In order to prevent backlash from the strict scientific approach and protect patients from indiscriminate use, professional hyperbaric organizations had to establish guidelines for the employment of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. Learn about approved and investigational indications and contraindications to Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy...
Normobaric blood oxygenation and hyperoxygenation
In order to survive humans have to be able to extract oxygen from the atmosphere and transport it to their cells where it is utilised for essential metabolic processes. Some cells can produce energy without oxygen (anaerobic metabolism) for a short time, although it is inefficient. Other organs (e.g.brain) are made up of cells that can only make the energy necessary for survival in the presence of a continual supply of oxygen (aerobic cellular respiration). Tissues differ in their ability to withstand hypoxia (lack of oxygen). The brain and the heart are the most sensitive. Initially a lack of oxygen affects organ function but with time irreversible damage is done (within minutes in the case of the brain) and revival is impossible.
Hyperoxygenation of blood and plasma is the main therapeutic effect of hyperbaric therapy. By altering conditions of tissue hypoxia, controlled hyperoxygenation achieved in hyperbaric chamber facilitates the wound-healing processes such as fibroblast proliferation or angiogenesis.219 At a cellular level, by revitalizing the mitochondrial DNA and enzymes, hyperbaric oxygen can return damaged cells back to the life, like for example damaged brain neurons deprived of oxygen as a result of several possible reasons.
Regardless of specific cause of the brain damage, e.g. strokes, carbon monoxide poisoning, cyanide poisoning, brain hypoxia or autism – the mitochondrial biogenesis triggered by Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy will start returning cellular metabolism back to life, also healing ischemia by restoring blood flow around hypoxic tissues of the brain. Why and how it happens? Read more about hyperbaric hyperoxygenation...
What is hypoxia? And why most conditions associated with hypoxia can benefit from Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT)?
The life actually occurs at a cellular level with oxygen element playing the vital role in biochemical and physiologic processes of cellular metabolism by enabling aerobic cellular respiration. Hypoxia remains a constant threat throughout life. Often, the person affected will not likely notice symptoms of hypoxia. As the severity of hypoxia symptoms increases the hypoxia grow worse increasing associated risks.
Hypoxia types are often determined by specific causes of hypoxia in each individual case. Discover more about Hypoxic Hypoxia, Tissue Hypoxia, Histotoxic Hypoxia, Cerebral Hypoxia, Chronic Hypoxia, Altitude Sickness.
SPECT - Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography
SPECT stands for Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography. It is a type of nuclear imaging test that shows how blood flows to tissues of organs. This type of imaging shows brain function, as opposed to MRI or CT which show structure of organs such as a brain. Tests have shown that Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography might be more sensitive to brain injury than either MRI or CT because it can detect reduced blood flow to injured sites.
SPECT performed as a pre and post hyperbaric evaluation provides valuable insights into the mechanisms and actions of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy through oxygenation. Read more about SPECT...
Hyperbaric Oxygen Chambers
Often called an oxygen chamber or decompression chamber - Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber is a sealable vessel or room in which therapeutic gas is supplied by an air compressor.
Internal atmospheric pressure inside hyperaric chamber can be gradually raised, lowered and maintained according to a special treatment program called treatment protocol.
Hyperbaric chamber is constantly monitored for proper levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide. Oxygen chambers, decompression chambers, recompression chambers - all these terms are referring to essentially same type of devices capable to perform identical or similar operations.
Learn more about multiplce chambers, monoplace chamber, portable hyperbaric chambers, trasportable hyperbaric chambers, hyperbaric chamber manufacturers...
History and physical basis of Hyperbaric Medicine
The primary mechanism of Hyperbaric Medicine is governed by physical laws described by Charles, Boyle and Henry, also known as an ideal gas laws. Summarizing interrelation between gases, liquids, temperature and pressure these laws explain the physical basis of Hyperbaric Oxygen. Learn more about HBOT History...
Decompression Sickness, Air Embolism and High Altitude Sickness...
It can happen with a rapid ascent of an aircraft to an altitude or rapid ascent of a diver to a surface when a compressed air dive is immediately followed by exposure to reduced atmospheric pressure. The risk is increased when a dive or a flight is accomplished after several deep dives in succession without adequate time for re-equilibration. Air Embolism and Decompression Sickness where first two diseases where application of Hyperbaric Oxygen proved to have a life-saving effect.
So among people who are aware of HBO2, hyperbaric oxygen chambers and benefits of hyperbaric oxygen therapy are Navies, Divers, Pilots and Alpinists. People traveling or working at high altitudes where amount of oxygen is reduced due to reduction in partial pressure of air, inhale less oxygen than needed to satisfy metabolic requirements of their body. Therefore hypoxia or altitude sickness are not uncommon among alpinists, pilots, rescue workers and firemen who should be aware of the risks and symptoms associated with these conditions.
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