Serious Issues To Consider Prior To Hyperbaric Facility Planning

By Janine Hughes


The inhalation of 100% pure oxygen while lying inside a sealed chamber is highly regarded as a healthy and non-invasive treatment for many conditions. However, as with all medical treatments, there are always some risks for some patients. These risks must be considered when engaged in 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.

Hands-down the most dangerous side-effect of any treatment occurs when patients place more confidence in the treatment than they should, believing it can cure illnesses for which testing and research has not yet been conducted. This particular treatment has promised to cure ailments such as cancer, diabetes, and autism even though no research has been conducted showing that there is anything more than a placebo effect taking place.

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.

Many of the side-effects of these chambers are little-known, but patients and doctors both should be aware. First off, about 10% of all patients who undergo this therapy will experience some form of a seizure. Many facilities limit the length of time a patient can spend in the chamber, or require room-air breaks in the middle of a session.

Only slightly less disturbing is the fact that patients who undergo regular sessions may experience a form of myopia which appears to be temporary. This effect seems to last weeks or months, but it can be quite troublesome. Because the risk of this increases when a patient has multiple sessions, it is recommended that patients limit the amount of time they spend in the chamber.

An even more serious side-effect is the potential for permanent damage to the inner ear of patients who spend long spans of time in the chamber on a regular basis. This vertigo can cause any patient to fall, but especially those who are over the age of 65 or have terminal illness. Currently there is no system in place to track the hours of chamber-time a patient receives from various facilities, and there are no laws restricting it either.




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