Fresh Air Really Could Be Best Medicine Mit (NAPSA)—Anew kind of heal- I ing environment may be a breath of fresh air for those with wounds that aren’t healing. | Introduced in the mid-1960s, hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) chambers are a marriage between a reclining bed, a home theater system and state-of-the-art medical technology. Today, these chambers are used to treat over a dozen conditions and are even used to help save limbs from amputation. Patients watch movies while relaxing on a bed encased within a large see-through plastic shell. The noninvasive therapy surrounds them with 100 percent oxygen at higher-than-normal atmospheric pressure to stimulate wound healing physiological responses in the cells andtissues. If your health care professional suggests you consider HBO for a chronic wound, Dr. Bob Bartlett, corporate medical director of National Healing Corporation, which manages wound healing centers nationwide, offers the fol- lowing information: As with experiencing hyperbaric pressure underwater, treatments are called dives. Those with lung conditions maynot be suitable candidates for the treatment. As on a plane, the only sensation patients experience is a slight pressure in the ears as the pressure changes. * Dives last 90 minutes to two hours. Typically, it will take 20 to 30 dives during a period of four to six weeks to heal a chronic wound A Breath of FreshAir: An innovative therapy surrounds patients with 100 percent oxygen at higher-than-normal pressure to stimulate wound healing at the cellular level. that has not responded to previous therapies. * In most instances, Medicare, Medicaid and the majority of insurance plans cover treatment. This kind of therapy is used only for wounds that have not responded to other treatments and likely candidates for the therapy are patients suffering from diabetic ulcers, infections, compromised skin grafts and flaps, and wounds that haven’t healed within 30 days. The treatment is prescribed by a variety of medical professionals, including primary care physicians, internists, podiatrists, radiation oncologists, dentists, endocrinologists, gynecologists, neurologists and urologists. To locate a wound healing center closest to you, www.nationalhealing.com. visit
