Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is a type of treatment used to speed up the healing of carbon monoxide poisoning, gangrene, and wounds that won't heal. It is also used for infections in which tissues are starved for oxygen.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a treatment where you’re surrounded by 100% oxygen in an enclosed chamber. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has a range of uses, including treating carbon monoxide poisoning and decompression sickness. However one of the most common and effective uses for hyperbaric oxygen therapy is treating chronic and nonhealing wounds.
During hyperbaric oxygen therapy, the atmospheric pressure in the chamber is two to three times higher than normal. Because of this added pressure, the oxygen in your blood can double or even triple. So as your blood flows through your body, all your cells, tissues and organs are getting more oxygen.
HBOT helps wound healing by bringing oxygen-rich plasma to tissue starved for oxygen. Wound injuries damage the body's blood vessels, They release fluid that leaks into the tissues and causes swelling. This swelling deprives the damaged cells of oxygen, and tissue starts to die. HBOT reduces swelling while flooding the tissues with oxygen. The higher pressure in the chamber increases the amount of oxygen in the blood. HBOT aims to break the cycle of swelling, oxygen starvation, and tissue death.
Conditions for which hyperbaric chambers for sale are cleared for marketing by the FDA.
FDA clearance of a medical device includes a determination that the device has the same intended use as, and is as safe and effective as, another legally U.S.-marketed device of that type. As of July 2021, the FDA has cleared hyperbaric chambers for the following disorders:
Air and gas bubbles in blood vessels
Anemia (severe anemia when blood transfusions cannot be used)
Burns (severe and large burns treated at a specialized burn center)
Carbon monoxide poisoning
Crush injury
Decompression sickness (diving risk)
Gas gangrene
Hearing loss (complete hearing loss that occurs suddenly and without any known cause)
Infection of the skin and bone (severe)
Radiation injury
Skin graft flap at risk of tissue death
Vision loss (when sudden and painless in one eye due to blockage of blood flow)
Wounds (non-healing, diabetic foot ulcers)
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is generally a safe procedure. Complications are rare. But this treatment does carry some risk.
Potential risks include:
Middle ear injuries, including leaking fluid and eardrum rupture, due to changes in air pressure.
Temporary nearsightedness, called myopia, caused by temporary eye lens changes.
Lung collapse caused by air pressure changes, called barotrauma.
Seizures as a result of too much oxygen, also called oxygen toxicity, in your central nervous system.
Lowered blood sugar in people who have diabetes treated with insulin.
In certain circumstances, fire — due to the oxygen-rich environment of the treatment chamber.
français 
Deutsch 
italiano 
العربية 
čeština 
Suomi 
Polska 
עברי 
