A Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is the use of pure oxygen under extreme pressure to treat health conditions. Basically, when you breathe in a mixture of air and oxygen, your body has a limited capacity to process the oxygen. But the extra pressure helps your blood vessels carry the oxygen to places where it can dissolve into plasma, lymph, and cerebrospinal fluids that surround your brain and spinal cord.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is a medical treatment that has been helping people for over forty years. Many conditions can be treated by the use of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, including but not limited to brain injuries or other wounds that require a lot of oxygen. Treatment takes forty-five minutes under high amounts of oxygen pressure and then you are able to go home after the treatment.The staff at Healox evaluates each patient to determine whether Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is appropriate.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is a form of treatment that covers a wide range of medical conditions. The FDA has approved it for 15 medical conditions, and many more studies exist supporting its benefits such as:

1. Air or Gas Embolism
2. Carbon Monoxide Poisoning 
3. Central Retinal Artery Occlusion
4. Chronic Refractory Osteomyelitis
5. Crush Injury & Other Acute Traumatic Ischemias
6. Decompression Sickness
7. Diabetic Lower Extremity Wounds
8. Failed Skin Grafts & Flaps
9. Gas Gangrene
10. Necrotizing Soft Tissue Infections
11. Radiation Tissue Damage
12. Severe Anemia (Acute anemia used as a bridge therapy)
13. Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss
14. Thermal Burns (severe)
15. Intracranial Abscess

At the start of a hyperbaric oxygen treatment, the patient will experience a feeling of fullness in the ears as oxygen gradually fills up the air space. The pressure around their body also increases. This sensation is similar to what happens when you travel from a low place to a high place — like when you board an airplane and ascend through the clouds, or when you leave an airplane and arrive in the airport — your ears feel stuffy.

Those receiving Hyperbaric Oxygen therapy may experience some mild irritation in the ear drum. This happens to approximately 10% of patients while undergoing therapy, and the HMS technician will explain this occurrence and how to prevent it beforehand. Other temporary side effects may include vision changes, dizziness or lightheadedness:
Middle ear injuries, including leaking fluid and eardrum rupture, due to changes in air pressure, Temporary nearsightedness (myopia) caused by temporary eye lens changes, Lung collapse caused by air pressure changes (barotrauma), Seizures as a result of too much oxygen (oxygen toxicity) in your central nervous system, Lowered blood sugar in people who have diabetes treated with insulin, In certain circumstances, fire — due to the oxygen-rich environment of the treatment chamber.

Patients should avoid eating and drinking prior to treatment, unless medically required, as it can lead to a messy post-treatment session in which patients are required to clean up after themselves. Medications and supplements are not compatible with oxygen therapy; a complete list of medications and supplements taken by the patient should be provided at the start of each session.
To see the best results from your treatment, we recommend that you refrain from smoking and drinking alcohol for eight hours before you begin. Why? Because smoking causes constriction of blood vessels — which is counterproductive to Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. Drinking alcohol may also cause dehydration or nausea  which can increase the likelihood of vomiting in the hyperbaric chamber.

When you come for a consultation, the hyperbaric staff will review the complete process with you, and tell you about what is and isn’t allowed inside the chamber. While most items are not allowed in the chamber because they’re a fire hazard, the facility does provide 100% cotton scrubs, sheets, blankets and a plastic cup with water. Examples of items prohibited inside the hyperbaric chamber include deodorant, lotion, perfume, mousse, gel, hairspray, makeup, jewelry, hair accessories, hearing aids, hard contact lenses, dentures, prostheses, nail polish (unless applied at least 48 hours prior to treatment), IV medication, and any clothing item that has buttons, snaps, Velcro, iron-on decals, or under-wiring.

You’ll have plenty to choose from when you’re recovering from your condition in a hyperbaric chamber. Our facility offers a wide range of options to help you relax during your session, including our DVDs, TV, and movies. You can even bring your personal collection of movies to watch on our DVD player.

Every patient responds to therapy differently, and at Healox we are committed to tailoring treatments specifically for you. The number of treatments you need depends on specific factors, including your health and the unique needs of your case. On average, patients require 30-40 sessions, but we’ll work with you to provide the care you need.

There are some serious contraindications to Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. Untreated pneumothorax, moderately severe COPD, bullous lung disease, and current chemotherapy use all bar patients from treatment. Discussing with a Medical Team member allows us to determine whether treatment is safe and appropriate for you.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy has been proven to be effective at treating 14 conditions, whether or not you have coverage for those treatments. We work with many payment options and programs to help you get the treatment you need, regardless of your insurance policy.

Our goal is to be a solutions provider for your business needs. To be the company that you tell all of your friends and family about.

At the first consultation, your doctor will evaluate your condition to make sure that you’re a good candidate for oxygen treatment. Then, while you’re at every appointment, your doctor will be monitoring you and keeping track of your progress. We’ll take regular notes with our electronic medical records system — an indispensable tool for tracking everything that happens during treatment.

At HealOx we use state-of-the-art monoplace hyperbaric chambers, which deliver 100% oxygen instead of room air.

Covered conditions are conditions that have been approved by the FDA for hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and as such are covered by insurance. Non-covered conditions are conditions that are not yet officially recognized by the FDA. Off-label conditions are not covered by insurance unless they’ve been officially recognized by the FDA, but our doctors will work with your insurer to try to give you the best care possible.
For more information about covered conditions please vitsit: www.fda.org.

Yes, many conditions have very promising research to support the use of HBOT.

In the U.S., there are 14 FDA approved conditions. In Europe, however, there are over 40 approved indications. In Japan and China, there are over 60.

Over the last decade, the benefits of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) for patients with certain conditions that are considered Non-Covered have been well documented through a growing body of supporting research. Patients around the world and at HealOx have experienced the positive effects of HBOT in their everyday lives, which has led to an increased demand for this type of treatment.

There are currently  ongoing investigations of non-covered conditions and there is also extensive research available for that support its use. 

Yes, indeed. Research into the therapeutic benefits of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in surgery is ongoing and making a difference for people all over the world, one step at a time. For example, diabetic foot ulcers have been known to heal as much as 50 percent faster with regular treatments in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber.