Breathing New Life
Oxygen is one of the things we do not consider too much; it is everywhere and it is necessary to life. However, have you ever known that breathing with 100 percent of oxygen at high pressure can in fact aid your body to heal better? This is what is behind the concept of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, a therapy that is starting to receive some focus on account of its strong therapeutic capabilities.
The Benefit of Breathing Oxygen Rich Air to the Body
The cells in our body require oxygen to be able to perform. Air usually has 21 percent of oxygen and the oxygen inhaled goes to our blood and circulates around the body. Nevertheless, when some of the body parts are damaged, swollen or infected, they may lack sufficient oxygen. Then the healing pace gets sluggish.
The extra oxygen in your blood can have a vast amount in it than normal by the pure oxygen content inhaled under a unique pressurized environment. This additional oxygen is able to get to areas of the body that require it the most increasing healing of damaged tissues and limiting swelling.
There is the Healing Power of Pressurized Oxygen
You may ask yourself why it is not sufficient to simply inhale more oxygen in the standard air. It is all a matter of pressure. Consider the case of diving under the water- the pressure in your surroundings goes up. The same concept is applied in hyperbaric therapy, only that it is done in a controlled room. It makes your body absorb more oxygen by pushing more oxygen to the depths of your lungs and blood circulation.
This process provides your body with an increased opportunity to fight against infections, repair the destruction of cells and the formation of new blood vessels. It can be likened to giving a boost to the ethnic healing system of the body.
How It Supports Different Types of Healing
Hyperbaric therapy is used for many conditions, especially when regular healing isn’t working well:
- Slow-healing wounds: Sometimes, cuts or sores don’t heal properly because of poor blood flow. This is common in people with diabetes. The extra oxygen helps those wounds close up and avoid infections.
- Infections deep in the body: Certain infections can be tough to treat, especially when the infected area doesn’t get enough oxygen. HBOT boosts oxygen to those spots, helping antibiotics and immune cells work better.
- Side effects of radiation therapy: Cancer patients who are done with radiations experience this side effect where healthy body tissue is injured. HBOT is capable of assisting in alleviating this damage and creating recovery.
- Injuries to the brain and nerves: In some cases, the research study indicates that HBOT may help in shrinking of the brain and to improve recovery following a stroke or injury.
So what occurs in the course of treatment?
Should you ever go through HBOT, you will enter into a special room. This room may be large enough to accommodate many individuals or may be tiny enough to accommodate only you. You will be gradually immersed in pure oxygen through a hood or a mask as the pressure of the air in the inside will gradually increase.
Your ears may get popped due to this pressure change just as it is on an airplane. It is natural and can get diminished after swallowing or yawning. The treatment is painless and relaxing to most of the people.
Typical sessions should take an hour, and the number of the sessions may take weeks or months depending on the condition of the patient.
What makes Doctors recommend HBOT?
Physicians prescribe hyperbaric oxygen therapy since it is an intervention that can have a considerable impact on when other methods fail. The additional Oxygen increases healing rates of wounds, decreases pain and edema and the likelihood of infections. It also was found to boost the immune system and stimulate the growth of new blood vessels which later improves the flow of blood.
Safety and Side Effects
HBOT has few risks and is otherwise safe. The most common side effects are slight ear pain or sinus pressure owing to altered air pressure. These tend to be short lived and are simple to deal with.
However, in rare cases, there are more severe the side effects of breathing pure oxygen under pressure yet the doctors watch over to ensure that the side effects do not occur. A careful examination is performed on the patient before initiating HBOT to ensure that the treatment is safe on the patient.
New Methods with Hyperbaric Therapy
Researchers are still discovering how HBOT could assist. Others are researching on how it can benefit individuals with chronic illnesses such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer, or even mental complications such as depression and anxiety. It is also use by athletes to accelerate healing of injuries and enhance performance.
This increasing interest indicates the extent to which oxygen therapy has the potential of being a significant cure mechanism of various health conditions.
The Importance of Oxygen We Don’t Realize
Oxygen is not merely what allows us to live our lives; it drives the machinery of our bodies which daily keeps us fixed and safeguarded. Tissues do not heal well and infections increase when tissues lack adequate oxygen. HBOT provides the body with what it requires in order to perform optimally.
It is a reminder that there are times when the smallest things are the most important, such as breathing better oxygen.
Read More: The Role of Hyperbaric Therapy in Modern Medicine
