Article content There are private clinics now offering hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Many claim it will heal everything from sports injuries to Lyme disease to autism. Some parents think it will improve sports performance and help their children achieve the competitive edge it takes to go pro.
But hyperbaric oxygen is not pseudo-science. It is a valid medical therapy. It just won’t do any of the above.
And you shouldn’t have to pay for it out of pocket. The treatment involves putting a patient in a hyperbaric chamber and delivering pure oxygen, or sometimes just normal air, at high pressures — generally two to three times higher than atmospheric pressure. A collapsed lung would be an absolute contraindication, while other forms of lung disease do not necessarily preclude the treatment.
High-concentration oxygen is toxic to the central nervous system, so anyone with a history of seizures should be wary, as seizures are a known complication. The high pressure can also be damaging to the eardrum and sinuses in some circumstances, but these are generally mild and short-lived issues. While relatively safe overall, the procedure is not benign.
In some settings, the benefits of using hyperbaric oxygen therapy are clear because it will increase the amount of oxygen in your blood. Most of the oxygen in your blood is bound to hemoglobin in your red blood cells. When you measure your oxygen saturation with a pulse oximeter (a clip on your finger), you are measuring the percentage of .
