What is it like inside a Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Chamber?

Drew Griffin — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 01:44:34 +0000

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is an adjunctive therapy that is gaining popularity in health care and the wound care industry and so it should as it should. Hyperbaric Oxygen has shown impressive results in many cases but is only indicated for a few diagnoses.

Some patients show hesitation in initiating HBOT because the chamber can appear intimidating. Typically, there is a fear of claustrophobia. Most overcome that fear after their first or second treatment and some may be prescribed an anti-anxiety medication to help them during their treatment.

Since most HBOT treatments last for approximately 2 hours, an entertaining distraction like a television that plays outside the chamber with a DVD player may help the patient endure the treatment for that length of time. Some patients ask that a music CD be played inside the DVD player instead of a movie or television. Lastly, some just go to sleep.

Hyperbaric Oxygen:
* Uses pure oxygen to enhance the body’s natural ability to heal.

* Encompasses 100% oxygen under two to three times greater pressure than atmospheric pressure.

* This increased pressure (up to three atmospheres) causes a 10- to 15- fold increase in
plasma oxygen concentration with a resultant increase in tissue oxygenation.

* Cannot be duplicated with topical O2 treatment.

* Is extremely safe and effective when administered by qualified professionals.

For more information about Hyperbaric Oxygen check out The Center for Wound Healing and take a look below for an up and close view of the Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber.

For more information about becoming Wound Care Certified, log on to http://www.wcei.net

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT)

Drew Griffin — Mon, 04 May 2009 11:35:05 +0000

As an adjunctive therapy, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is one that holds a lot of promise. The therapy consists of a person entering a chamber, either a monoplace (one person) or multiplace chamber (many people) and breathing nearly 100% oxygen at a pressure greater than sea level for a prescribed amount of time. A patient is typically “at pressure” for ninety (90) minutes. The patient is usually in the chamber for a total of about two (2) hours, since it takes approximately 9-16 minutes to get ‘down’ to therapeutic pressure and the same amount of time to ‘come back up’ to sea level pressure.

The goal of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) is to increase the amount of pressure and dissolved oxygen that is delivered to the body tissues. The pressure lends assistance to significantly increase tissue oxygenation in hypoperfused, or infected wounds.

HBOT is typically indicated for compromised wounds that are Diabetic Wagner Grade III, Acute Arterial Insufficiency, Gas Gangrene, Osteomyelitis (Failed convention wound therapy and s/p antibiotic therapy), compromised flaps and grafts, and osteoradionecrosis or effects of radiation. Here are some interesting case studies.

For more information about wound care and WCEI’s Wound Care Certification course click here

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What is it like inside a Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Chamber?

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT)