Hyperbaric Chambers Have Many Uses

A hyperbaric chamber is a room or tank that can be completely sealed. The reason it is sealed is that the pressure inside of the chamber increases so that it is higher than the air pressure at sea level. The pressure inside the chamber will eventually equal the same amount of pressure you would be subject to underwater. If the chamber isn't completely sealed or opened suddenly, the depressurization can be disastrous. The chamber can also be flooded with 100% oxygen as necessary. Hyperbaric chambers have many uses. 

Diving

One of the uses of hyperbaric chambers is for divers working long-term deep underwater. Those divers work under high pressures, and for them to go back up to the surface would mean they would have to spend a lot of time decompressing. However, if they can use a large hyperbaric chamber, it can be set to the same pressure the divers are working at. The divers can stay in that chamber without having to decompress and still be able to do their work safely.

Decompression Sickness

Another use of a hyperbaric chamber is for divers who have the bends or decompression sickness. This condition involves having nitrogen bubbles in the bloodstream and the joints. It can be excruciating. The person suffering from decompression sickness can go into the hyperbaric chamber where the atmospheric pressure can be lowered and then slowly brought back up over hours or days. That forces the nitrogen out of the bloodstream and joints. 

Chronic Osteomyelitis

Osteomyelitis is an infection in the bone or the bone marrow. Chronic osteomyelitis is an infection that doesn't go away no matter how much treatment the person gets. The most common treatment for chronic osteomyelitis is surgery to remove the infected bone and IV antibiotics, but when those don't work, the doctors need to go with different treatments. Putting the patient in a hyperbaric chamber flooded with 100% oxygen helps to force oxygen into the infected area. The patient's lungs will also absorb more oxygen, get more O2 into their systems, and help fight the infection. The patient won't have just one hyperbaric treatment. It will take a series of treatments to help with the bone infection. 

Hyperbaric chambers are used for many different things. However, not all medical centers have one, meaning they would need to rent one to treat their patients as necessary or send them to a different facility. If you are interested in hyberbaric chamber rental, contact a local company.


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