Facts about hyperbaric oxygen therapy

Hyperbaric oxygen chamber (hyperbaric camera, hyperbaric cube) therapy was first used in the U.S. in the early 20th century.

The therapy was tried again in the 1940s when the U.S. Navy used it to treat deep-sea divers who had decompression sickness. The therapy was also used to treat carbon monoxide poisoning by the 1960s.

Today, it’s still used to treat sick scuba divers and people with carbon monoxide poisoning, including firefighters and miners. It has also been approved for more than a dozen conditions ranging from burns to bone disease. These include:

• Carbon monoxide poisoning
• Cyanide poisoning
• Crush injuries
• Gas gangrene (a form of gangrene in which gas collects in tissues)
• Decompression sickness
• Acute or traumatic reduced blood flow in the arteries
• Compromised skin grafts and flaps
• Infection in a bone (osteomyelitis) that doesn’t respond to other treatment
• Delayed radiation injury
• Flesh-eating disease (necrotizing soft tissue infection)
• Air or gas bubble trapped in a blood vessel (air or gas embolism)
• Chronic infection called actinomycosis
• Diabetic wounds that are not healing correctly

Medicare, Medicaid, and many insurance companies generally cover hyperbaric oxygen therapy for these conditions. But may not do so in every case. Check with your insurance plan to see if it is covered and if you need pre-authorization before treatment.

Be aware that HBOT is not considered safe and effective for treating certain conditions. These include HIV/AIDs, brain injury, heart disease, stroke, asthma, depression, spinal cord injury, and sports injuries.