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Just What Is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and How Will It Help Me? by Dr. Henry Prince, Medical Director, Hyperbaric Medical Solutions

 

 

You probably first heard of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO therapy) with regard to deep sea divers who surfaced too quickly and suffered with decompression sickness, commonly called “the bends.”  While this form of therapy is still used to treat this condition, it is now also used to treat a host of other health problems.

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The basics regarding this completely natural, non-invasive treatment follows and will hopefully answer your questions.

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What is HBO Therapy?

 

HBO therapy involves breathing pure oxygen in a comfortable, see-through, acrylic pressurized chamber where the pressure is up to three times that found at sea level.  The combination of high pressure and pure oxygen drives the life-giving oxygen into your bloodstream at a very high concentration.  Your blood then carries this oxygen throughout your body, stimulating the release of substances called growth factors and stem cells, which promote healing.  Treatments are performed in private office settings, as well as hospitals.

 

 What Are the Benefits?

 

The infusion of oxygen during HBO therapy has many benefits.  For one, it facilitates the body’s healing process by enhancing the ability of white blood cells to fight infection.  Moreover, it is a powerful inhibitor of injury that occurs to body tissues deprived of blood supply when blood flow is resumed.  Additionally, the increased oxygen concentration during HBO therapy acts as a signal inducer of DNA to effect tissue changes, promoting the growth of collagen and stimulating the development of new blood vessels to locations in the body where circulation has been compromised.  In this way, it is extremely effective in treating chronic wounds.

 

 

What Does It Feel Like?

 

Hyperbaric treatments are painless; however, you may experience a slight change in pressure in your ears (a “fullness” similar to the sensation of being on an airplane). The HBO therapy technician will coach you on simple ways to relieve this fullness.  Treatments generally last between 60 and 90 minutes and are monitored throughout by a technician.  Once in the chamber, you can relax and watch television or listen to music.  At the end of the treatment, the technician will gradually reduce the pressure in the chamber.  While every patient is evaluated according to their individual condition, the average patient generally requires a minimum of 40 treatments.  All HBO therapy treatments are supervised by either a Physician or a Physician Assistant. 

 

 

What Conditions Are Treated with HBO Therapy?

 

While the Food and Drug Administration currently recognizes HBO therapy as a treatment for many diagnoses that are generally covered by insurance, increasingly,  studies and other evidence support its use for countless medical conditions. 

 

FDA-approved conditions include: problem wounds (including diabetic-derived illness), radiation injury, acute traumatic ischemia (crush injury & compartment syndrome), air/gas embolism, carbon monoxide poisoning, central retinal artery occlusion, gas gangrene, decompression sickness, exceptional blood loss (anemia), intracranial abscess, necrotizing soft tissue infections, osteomyelitis, skin grafts and flaps, severe burns and sudden hearing loss.

 

HBO therapy can also be effective in treating: post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), Alzheimer’s disease, autism, cancer, cerebral palsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic pain ailments, concussion, gastrointestinal problems, Lyme disease, Parkinson’s disease, reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD), complex regional pain syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, spinal cord injuries, sports injuries, stroke, sudden hearing loss, surgery preparation & recovery and vascular disease.

 

If you or a loved one are dealing with any of the above-noted conditions, HBO therapy is a course of treatment to consider.  It is effective, non-invasive and drug-free.

 Dr. Henry Prince – Medical  Director at Hyperbaric Medical Solutions (with locations in Medford and Woodbury) – is accredited to practice HBO therapy and, throughout his years of practice,  has found that alternative methods of care, including the use of HBO therapy, can be extremely effective in treating many hard-to-manage disease processes.  Dr. Prince attended medical school at the State University of New York at Downstate and completed his residency at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset.  He has also practiced obstetrics/gynecology for the past 30 years.

 

 

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