Is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Right for You?
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, or HBOT, works by pushing more oxygen into your bloodstream and tissues than your body would normally take in on its own.
Doctors most often turn to it for chronic wounds, stubborn infections, and injuries in which the damaged tissue needs more oxygen than it’s currently getting to heal properly. Whether it makes sense for you depends on your specific diagnosis and what your provider learns during an evaluation.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy may be recommended for:
Non-Healing Wounds
Some wounds just won’t close on their own, often because of poor circulation or another underlying condition.
Diabetic Leg & Foot Wounds
Diabetic ulcers often heal slowly and carry a real risk of infection if they’re left unaddressed.
Gas Gangrene
This bacterial infection spreads through soft tissue quickly and requires immediate medical treatment.
Chronic Bone Infection (Osteomyelitis)
A bone infection that’s dug in and won’t fully clear up with antibiotics alone.
Decompression Sickness
Rapid changes in pressure, which scuba divers most often encounter, can trigger this condition.
Acute Arterial Insufficiency
When blood flow drops suddenly, the affected tissue can quickly become oxygen-deprived and damaged.
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
A true emergency. Carbon monoxide blocks oxygen from reaching the organs and tissues that need it to survive.
Radiation-Related Tissue Damage
Sometimes tissue damage from cancer radiation doesn’t show up until months or years later.
Crush Injuries
Prolonged pressure or serious trauma can cause extensive damage to muscles, blood vessels, and surrounding soft tissues.
Necrotizing Soft Tissue Infections
These bacterial infections move quickly, destroying skin, muscle, and surrounding tissue as they spread.
Long COVID Symptoms (Physician Evaluation Required)
HBOT can be a potential treatment for certain persistent Long COVID symptoms. Your physician can determine whether it may be appropriate based on your condition.
Cancerous Tumors
HBOT may be used to help manage certain complications of cancer treatment, such as radiation-related tissue damage, when appropriate.
Dementia
Researchers are still investigating whether HBOT offers any benefit to cognitive health in certain patients.
Referring a Patient
Physicians can send patients our way for wound care or for an HBOT evaluation. Once treatment starts, we stay in touch with the referring provider by sending progress updates, sharing our treatment recommendations, and preparing a detailed discharge summary once care wraps up.