Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a medical treatment used to treat a limited but diverse series of illnesses. It may be the primary treatment for some disorders, but it is often used as part of a combined program involving antibiotics and surgery. In order to provide patients with hyperbaric oxygen therapy a pressurized chamber is necessary. The patient is placed within the chamber, which is then compressed to the level ordered by the consulting hyperbaric physician, using pure oxygen.
Hyperbaric oxygen is a simple concept.
Oxygen, when delivered to a patient in a hyperbaric chamber, greatly increases the amount of oxygen that can be delivered to body tissues by the blood. All of the benefits provided by hyperbaric oxygen therapy are the result of this extra oxygen being carried within the bloodstream. There is really no benefit from the oxygen within the chamber in direct contact with wounds. This is the reason that your dressings are usually left in place during the treatment. The above effects may occur with only one or two treatments.