Here we go again! Hyperbaric Oxygen is one of the most effective therapies I have seen for preventing amputations, reducing healing times, and helping patients drastically improve their quality of life. And as often happens, it gets stuffed into three familiar headings: Diving, Autisim, and Sports! This brief mention on Hyperbaric Chambers from WIRED Magazine, (by the way, great picture) highlights the ongoing lack of education regarding the proven benefits of Hyperbaric Medicine. Is it not “smart”, that people can actually keep their limbs? I have seen similiar stories over my time in this industry, most notably the myth of Michael Jackson sleeping in a chamber.
I am glad that WIRED put in a mention of Hyperbaric Chambers, I hope more stories emerge of how beneficial and cost-effective this therapy is for medically accepted, Medicare approved indications.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is carried out in a Hyperbaric Chamber, not a glorified sleeping bag with a zipper.
The latter was initially developed for mountain climbers to recover from altitude sickness, however now it seems to be standard equipment for every baseball and football player you hear about.
The former must be a A PVHO (Pressure Vessel Human Occupancy) approved chamber, and has several regulations it must meet. It is a drug-delivery device, since it does deliver Oxygen under pressure to the patient. UHMS (Undersea Hyperbaric Medical Society) and the American College of Hyperbaric Medicine are great resources to learn more about this medical therapy. There are several manufactures that make these clinical chambers here in the US. One of the biggest, and our choice for chambers, is Sechrist, located in California.
I cringe each time I hear about a “bag” being referred to as a Hyperbaric Chamber.
I could scream from my soap box about this for hours, however bottom line, the true effects of Hyperbaric Therapy change lives, and should be under the supervision of trained Physicians, using regulated and safe equipment.
Now you can climb back into your bag.
