How Hyperbaric Therapy Treats Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Carbon monoxide poisoning can be scary to experience, but there are several ways to treat it. Carbon monoxide poisoning can be treated through hyperbaric therapy. Here is how hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) can assist in your recovery:

HBOT and Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

HBOT can be a helpful treatment for carbon monoxide poisoning. When a patient gets carbon monoxide poisoning, the oxygen in their red blood cells is replaced with carbon monoxide. The carbon monoxide in the red blood cells makes it difficult to get oxygen to the patient’s tissue and organs. 

Carbon monoxide poisoning can cause a patient to feel dizzy, confused, weak, nauseous, have headaches, or experience shortness of breath. There are a few different options for carbon monoxide poisoning treatment, including hyperbaric oxygen therapy. When a patient spends time in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, the carbon monoxide is replaced with pure oxygen. 

When carbon monoxide is replaced with pure oxygen, the side effects of the poisoning can be alleviated. The hyperbaric oxygen chamber increases the amount of oxygen regular breathing gives. This can assist in helping the side effects of carbon monoxide poisoning faster than other treatments. Carbon monoxide can be forced out of the body when a patient is placed in a hyperbaric chamber. 

Once a patient is submitted to the hospital, a doctor can decide whether or not they need hyperbaric treatment or if another treatment would suit them better.

How Does Hyperbaric Therapy Work? 

When a patient enters a hyperbaric chamber, there are a few things to understand. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy works by flooding the lungs with 100% pure oxygen. This happens by entering a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. These chambers are clear tubes that a patient lays down in. The chamber is closed and then pressurizes the air up to three or four times the normal amount. Pressurized air can fill patients’ lungs with 100% pure oxygen. The oxygen can also be absorbed through the skin.

Pure oxygen can assist in healing cells that have been harmed by carbon monoxide. Session times can vary depending on the severity of the carbon monoxide poisoning. One session may get the carbon monoxide out of a patient’s system, but others may need several sessions. A physician should be able to tell whether or not a patient will need more than one treatment by the levels of carbon monoxide in their blood. 

The FDA has approved hyperbaric oxygen treatment for carbon monoxide poisoning, among other conditions. 

Other Hyperbaric Oxygen Treated Conditions  

Other than carbon monoxide poisoning, here are other conditions that hyperbaric oxygen therapy may help: 

FDA Approved Treatments

The FDA has approved 14 different treatments with hyperbaric oxygen, like carbon monoxide poisoning, intracranial abscess, skin grafts, thermal burns, wound healing, and more. To find out if a hyperbaric treatment is approved for your condition contact your physician. 

Physical Treatments

Anemia may be helped with the assistance of hyperbaric treatment by giving the tissues more oxygen as anemics have difficulty getting enough oxygen to their red blood cells. The process of wound healing may be accelerated by this treatment. Wounds can be helped by increasing the oxygen in the body while enhancing circulation. This may help increase the rate at which the body heals. 

Chronic pain disorders, like Fibromyalgia, can be helped through hyperbaric oxygen treatment. The pain associated with this disorder may be alleviated with 100% pure oxygen. Inflammation caused by Fibromyalgia and other conditions can be reduced while getting this treatment. When inflammation has decreased, the pressure on joints may be reduced and then cause less pain. 

These are just a few of the many ways hyperbaric treatment may help with physical conditions like carbon monoxide poisoning. 

Natural Carbon Monoxide Treatment

Hyperbaric therapy can assist in the treatment of carbon monoxide poisoning, among other conditions. While hyperbaric oxygen therapy is safe, it is not the proper treatment for everyone. A physician should guide you to the appropriate treatment. Hyperbaric chambers require a prescription as it is classified as a drug through the FDA. Carbon monoxide poisoning can be harmful, but a natural replacement of the carbon monoxide through hyperbaric oxygen treatments will have you better in no time.