How Is HBOT
Administered?
The administration of HBOT is usually in one to two hour treatments
in either a monoplace or multiplace chamber. A monoplace chamber is
a one-person chamber, usually about 32 inches in diameter and 6 to
7 feet long and is compressed with 100% oxygen. A multiplace
chamber is a chamber that holds two or more patients. This chamber
is compressed with air, and oxygen is administered via a clear
acrylic hood or by regulated mask. The safest form of chamber to
treat one or more patients is considered to be a multiplace
chamber.
What Is the Importance of
Oxygen?
Oxygen is the most important and vital element for the survival of
life. The air that you are breathing right now consists of 21%
oxygen, 78% nitrogen, and 1% inert gases. Oxygen is essential to
sustain life in two ways: all of the body's major components
(water, protein, carbohydrates, and fat) contain oxygen, and oxygen
drives the chemical reactions that produce energy. Energy is
essential for the body's normal daily functions. With HBOT, oxygen
is more available for the cells and tissues of the body. This is
probably what makes HBOT so effective in some cases of cerebral
palsy, stroke, multiple sclerosis, Lyme disease, autism, chronic
fatigue, and infections, migraine headaches, all kinds of brain
injuries, elective or passive reconstructive surgery, sport
injuries, and many more ailments.
How Does HBOT
Work?
The psychological effect that HBOT has on the body is vasoconstriction (reduction of the diameter of the blood
vessels) and increased oxygenation of tissues. This vasoconstriction has the effect of allowing oxygenated blood
to reach tissues that don't have enough oxygen. Additionally,
oxygen is transported to tissues differently during HBOT. Under the
normal conditions of breathing room air, oxygen is transported only
via red blood cells, with arterial oxygen tensions achieving 200-300 mmHg. During HBOT, oxygen adheres to red
blood cells, white blood cells, and saturates the plasma. This
results in oxygen tensions of up to 2100 mmHg.
What Is HBOT
Like?
HBOT is quite similar to being on an airplane in descent to your
final destination or driving through the mountains where your ears
pop and pressure changes are common. Another similarity is when you
are swimming under water and the pressure on your sinuses and ears
is evident. In order to relieve the pressure, we would simply
swallow, yawn, or even pinch our nose and then blow with our mouth
closed. The body can't tell the difference between being underwater
or being in a chamber, so these maneuvers will work in a chamber as
well. If clearing or equalizing your ears is a problem, then other
techniques can be taught or "earplanes" (a special ear plug) can be
utilized.
How Long Is
Treatment?
Treatment times are usually one to two hours long. If your
treatment time is 60 minutes, you can expect 5 to 12 minutes added
for compression and another 5 to 12 minutes added for
decompression. The 60-minute treatment lasts an average of 74
minutes. If your treatment time is 90 to 120 minutes, expect 5 to
10 minutes added for an air break, depending on the depth of your
"dive", and another 12-28 minutes for compression and
decompression. During the treatment you can watch TV or your
favorite movie on videocassette, listen to music, read a book, or
even sleep comfortably.
Is It Confining in the
Chamber?
The chamber that we have holds 4 patients and is 60 inches (five
feet) in diameter so the confinement anxiety is not very
common.
How Many Treatments Do I
Need?
The number of treatments that a patient needs differs depending on
the patient's diagnosis. The average number of treatments is 20 to
40. The number of treatments is also dependent on the patient's
response to the therapy.
What Kind of Diagnoses Can
Be Treated with HBOT?
At Valley Health and Hyperbarics, we offer HBOT treatment
for the standard indications (diagnoses) currently approved by the
FDA. These include the following:
- Air or gas embolism
- Carbon monoxide poisoning and
smoke inhalation
- Clostridial myonecrosis (gas
gangrene)
- Crush injury, compartment
syndrome, and other acute traumatic ischemias
- Decompression sickness
- Enhancement of healing in
selected problem wounds
- Exceptional blood loss
(anemia)
- Necrotizing soft tissue
infections
- Osteomyelitis (refractory)
- Radiation tissue damage
- Skin grafts and flaps
(compromised)
- Thermal burns
- Intracranial abscess
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Nontraditional HBOT
Therapy
We also offer HBOT therapy for conditions that are considered
non-traditional indications for the use of HBOT therapy, and
currently are not officially approved by the FDA for the treatment
with HBOT. These include conditions, diagnoses, and diseases such
as:
- Stroke
- Autism
- Cerebral palsy
- Multiple sclerosis
- Lyme disease
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Chronic infectious
diseases
- Migraine and cluster
headaches
- RSD
- Elective plastic and
reconstructive surgery
- Sports injuries
- Peripheral vascular ulcer
- Crohn's disease
- Brain injuries of all types, and
many other ailments
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