Friday, January 23, 2015

Serious Issues To Consider Prior To Hyperbaric Facility Planning

By Janine Hughes


For many years pure oxygen has been utilized as a treatment in hospitals and doctors offices, and this treatment often shows some very positive results. The procedure is relaxing as well as being non-invasive to patients who frequently are also suffering serious injuries or life-threatening disease. However, there are risks which must be understood while in the stage of hyperbaric facility planning.

The building itself must be up to code and authorized to store large amounts of pure oxygen on site. Oxygen canisters are flammable and can be highly explosive, thus posing a threat to the surrounding community. Not only that, but the office where the procedure is being carried out would be utterly destroyed along with everyone inside.

This particular treatment has been used to treat carbon monoxide poisoning as well as incidents of poor wound healing. It has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of decompression illness resulting from rising to the surface too quickly while deep sea diving. Anyone who lives in an area where diving is a popular activity has probably these chambers inside the local acute care center.

Individuals run the risk of believing the treatment alone will cure them because they feel better. Utilizing an holistic treatment rather than continuing with scheduled chemo or other treatment can have potentially fatal results. There is no proof that these chambers can even treat, let alone cure diabetes, cancer, aging, depression, or autism.

Because the treatment is regarded as fairly benign, and it reportedly does improve the overall health and well-being of the patients who use it, there is always the risk that patients will neglect or completely discontinue their allopathic treatments. While the medical community does agree that even a placebo effect is good medicine if it makes the patient feel better, they also urge their patients to continue treatments such as chemotherapy or dialysis. Failure to keep these appointments, as scheduled, can have fatal results.

There are some health risks associated with this type of oxygen therapy, and patients should be aware of them. Seizures have been reported occurring as a result of high-oxygen saturation. Roughly ten percent of patients experience some form of seizure, so many facilities now require a ten minute period on room air for every hour and a half they spend in the chamber.

A temporary decrease in visual acuity, known as myopia, can develop as a result of this treatment. So far this appears to be only temporary, but it can create a real problem for patients. It takes a period of time for this myopia to return to normal, and such side-effects are the reason doctors will recommend only limited amounts of time within the chamber.

Worse than the myopia is the potential for permanent damage to the inner ear. This can be dangerous to elderly patients or anyone suffering osteoporosis. The inner ear controls balance, and a sudden and unexplained attack of vertigo can cause a person to take a terrible fall.




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