Hyperbaric oxygen treatment, or HBOT, has become an effective treatment for diabetic neuropathy, damage that occurs in the nerves because of high blood sugar levels common in diabetes. This condition in not frequently the focus of diabetes health concerns since most people affected are more preoccupied with keeping down blood sugar levels. The nerve damage from diabetic neuropathy can cause significant damage to the limbs.
One of the first things that may be noticeable with this kind of illness is the appearance of wounds or ulcers on the feet, legs, hands, or arms. Because there is no proper blood flow, and therefore oxygen flow, to these extremities, they become numb, and the tissue in those extremities begins to die. This condition and other similar conditions connected to diabetes account for about 50 percent of the amputations performed by licensed physicians in the U.S.
HBOT as therapy can give oxygen to the limbs by sending it quickly to plasma and tissues in the affected limbs. It is unrealistic to believe that HBOT can completely restore blood flow in these areas; it can activate the body’s natural healing process. Other conditions that might exacerbate the situation, like infection, are staved off with HBOT, which supplies about 20 times more oxygen than the body normally. Without HBOT, the healing process would take much longer in a body capable of healing and not needing amputation.