How Does Hyberbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) Work?
Basically HBOT elevates the Oxygen delivery to the tissues. The only way that Oxygen delivery to the tissues can be increased is by elevating the partial pressure of Oxygen in the breathing gas. A normal level of Oxygen in arterial blood cannot ensure that tissue Oxygen tensions are correct. Many diseases are associated with ischemia and poor Oxygen delivery because of tissue trauma, HBOT can restore normal tissue Oxygen levels.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy works by elevating the plasma Oxygen level in proportion to the partial pressure of inspired Oxygen. Therefore at 3 atmospheres the amount of Oxygen dissolved in the plasma is increased to approximately 6 vol% even though the level of Oxygen carried by hemoglobin remains the same. At this pressure of Oxygen there is sufficient to sustain life without blood.

In layman's terms, the air we normally breathe contains about 21% oxygen, which is carried throughout our bodies by the red blood cells in our blood. During HBOT, the 100% oxygen* we breathe, combined with higher pressure, delivers up to 15 times the oxygen content to all body fluids including plasma, cerebrospinal fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord, lymph, and intracellular fluids. This allows oxygen levels to increase even in areas with blocked or compromised blood supply as a result of injury or illness, as well as in areas of tissue damage. Increasing tissue oxygen levels produces several important long term therapeutic benefits including enhanced growth of new blood vessels; increased ability of white blood cells to destroy bacteria and remove toxins; increased growth of fibroblasts (cells involved in wound healing); and enhanced metabolic activity of previously marginally functioning cells including brain neurons.

*While 100% is the commonly used term, the actual percentage will vary depending on the oxygen source and the method of oxygen delivery. If you are considering an equipment purchase, retrofit or upgrade, let us here at HyperbaricsRx ensure your system is capable of delivering and maintaining the necessary prescribed dosage(s).

5 Main Uses of Hyperbaric Therapy
- Administer Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy to help or resolve a wide range of medical problems.
- To provide surface decompression for working divers
- To treat Decompression Illness in divers
- To rectify omitted decompression for diving operations
- To perform research in diving diseases and other medical research


-Excerpts taken from Hyperbaric Chamber Operator, Training and Reference Manual, © January 2003, ANDI International

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