Hyperbaric therapy or Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) is a treatment method used to help treat various health disorders due to lack of oxygen in the body's cells and tissues. One of the most common is the problem of decompression due to diving.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy aims to increase oxygen delivery to the body by providing pure oxygen in a closed chamber with higher air pressure than normal.
What is Hyperbaric Therapy?
Hyperbaric therapy is a form of treatment that involves the process of inhaling pure oxygen in a high-pressure chamber. The air we breathe is generally 21% oxygen. While in the hyperbaric therapy process, patients will breathe by inhaling 100% oxygen in a room called a RUBT (High Pressure Air Room) or Hyperbaric Chamber.
In the RUBT the air pressure is 2 to 3 times higher than normal air pressure. With such an environment, it allows the lungs to collect more oxygen than when breathing oxygen at normal air pressure.
What is the Purpose of Hyperbaric Therapy?
The goal of hyperbaric oxygen therapy is to deliver more oxygen to tissues damaged by disease, injury, or other factors. In a hyperbaric oxygen therapy chamber, the air pressure is increased 2 to 3 times higher than normal air pressure. The lungs can collect more oxygen than is possible by breathing pure oxygen at normal air pressure.
The effects on the body include:
- Remove trapped air bubbles.
- Promotes the growth of new blood vessels and tissues.
- Supports immune system activity.
Not only that, hyperbaric oxygen therapy is used to treat various conditions including:
- Decompression sickness due to diving
- Severe anemia
- Gangrene
- Severe and large burns
- Crush injury (an injury that results in the destruction of a certain body part)
- Radiation injury
- Post-skin graft wound
- Air and gas bubbles in blood vessels
- Carbon monoxide poisoning
- Sudden total hearing loss or deafness
- Sudden loss of vision without pain
- Infection of the skin and bones (severe) causing tissue death
- Diabetic foot ulcer
When Should You Do Hyperbaric Therapy?
Depending on the health condition to be treated, hyperbaric therapy may need to be done several times to get effective results. Basically, the more chronic your illness, the more therapy sessions you will need to undergo.
Following are some conditions where hyperbaric therapy may be necessary:
- Tissue injury or damage
Hyperbaric therapy is often recommended for patients with chronic or non-healing wounds, such as diabetic wounds, surgical wounds or burns. It can help speed healing by increasing the supply of oxygen to damaged tissues.
- Blood circulation disorders
For people with circulatory disorders, such as peripheral artery disease, hyperbaric therapy can help increase oxygen flow to oxygen-deprived tissues so that blood circulation can run smoothly.
- Recovery from sports injury or surgery
Hyperbaric therapy can help speed the recovery process from tendon, muscle, or ligament injuries, as well as recovery after surgical procedures.
- Severe infection or gangrene
In infections involving dead tissue or gangrene (e.g. gas gangrene or other life-threatening infections), hyperbaric therapy can speed the recovery process and reduce the risk of amputation.
To get this hyperbaric therapy service, EMC Friends can do it at EMC Grha Kedoya and consult with the treating doctor.
Article written by Dr. Evelyn (Hyperbaric Doctor, EMC Grha Kedoya Hospital).