Submitted by Emma Salvino, Advocate BroMenn Medical Center
What do Michael Jackson, Michael Phelps, and racehorses have in common? They have all been known to use hyperbaric oxygen chambers.
Hyperbaric oxygen chambers can help with more than a dozen medical conditions, including non-healing external wounds, the aftereffects of radiation treatments, bone infections, and diabetic wounds. Phelps and other athletes, both human and equine, have used them to recover faster from sports-related injuries. Jackson used one after burning his scalp while making a soft drink commercial.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, or HBOT, provides immediate correction of tissues in an infected area, stimulates new blood vessel growth, and enhances immune function. It can save limbs from amputation. The best part? It is a simple, non-invasive, and painless treatment.
Patients undergoing HBOT lie in a safe, see-through acrylic chamber that is 100 percent oxygen filled. They can watch a favorite television program or even nap while the oxygen works to induce healing. There may be pressure in the ears, but it can be relieved with opening and closing one’s mouth.
“The heightened oxygen level helps with the multiplying of red blood cells in the body and healing from the inside out,” says Darcie Culbertson, safety director at the Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine at Advocate BroMenn Medical Center in Normal. “I’ve seen body tissue that turned from black to pink from the vascular flow increasing the blood supply to the injured place.”
Inside the chamber, a patient’s lungs take in more oxygen than they would outside, transferring more of it to the blood, which then carries it throughout the body. This helps stimulate healing in the affected areas.
Throughout treatment, the patient is closely monitored by highly trained physicians and nursing staff. The atmosphere inside the chamber goes to 30 feet below sea level; however, your body does not feel the effects because it pressurizes itself. “You cannot get the bends (decompression syndrome) from the chamber,” says Culbertson. “It [the chamber] can actually be used to treat the bends.”
There is a significant time commitment with HBOT. Sessions are typically 90 minutes long and occur five days a week, for a total of 30 to 40 treatments.
“Most everyone who completes treatment has improvements with their measurable outcomes,” says Dr. Marcia Hauter, a physician who specializes in wound care and the medical director of Advocate BroMenn’s center.
Interested, but not sure where to start? Ask your primary care provider if HBOT could be right for you. If yes, they can refer you to a hospital or center that offers this specialized treatment. HBOT is not available everywhere, but more and more communities are discovering its benefits.
Good HBOT sites should emphasize patient safety. This includes going over vitals and making sure that patients with diabetes are stable and heart-healthy enough for treatment. An HBOT technician should work with your primary care provider or other providers such as podiatrist or vascular surgeon for a collaborative approach to care delivery.
In Bloomington-Normal, HBOT is available at Advocate BroMenn Medical Center’s Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine, located in the lower level of Medical Office Center I on the hospital campus, 1302 Franklin Avenue, Normal. The Center has a 96 percent heal rate. For more information, call 309-268-2920 or visit advocatehealth.com/bromenn-wound.
Photo provided by Advocate BroMenn Medical Center