Hyperbaric
Oxygen Therapy:
Delivering Oxygen to Heal the Body
by Jennifer Stokes
The AMA
and the FDA have approved
HBO therapy for a number of conditions. |
Referred to as "the
most natural of medications," Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBO
therapy) can speed up the healing of a variety of difficult wounds;
reverse and reduce the effects of strokes, cystic fibrosis, multiple
sclerosis and head injuries; help treat radiation necrosis associated
with cancer; enhance immune defenses; and renew dormant, ischemic
neurons. Best of all, the treatment is painless and safe, even for
newborn children.
The premise behind HBO
therapy is simple: deliver more oxygen to oxygen-starved (hypoxic)
cells and the cells will recover more quickly. When cells in the body
are deprived of oxygen, they can either die or become dormant. If
oxygen is reintroduced to the area, it nourishes and revives the
dormant cells. The key to healing is getting oxygen to the area that
is cut off or suffers from reduced blood flow. This is what HBO
therapy can do.
Oxygen is normally
carried through the body by the red blood cells. The air we breathe is
made up of just 21% oxygen. HBO therapy uses a specially designed
chamber to safely deliver 100% oxygen to a patient at a higher
pressure.
By administering pure
oxygen in a pressurized environment, the blood and other body fluids
become saturated with oxygen. HBO therapy forces oxygen not only into
the red blood cells, but also the fluid blood plasma and the white
blood cells. The plasma releases the oxygen more readily than the red
blood cells, diffusing to areas (within one-hundredth of an inch or
slightly more) where the blood flow and oxygen supply is restricted.
Additionally, HBO therapy can induce new blood vessel growth, bringing
fresh blood and oxygen to the damaged tissues and dormant nerve cells.
The tissues can gradually repair themselves and return to normal or
near-normal activity.
Studies of HBO therapy
on stroke patients have shown marked neurological improvement, even in
patients who have been paralyzed for as long as 15 years. Wounds --
including burns, poorly healing skin grafts, and progressive
infections of skin or deeper tissue -- heal up to 30% faster with HBO
therapy. Plus, when therapy is discontinued, the positive effects
remain.
In the United States,
more widespread use of HBO therapy has lagged because many physicians
are not trained in medical school about the benefits of hyperbaric
chambers.
In other countries,
hyperbaric oxygen treatment is integrated into the medical system. In
Japan, for example, ambulances are equipped with portable hyperbaric
bags, allowing patients suffering from strokes, heart attacks, near
drownings and other emergency conditions to receive pressurized oxygen
on the way to the hospital. All medical schools in Italy include
hyperbaric oxygen treatments in their curriculum.
The good news is that
in the past ten years, publicity and understanding about HBO therapy
by the general public and the medical profession in the United States
has increased. The American Medical Association and the Food and Drug
Administration have approved HBO therapy for a number of conditions.
More insurance carriers now recognize the therapy as a treatment.
Currently, approximately 350 chambers are operating in this country,
though still a small number compared to other countries such as
Russia, where there are more than 3,000 chambers.
HBO therapy does
require a prescription from a doctor. Sometimes prescribed as a
primary emergency treatment, HBO therapy is more often prescribed as a
cost-effective additional rehabilitation. A trained, certified chamber
operator administers the treatment, which can vary from one to two
hours. The number of treatments varies with the condition. While in
the chamber, patients can rest or listen to music. The only discomfort
reported is minor ear or sinus pressure, similar to that experienced
when ascending or descending in an airplane.
Hyperbaric Oxygen
Therapy is not a cure-all, nor can it bring dead tissue back to life,
but it can and does assist the body heal wounds by providing the most
important and natural element of the body's function: oxygen.
To learn more about HBO therapy, read Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
by Richard A. Newbauer, M.D., and Morton Walker, D.P.M; consult www.strokedoctor.com
on the Internet; or contact Jim Thompson, Hyperbaric Supervisor at
American Marine Corporation's Hyperbaric Center in Anchorage, (907)
562-5420.
