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Why isn’t hyperbaric oxygen therapy more accepted within the medical mainstream? (Part 2)

Why isn’t hyperbaric oxygen therapy more accepted within the medical mainstream? (Part 2)

One of the most confusing issues in understanding Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is the term -“hyperbaric”. Oxygen is not “Hyperbaric”:  The use of the term “hyperbaric” may appear to imply that the oxygen delivered is different to the molecular oxygen available from the air. People may think of it as singlet oxygen 01 or ozone 03, perhaps some regard hyperbaric oxygen as 04. The correct terminology is hyperbaric oxygenation or hyperoxia. The psychology of the word “hyperbaric” indicates a potential marketing problem. The benefit from hyperbaric oxygen is derived manipulating the fraction of inspired oxygen combine with increasing the pressure around the person within a sealed chamber. This creates a condition in which more oxygen  is dissolved into plasma.

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The adjunctive nature of most oxygen supplementation:  Oxygen may be a primary treatment in some instances, but the impression is often given that oxygen therapy replaces other treatments. In most cases this is incorrect, hyperbaric oxygen compliments other therapies in the delivery of optimal care. It is not a competition between therapies.

 – Dr. Philip James, Wolfson Hyperbaric Medicine Unit, University of Dundee, Ninewalls Medical School.

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