Application of Oxygen in Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy or HBOT, is the medical use of 100 percent oxygen at increased atmospheric pressures. Literally, hyper means “increased” and baric relates to pressure. As early as the 1950s, hyperbaric applications have been used to oxygenate the brain while the heart was stopped during open-heart surgery. In the 1960s, HBOT was determined to have positive results related to slow-healing wounds. Some people may be more familiar with hyperbarics as treatment for carbon monoxide poisoning or the bends, a condition related to underwater diving. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has increased in treatments for chronic degenerative health problems related to atherosclerosis, stroke, peripheral vascular disease, diabetic ulcers, wound healing, cerebral palsy, brain injury, multiple sclerosis, macular degeneration and many other disorders. There are many recent studies on the effect of using HBOT to aid children with autism. Gangrene, carbon monoxide poisoning, radiation therapy, bone