Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a simple but effective treatment in which you breathe pure oxygen inside a pressurized chamber. The therapy quickly delivers high concentrations of oxygen to your bloodstream, which helps improves circulation, stimulates the growth of new blood cells, fights certain types of infections and generally speeds your own natural healing process. The number and frequency of treatments you receive will depend on your diagnosis and your treatment plan.

Receiving treatment

Although the process may sound intimidating, receiving hyperbaric oxygen therapy is actually quite simple and is completely pain-free.

Before entering the hyperbaric chamber, you will need to follow a few pretreatment instructions:

• No smoking before treatment: Tobacco products can reduce the effectiveness of the treatment.
• Limited medication: Some medications should not be taken during hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Your doctor will discuss this with you well before the treatment.
• Delay treatment at the sign of illness: If you exhibit cold or flu symptoms, we may delay your treatment.
• Clothing and personal items: You must wear 100 percent cotton hospital clothing during your treatment. You must also remove jewelry, hearing aids, certain lotions, cosmetics and plastic items.

While receiving treatment, you will lie down or sit comfortably in the chamber. You may read, listen to the radio or watch TV through one of many portholes in the chamber.

Our hyperbaric staff will be readily available from start to finish. The chambers are equipped with an intercom system so you can communicate with us at any time. Treatment usually lasts 60 to 90 minutes.

Benefits of hyperbaric oxygen therapy

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has proven to be a highly effective means of healing wounds and improving conditions quickly. Patients experiencing a wide variety of conditions — from carbon monoxide poisoning to crush injuries — can be treated with this therapy.

The benefits of hyperbaric oxygen therapy include:

• Faster wound healing
• Increase in white blood cells' ability to defend against infection
• Reduction or elimination of the effects of toxic substances
• Repair of damaged tissues