2023-09-17 22:09:24
The air we breathe has 21% oxygen. But In a hyperbaric chamber you breathe 100%. This therapy uses pure oxygen at higher pressure than normal with the aim of treat very diverse medical conditionsfrom wounds, infections and sports injuries to as an aid to improve the toxicity of treatments such as radiotherapy or chemotherapy.
“There are many diseases where hyperbaric medicine has scientifically demonstrated therapeutic benefit. Any disease that occurs with hypoxia (decrease in oxygen in the tissues), you can benefit,” says Dr. Ane Escribano, a hyperbarist doctor at Olympia-Quirónsalud. This is because, during a hyperbaric chamber session, the patient breathes pure oxygen in large quantities, achieving very high blood oxygen concentrationsthus encouraging it to reach all tissues.
How is the hyperbaric chamber used?
The treatment (time and number of sessions) in the hyperbaric chamber – an airtight chamber in which air pressure can be controlled – will depend on the pathology, as well as the evolution and response of each patient. For example, explains Dr. Escribano, “in wounds that do not heal, between 30 and 40 sessions must be administered, but if you want to achieve recovery from muscle fatigue following physical effort, three sessions will be enough.”
Most treatments are distributed between three and five sessions per week and each session lasts approximately between 60 and 90 minutes. “The feeling is the same as when we travel by plane or climb a mountain“, comments Dr. Escribano, so the patient is previously taught methods to avoid trauma that commonly occurs in the ear in the face of sudden session changes.
Although hyperbaric medicine has shown therapeutic benefit in many diseases, it must be a specialist who indicates whether a patient is suitable for treatment. “The main contraindications are the claustrophobia o one pneumothorax untreated (lung collapse),” says the specialist. Among the side effects, you may feel ear pain and in some cases you may experience temporary myopia, “although this is an uncommon effect that disappears a few days following finishing the treatment,” says Dr. Escribano.
Benefits of hyperbaric medicine
Vasoconstriction and anti-inflammatory action Generation of new blood vessels Acceleration of tissue regeneration Stimulates the creation of collagen Decreases oxidative stress Increases immune activity Reduces fatigue and muscle stress
Diversity of pathologies
The benefits of hyperbaric therapy began to be explored more than 300 years ago (the first prototype of what is today the hyperbaric chamber was created in 1662), although today uses continue to be found for this treatment. Its usefulness is currently being investigated in diseases such as fibromyalgia, headaches, facial paralysis, tinnitus and sudden deafness, post-Covid sequelae, strokes or immunological diseases such as scleroderma. In others, its effectiveness is amply proven.
One of the first conditions in which hyperbaric medicine was applied was to treat diver decompression syndrome waves carbon monoxide poisoning. Treatment also plays a fundamental role in “some infections necrotizing agents such as gas gangrene, where sessions in a hyperbaric chamber associated with standard treatment reduce mortality,” says Dr. Escribano.
On the other hand, anyone with healing problems may benefit from treatment in a hyperbaric chamber. As the doctor explains, “this is very typical in diabetic patients where non-healing wounds or ulcers sometimes require amputations. This can be avoided with hyperbaric oxygen therapy.”
In recent years, the use of this treatment in the Sports field. “It has been seen that hyperbaric oxygen reduces fatigue and muscle stress “which is produced by physical overexertion following sports,” says the specialist. In addition, “hyperbaric oxygen decreases edema, inflammation and increases the production of fibroblasts, collagen and angiogenesis. It is also used in the postoperative period of muscle or joint injuries where accelerates tissue regeneration”, comments Dr. Escribano.
Likewise, it is worth highlighting the importance of hyperbaric medicine in the cancer treatment. A common phenomenon of this disease is tumor hypoxia: As the tumor grows, the tumor tissues experience a significant decrease in oxygen supply, due to the rapid growth of tumor cells. This condition has important implications in the response to treatments, since “we know that Hypoxic cells are more resistant to radiotherapy or chemotherapy treatment”, clarifies Dr. Escribano, who in addition to being a hyperbarista doctor is a radiation oncologist.
“There are currently clinical trials in which it is seen that By oxygenating the tumor there is a greater response. The ideal is for the patient to receive a hyperbaric oxygenation session, 15 or 30 minutes before receiving the radiotherapy session,” concludes the specialist.
The hyperbaric chamber is increasingly used also for its aesthetic effectsince oxygen helps “attenuate the damage of oxidative toxins that naturally cause the aging of cells and increases collagen production”. In plastic surgery, hyperbaric therapy is used to achieve “better results, fewer surgical complications and faster healing.”
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