Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber (HBOT) Capitola

Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber (HBOT)

HBOT Benefits

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is designed to enhance the body's natural healing by inhaling 100% oxygen in a total body chamber, where the controlled atmospheric pressure is increased. It is used in a variety of treatments, generally as part of a medical care plan. HBOT can be beneficial to patients who are healing from a condition caused by inflammation in their body. HBOT delivers a higher rate of oxygen to damaged tissue, enhancing the body's healing process.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy could be beneficial to you if you have the following:

• Severe anemia
• Brain abscess
• Carbon monoxide poisoning
• Skin or bone infection causing tissue death
• Radiation injury
• Skin graft or flap at risk of tissue death
• Gangrene
• Burn

Essentially, a patient will sit in a pressurized chamber and breathe in oxygen, which is then dissolved into all the body's fluids and carried to areas where circulation has been weakened or blocked. This is a way for the body to get extra oxygen and support the healing of these damaged tissues, helping the body support its healing process. The increased oxygen levels also help significantly improve the ability of white blood cells to kill bacteria. Oxygen also decreases swelling and rapidly grows new blood vessels in the affected areas. The process is simple, non-invasive and pain-free.

How Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Works

Hyper means increased, and baric refers to pressure, so hyperbaric oxygen therapy increases blood circulation. This allows the oxygen flow to repair damaged blood vessels and trigger collagen production, leading to healing. Oxygen levels in the tissues are essential for healing in many areas of the body. Many diseases and injuries will occur and often linger in cells and tissue. In many cases, like circulatory problems, wounds that won't heal, and strokes, there is usually not enough oxygen to reach the damaged area, which means that the body cannot naturally heal and cannot function correctly. HBOT provides this extra oxygen naturally, with minimal side effects, and has been shown to improve the patient's quality of life when standard medical treatments have not helped. There have been many conditions, like stroke, cerebral palsy, and chronic fatigue, that have responded positively to HBOT.

The History of Hyperbaric Therapy

Hyperbaric chambers and oxygen therapy have been used for centuries, as early as 1662. However, they have only been used clinically since around the mid-1800s. The U.S. military tested and developed them after World War I to help treat deep sea divers with decompression sickness.

According to the Duke University Medical Center Library and Archives, Dr. J. Leonard Corning built the first hyperbaric chamber in the United States in New York in 1891. Dr. Orval Cunningham, chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology at Kansas University Medical School, became interested in hyperbaric chambers during the influenza outbreak at the end of World War I. Over the next several years, he used hyperbaric chambers to treat a variety of diseases.

At Harbor Health Center in Capitola, our goal is to help our patients figure out the best treatment plan to improve their condition and quality of life. Our team of professionals is dedicated to getting to know each patient to ensure we provide personalized care. We pride ourselves in delivering excellent, safe, and effective treatments so you can relax knowing we have your back. If you are interested in scheduling a consultation, call us at (831) 200-0880.