Hyperbaric oxygen therapy
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy uses a special pressure chamber to increase the amount of oxygen in the blood.
Information
Some hospitals have a hyperbaric chamber. Smaller units may be available in outpatient centers.
The air pressure inside a hyperbaric oxygen chamber is about two and a half times higher than the normal pressure in the atmosphere. This helps your blood carry more oxygen to organs and tissues in your body.
The other benefits of increased pressure of oxygen in the tissues may include:
- More and improved oxygen supply
- Reduction in swelling and edema
- Stopping infection
Hyperbaric therapy can help wounds, particularly infected wounds, heal more quickly. The therapy may be used to treat:
- Air or gas embolism (a bubble that gets trapped in a blood vessel and blocks it)
- Bone infections (osteomyelitis) that have not improved with other treatments
Osteomyelitis
Osteomyelitis is a bone infection. It is caused by bacteria or other germs.
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Burns
Burns commonly occur by direct or indirect contact with heat, electric current, radiation, or chemical agents. Burns can lead to cell death, which c...
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- Frostbite
Frostbite
Frostbite is damage to the skin and underlying tissues caused by extreme cold. Frostbite is the most common freezing injury.
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Carbon monoxide poisoning
Carbon monoxide is an odorless gas that causes thousands of deaths each year in North America. Breathing in carbon monoxide is very dangerous. It i...
Read Article Now Book Mark Article - Certain types of brain or sinus infections
- Decompression sickness (for example, a diving injury)
- Gas gangrene
Gas gangrene
Gas gangrene is a potentially deadly form of tissue death (gangrene).
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Necrotizing soft tissue infections
Necrotizing soft tissue infection is a rare but very severe type of bacterial infection. It can destroy the muscles, skin, and underlying tissue. T...
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Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy uses high-powered radiation (such as x-rays or gamma rays), particles, or radioactive seeds to kill cancer cells.
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Skin grafts
A skin graft is a patch of skin that is removed by surgery from one area of the body and transplanted, or attached, to another area.
Read Article Now Book Mark Article - Wounds that have not healed with other treatments (for example, it may be used to treat a foot ulcer in someone with diabetes or very bad circulation)
This treatment may also be used to provide enough oxygen to the lung during a procedure called whole lung lavage, which is used to clean an entire lung in people with certain medical conditions, like pulmonary alveolar proteinosis.
Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis
Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) is a rare disease in which a type of protein builds up in the air sacs (alveoli) of the lungs, making breathing ...
Read Article Now Book Mark ArticleTreatment for long-term (chronic) conditions may be repeated over days or weeks. A treatment session for more acute conditions such as decompression sickness may last longer, but may not need to be repeated.
You might feel pressure in your ears while you are in the hyperbaric chamber. Your ears may pop when you get out of the chamber. This is similar to what happens when you dive and come up or when you ascend and descend on the plane.
Reviewed By
Allen J. Blaivas, DO, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, VA New Jersey Health Care System, Clinical Assistant Professor, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, East Orange, NJ. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
Lipnick MS, Van Hoesen KB. Diving medicine. In: Broaddus VC, Ernst JD, King TE, et al, eds. Murray and Nadel's Textbook of Respiratory Medicine. 7th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2022:chap 107.
Lumb AB, Thomas C. Oxygen toxicity and hyperoxia. In: Lumb AB, ed. Nunn and Lumb's Applied Respiratory Physiology. 9th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2021:chap 25.
Woelfel SL, Armstrong DG, Shin L. Wound care. In: Sidawy AN, Perler BA, eds. Rutherford's Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy. 10th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2023:chap 118.
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