Powered by Blogger.

Serious Issues To Consider Prior To Hyperbaric Facility Planning

By Janine Hughes


The health benefits of oxygen have long been known, but in the medical community this notion has been taken to the next level. Patients seek less invasive treatments for illnesses, even though some of these treatments also carry a measure of risk. In this climate, it is necessary for an up-and-coming provider of holistic as well as allopathic medicine to educate themselves before hyperbaric facility planning.

The first and most obvious danger of this form of treatment involves the presence of oxygen containers which would be stored on-site. Canisters of O2 are highly combustible, and have been known to explode. Researching proper storage as well as required licensure allowing it is necessary, as such an accident would likely take out the entire operation and everyone in it.

These chambers are often found in acute care centers along the coast because the treatment has been FDA-approved for the treatment of decompression sickness. This condition happens to divers who come up to the surface too quickly. Success has also been met with the use of this treatment for carbon monoxide poisoning, and the FDA does recommend attempting to treat these patients in a chamber to see if they can get the patient breathing again.

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.

Although research is still being done, because it is a benign treatment that truly makes patients feel better, many people suffering serious illness seek these chambers. Anything that can make a cancer patient feel better is generally regarded as a positive thing. However, patients are cautioned to continue their chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy if that is the treatment they agreed to in the beginning.

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.

Oddly enough, temporary near-sightedness, also known as myopia, can occur as a side-effect of multiple long sessions in the chamber. By temporary, this generally means literally weeks or months of lessened visual acuity, potentially requiring corrective lenses which may have to be changed frequently. This comes as a real shock to patients who have had their vision corrected with Lasik.

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.




About the Author:



0 comments:

Post a Comment