Indications internationally accepted for hyperbaric oxygen therapy by the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) involve a wide range of clinical conditions including, but not limited to:
Air or Gas Embolism:Air or gas bubbles enter arteries or veins, reducing blood flow and affecting oxygen circulation. Oxygen helps shrink these bubbles and reduces edema (tissue swelling).
Decompression Sickness: Also known as the “bends”.
When diving, excess nitrogen gets stored in a dissolved form within the body’s tissues and releases upon ascent, it can come out of solution if the ascent rate is elevated and it can occasionally form bubbles in tissues and veins, interrupting blood flow and causing an inflammatory response. Here as well, oxygen shrinks these bubbles before they can do too much damage, reduces edema and stops the inflammatory response of the body.
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning: Carbon monoxide (CO), a colourless, odourless gas, is a by-product of combustion. It binds to red blood cells, blocking delivery of oxygen to the body. Hyperbaric oxygen accelerates the clearance of CO from the body, restores oxygen delivery to the tissues and prevents toxic effects on the central nervous system and the blood vessels.
Gas Gangrene: This bacterial infection eats away soft tissues, releases toxins into the blood stream and inhibits the body's defence mechanisms. These bacteria prefer low-oxygen concentrations. High doses of oxygen via hyperbaric therapy inhibit toxin production and kill the bacteria. Used in conjunction with antibiotics and surgery
Crush Injuries: Complications of crush injuries, such as from motor vehicle accidents, are very frequent. By increasing oxygen delivery to injured tissues, hyperbaric treatments reduce tissue swelling, improve healing by accelerating cell formation and help fight infection.
Problem Wounds: Wounds may fail to respond to standard care because of low oxygen levels and impaired circulation. Foot ulcers in diabetics are one such problem. By increasing oxygen levels within the wound tissues, hyperbaric therapy promotes the formation of new cells and prevents further infections, therefore accelerating the healing process.
Anemia/Blood Loss: In cases where a patient can't accept a blood transfusion for medical or religious reasons, sufficient oxygen delivery (via red blood cells) might be compromised. Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment increases the oxygen content by dissolving oxygen into the plasma itself, reducing the need for red blood cells.
Intracranial Abscess: A sinus infection or bone infection of the skull may form an abscess within the skull or brain. Antibiotics may be ineffective and white blood cells require a minimum oxygen level to kill bacteria. Hyperbaric treatment provides oxygen for white blood cells and inhibits bacteria that need low oxygen levels to grow.
Soft Tissue Infections: These are serious infections -- in which tissue is dying -- that may be complicated by conditions such as diabetes or vascular disease. While primary treatments are removing the infected tissue and administering antibiotics, additional hyperbaric oxygen inhibits bacteria from growing and enhances the ability of white blood cells to kill bacteria.
Bone Infections: Osteomyelitis, infection of the bone, that does not respond to standard treatment may benefit from additional hyperbaric oxygen therapy. It inhibits bacterial growth, increases the killing power of white blood cells and enhances the effects of some antibiotics.
Radiation Therapy Complications: Chronic complications of radiation therapy used to treat cancer may result from scarring and narrowing of the blood vessels. Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment allows more oxygen to reach these damaged areas and helps prevent tissue from dying for lack of blood and oxygen flow. It is most often used in the head and neck areas.
Skin Grafts: The success of transferred skin grafts or flaps (which might include skin, deeper tissue, muscle and bone) is largely dependent on sufficient oxygen supply to the affected area. Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment can be used to saturate the area with oxygen before and after grafting.
Burns: Hyperbaric Oxygen therapy is used with great success to treat deep second-degree and third-degree burns that cover more than 20% of the patient's body. Hyperbaric oxygen reduces swelling, limits progression of the burn injury (which continues 3-4 days after the initial injury) and promotes the growth of new cells to accelerate the healing process. It also diminishes lung damage from inhalation of heat and smoke.
UNITED KINGDOM
Cerebral Palsy:
The Hyperbaric Oxygen Trust offers a rehabilitation program for brain-injured children using hyperbaric oxygen treatments in conjunction with physio and psychotherapy. It also instigated a research and development program to treat affected children based on studies done in Russia, China and the USA on cerebral palsy children using this method of treatment. In addition there are over 100 individual HBO Centres throughout England treating diseases such as:
Multiple Sclerosis:
Over 6,000 multiple sclerosis patients are currently being treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the UK. Excellent long-term results with great improvement of the patient’s quality of life have been reported.
Football and other Sports Injuries:
Significantly faster healing of fractures and other injuries to the bones and tendons has been documented. Some of the leading football clubs in the UK have their own hyperbaric oxygen chambers for the purpose of treating their injured players to improve the healing process of injured athletes such as Beckham and Rooney’s broken feet prior to the 2002 and 2006 World Cup series!
GERMANY
Stroke:
In addition to physical rehabilitation, stroke patients are treated promptly with up to three weeks of intensive hyperbaric oxygen therapy in order to re-oxygenate and re-vitalise any damaged brain tissue.
Tinnitus:
Great success has been reported in treating patients suffering fromtinnitus(ringing in the ears)and other problems of the inner ear.
FRANCE
Vascular Necrosis:
Very rewarding results are being demonstrated in the treatment of vascular necrosis (a serious type of bone deterioration) with hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Patients with cirrhosis and other advanced liver diseases also respond very well to this form of treatment.
JAPAN
Sudden Deafness:
In Japan there are well over 200 hyperbaric oxygen chambers so that a patient is never more than one hour away from hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Promising work is being continued in the treatment of sudden deafness and sudden blindness due to nervous or brain damage.
SWEDEN
Vascular Diseases:
The Swedish Hyperbaric Physicians have demonstrated very successful, long-term management of vascular diseases, such as diabetic gangrene and burger’s disease, which in turn greatly reduces the number of necessary amputations.
BELGIUM
Re-Implantations:
In Liege, Belgium, doctors are performing remarkably successful re-implantations of severed extremities using hyperbaric oxygen pre and post surgery.
ITALY
In certain areas, a physician’s license can be revoked for the failure to use Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy.
RUSSIA
General Surgery:
Reports of remarkable results in the fields of general medicine and surgery are abundant. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is used extensively! In the western world we have only 13 treatment protocols but in Russia they have 28 treatment tables. Further evidence which demonstrate their pioneering approach to this wonder drug!
INDIA
Leprosy:
Used as a treatment for leprosy to speed up the healing of wounds and prevent further infections.