Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy 

From the Web Site www.bayareahyperbarics.com:

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, abbreviated HBO, is a medical treatment that uses pure oxygen to speed and enhance the body’s natural ability to heal. High dose oxygen therapy is approved by the American Medical Association, FDA, and Medicare. Patients who may benefit from HBO suffer from various diseases or injuries associated with hypoxia (or a lack of oxygen on a cellular level). It is at this cellular tissue level where all life takes place. The treatments are both non-invasive and painless. A patient undergoing treatment spends a prescribed amount of time sitting or laying in one of our cylindrical, body-length chambers, where pure oxygen is administered and atmospheric pressure is increased and controlled under meticulous conditions. The dosage, which includes pressure, time and frequency of treatments, is suited to each patient’s specific diagnosis.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is used for a variety of medical conditions — such as radiation burns, slow healing wounds, infections, and post-traumatic swelling. Hockey and  basketball teams use hyperbaric medicine to bring players off the injury list faster. By increasing the amount of oxygen in the blood, and hence to the tissues, the treatment stimulates the production of collagen, a protein that helps heal wounds. Some football teams, such as the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys, have their own chambers.

How Does Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Heal Your Body?

By dissolving extra oxygen into your blood, hyperbaric therapy:

·        Kills bacteria, fights infections.

·        Breaks down complex toxins.

·        Promotes collegen matrix and blood vessel formation.

·        Promotes osteoclastic (bone cell) and other types of cellular activity and reproduction.

·        Heals by supplying ischemic (oxygen poor) tissue with the necessary oxygen for healing.

·        Promotes the growth of new tissue.

·        Reduces pain due to swelling.

What Is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Used For?

·        Kills infections and bacteria that die when exposed to an oxygen rich environment.

·        More quickly heals damage to your body — from car accidents, sports or other injuries.

·        Reduces painful swelling that interferes with movement and other treatments.

·        After surgery — it shortens the healing time, reduces swelling and bruising and gets you back on your feet faster.

·        With compromised circulation such as peripheral vascular disease, it rebuilds blood vessels.

What is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been used for 35 years to cure certain medical problems. Instead of breathing room air which has 21% oxygen, you breathe 100% oxygen through a mask or hood. In order to get the increased oxygen into all the tissues of your body, you enter the hyperbaric chamber which is then filled with pressurized air.

Will My Insurance Pay For It?

This depends on the problem or diagnosis and the kind of insurance you have. Although hyperbaric oxygen therapy is approved by the FDA, AMA, MediCare and MediCal, insurance will pay for treatment on some diseases and not others. We are the preferred provider for several plans, but not all plans will pay for healing all types of problems. Call us and we will help answer your questions.

If I Have More Questions That Need Answering —

Call us at (650) 567-9110 and speak with anyone at our clinic. Our Director, Lisa St. John will be happy to answer your questions. In addition, we have a Medical Director and can refer you to doctors specifically trained and certified in hyperbaric medicine, who can also answer your questions. We will also discuss hyperbaric oxygen therapy with your doctor if requested.

Medicare

Medicare will pay for Hyerbaric Oxygen Therapy treatment for the following conditions:

Acute carbon monoxide intoxication
Decompression Illness
Gas Embolism
Gas Gangrene
Acute traumatic peripheral ishemia. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a valuable adjunctive treatment to be used in combination with accepted standard therapeutic measures, when loss of function, limb or life is threatened.
Crush injuries and suturing of severed limbs. As in the previous conditions, HBO therapy would be an adjunctive treatment, when loss of function, limb or life is threatened.
Certain non-healing wounds
Acute peripheral arterial insufficiency
Preparation and preservation of compromised skin grafts
Chronic refractory osteomyelitis, unresponsive to conventional medical and surgical management.
Osteroradionecrosis as an adjunct to conventional treatment
Soft tissue radionecrosis (radiation induced traumatized tissue) as an adjunct to conventional treatment.
Cyanide poisoning
Actinomycosis, only as an adjunct to conventional therapy when the disease process is refractory to antibiotics and surgical treatment.

Medical Conditions Treatable by Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy