Hyperbaric chamber Brisbane
The ultimate aim of hyperbaric oxygen therapy is to speed up the healing process of wounds, burns or infections.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy Brisbane
What is hyperbaric oxygen therapy?
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is a medical treatment used to speed up the healing process of wounds, burns or infections. Without HBOT, these wounds, burns or infections wouldn’t heal easily or heal at all.
When you receive this type of treatment, you are in a hyperbaric chamber, which allows you to breathe pure oxygen. The goal is to increase the amount of oxygen that is delivered to your body’s damaged tissues
Because the pressure in the hyperbaric chamber is much higher than outside of it, it allows for more oxygen to be dissolved in your blood. That then helps repair tissue damage and restore your body’s function in an area to as close to normal as possible.
HBOT is most commonly known to treat divers for decompression sickness (AKA “the bends”). But it is used to treat many more conditions which we describe on this page.
Hyperbaric chamber Brisbane
What is a pressurised or hyperbaric chamber?
A pressurised or hyperbaric chamber is a specially controlled environment that can withstand high pressure and is typically made of metal or acrylic.
The pressure we’re talking about is usually between 1 and 3 times the normal pressure that we feel in our day-to-day lives. In this environment, you can breathe pure oxygen, enabling your lungs to absorb a lot more oxygen compared to standard air pressure.
There are two main types of hyperbaric chambers:
- Monoplace chambers: accommodate one patient at a time,
- Multiplace chambers: accommodate several people, including medical staff.
At Wesley Hyperbaric, we use a multi-place chamber. We are a licensed day hospital and Australia’s first and largest, private and fully comprehensive hyperbaric oxygen therapy facility.
If you’ve been offered mild hyperbaric therapy (HBT), you might be wondering how it’s different from regular hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). HBT is usually done in a small shop front facility or even at home with a portable chamber. The pressure used in HBT is much lower than in HBOT, usually less than 1.5 times the normal air pressure.
The biggest difference is that during HBOT, you breathe in pure oxygen at a much higher pressure than normal. This helps deliver more oxygen to your body’s tissues, which can be really helpful for certain conditions. HBT, on the other hand, uses regular air or air with a little extra oxygen, but the pressure is not enough to deliver as much oxygen as pure oxygen at high pressure.
Conditions HBOT Brisbane
Which conditions can be treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy?
As we mentioned before, Wesley Hyperbaric is the largest fully accredited licensed day hospital providing a comprehensive hyperbaric facility in Australia. We have hyperbaric-trained doctors and nursing staff available at all times.
Our facility is registered for the treatment of a range of health conditions, for which it has been proven that HBOT may be beneficial. Here’s a list of conditions that can be treated at Wesley Hyperbaric:
If you have been diagnosed with one of these conditions, you are likely to be eligible for medical treatment using HBOT.
If you suspect that you may have one of these conditions, and you want to learn more about how HBOT can be beneficial, please click on the links or go to our main menu and click on conditions.
Medicare covers 8 of the UHMS-approved conditions for hyperbaric oxygen therapy and some private insurers cover a few more conditions. Discover which medical conditions are covered.
It is important to note that Medicare and some private health insurers may cover the cost of HBOT for certain medical conditions. However, coverage and reimbursement can vary depending on the insurance provider and policy, so it’s important to check with your insurance company before starting treatment. Please contact administration staff prior to your admission for an estimate of fees and charges.
HBOT explained
How does it work?
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) works by exposing the body to pure oxygen at a higher-than-normal pressure, which can increase the amount of oxygen you breathe by 10 to 20 times. Breathing in this high-pressure oxygen can lead to a significant increase in the amount of oxygen in your bloodstream.
This increase in oxygen can help your body heal in a few different ways. First, it can help oxygen reach deeper into your tissues, which can help improve healing. Additionally, the high-pressure oxygen can help increase blood flow and stimulate the growth of new blood vessels, which can further aid in the healing process.
- First
- Then
In this image, you can see how breathing pure or 100% oxygen under pressure causes the oxygen to saturate the blood, diffusing into the blood plasma completely. This oxygenated plasma can travel past the restriction, whereas without HBOT the occlusion of the blood vessel reduces the blood and oxygen flow. However, with HBOT, the oxygenated plasma diffuses up to 3 times further into the tissue.
Then, oxygen under pressure forces more oxygen into the tissues and encourages new blood vessels to grow. As these new blood vessels develop, the red blood cells start to flow, delivering even more oxygen to the affected area. This creates the optimal environment for the body’s natural healing processes to repair damaged tissue.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy benefits
6 benefits of hyperbaric oxygen therapy you need to know
Improved oxygen delivery: HBOT allows more oxygen to be delivered to tissues and organs throughout the body, which can improve healing and reduce inflammation.
Faster wound healing: HBOT can stimulate the growth of new blood vessels and promote the growth of new tissue, which can help speed up the healing process.
Reduced swelling: HBOT can help reduce swelling and inflammation by increasing oxygen supply to the affected area, which can help reduce pain and promote healing.
Enhanced immune function: HBOT can increase the production of white blood cells and other immune cells, which can help fight infections and improve immune function.
Treating medical conditions: HBOT has been used to treat a variety of medical conditions, including decompression sickness, diabetic foot ulcers, radiation injuries, idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss and certain types of infections.
Eliminating toxic substances and reducing the effects from toxic substances such as carbon monoxide, by increasing the amount of oxygen available to bind to the toxic substance and helping the body eliminate it more efficiently.
Are hyperbaric chambers safe
HBOT is considered low-risk
HBOT is considered low-risk when used under the guidance of trained medical professionals.
As with every medical treatment, there are some risks, including:
- Changes in pressure: Any time that the environmental pressure is changed, all of the air spaces within the body must remain in balance with these changes. If they do not, you would feel discomfort. You may experience this discomfort in your ears, and very rarely, sinus space or tooth discomfort. If discomfort occurs, you must advise a hyperbaric team member immediately so that corrective action can be implemented, such as equalising the pressure in your ears.
- Oxygen toxicity: When provided under hyperbaric conditions, oxygen becomes a potent drug. This effect is beneficial in certain illnesses. It is important to get the dos right. Too much hyperbaric oxygen may affect the brain and produce one or more signs or symptoms. If the situation is not corrected a generalised seizure may result. This is an extremely rare occurrence, and at Wesley Hyperbaric we eliminate patients who are considered high-risk for this complication.
- Visual changes: Some patients undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy develop a temporary visual change, called myopia. Closer focus (reading a book or a magazine, for instance) improves. Focus on distant objects becomes impaired. This change is self-correcting, over the next several weeks to months, once the hyperbaric exposures have been completed.
- Fire: In certain circumstances, fire may happen — due to the oxygen-rich environment of the treatment chamber — but this is extremely rare.
Hyperbaric Brisbane
Unlock the healing power of oxygen
If you or a loved one are struggling with a medical condition and you believe you could benefit from hyperbaric oxygen therapy, we advise you to make a GP appointment.
Your GP will be able to advise if you are eligible for hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Once you have a GP referral you can book an appointment at Wesley Hyperbaric in Brisbane.
Your journey starts with these 3 steps
When you have completed your hyperbaric sessions, your condition is reassessed by one of our doctors.