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Written By: Editorial Team | Updated : August 6, 2013 11:42 AM IST
Oxygen is required for the animal kingdom including the human race to survive. We all know that.
But do you know about a therapy involving a pure form of oxygen called the Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy? This is used for treating wounds which do not heal, non-healing fractures, gas gangrene or diabetic foot, brain injury due to trauma, cases of carbon monoxide poisoning, severe crush injuries, damage due to radiation etc.
Basically, it works in situations where blood circulation is very poor and hence the reach of oxygen. In these cases, the patient is placed in a transparent hyperbaric chamber which is pressurized to around 1.5 - 3 times the normal atmospheric pressure and pure oxygen is delivered. Thus a high concentration (around 10-20 times the normal) of oxygen reaches the tissues including the affected ones. This leads to generation of new cells and aids the healing process. The extra oxygen in the system is also thought to stimulate release of growth factors and stem cells which help. Each session lasts for 1 to 1.5 hours.
There's insufficient scientific evidence but research is being done to prove that hyperbaric oxygen therapy can effectively treat allergies, cancer, autism, arthritis, stroke and some other conditions.
Although there are no major side effects of this therapy, patient could feel claustrophobic in the chamber, pressure in the eardrums and lung problems. There is also a risk of fire as there is a highly concentrated form of oxygen.
