Some medical wound situations do not respond effectively to treatment. Despite the extensive labor to heal, the wounds stay inflamed or infected, and no amount of therapy reverses their condition. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, or HBOT, offers a workable solution to this issue in medicine. Because it supplies 20 times more oxygen than the body supplies for itself, it is an effective way to fight infection and start healing.
The kind of wounds that fall into this category can include ulcers with poor circulation, compromised amputation sites, diabetic wounds on the feet or arms, and other traumatic wounds that do not seem to heal on their own. The common denominator in each of these cases is low oxygen. HBOT dissolves oxygen in the blood and tissues by combining above-normal atmospheric pressure with pure oxygen in a confined chamber. This high oxygen concentration has proven to be a better healing agent than some other treatments physicians have traditionally offered in these cases.
The role of oxygen in fighting infections cannot be overemphasized. The lack of oxygen is the main reason many slow-healing wounds never get healthy again. The failure to heal shifts the body into another danger zone: infection. Slow-healing wounds often seem to invite infection, despite precautions to avoid them. HBOT can provide the oxygen that helps patients avert a crisis.