Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves breathing pure oxygen in a pressurized environment. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a well-established treatment for decompression sickness, a potential risk of scuba diving. Other conditions treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy include:

• Serious infections.
• Bubbles of air in blood vessels.
• Wounds that may not heal because of diabetes or radiation injury.

In a hyperbaric oxygen therapy chamber, the air pressure is increased 2 to 3 times higher than normal air pressure. Under these conditions, your lungs can gather much more oxygen than would be possible breathing pure oxygen at normal air pressure.

This extra oxygen helps fight bacteria. It also triggers the release of substances called growth factors and stem cells, which promote healing.

Your body's tissues need an adequate supply of oxygen to function. When tissue is injured, it requires even more oxygen to survive. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy increases the amount of oxygen your blood can carry. With repeated treatments, the temporary extra high oxygen levels encourage normal tissue oxygen levels, even after the therapy is completed.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is used to treat several medical conditions. And medical institutions use it in different ways. Your health care provider may suggest hyperbaric oxygen therapy if you have one of the following conditions:

• Severe anemia.
• Brain abscess.
• Bubbles of air in your blood vessels, known as arterial gas embolism.
• Burns.
• Carbon monoxide poisoning.
• Crushing injury.
• Deafness, sudden.
• Decompression sickness.
• Gangrene.
• Infection of skin or bone that causes tissue death.
• Nonhealing wounds, such as a diabetic foot ulcer.
• Radiation injury.
• Skin graft or skin flap at risk of tissue death.
• Vision loss, sudden and painless.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is generally a safe procedure. Complications are rare. But this treatment does carry some risk.

Potential risks include:

• Middle ear injuries, including leaking fluid and eardrum rupture, due to changes in air pressure.
• Temporary nearsightedness, called myopia, caused by temporary eye lens changes.
• Lung collapse caused by air pressure changes, called barotrauma.
• Seizures as a result of too much oxygen, also called oxygen toxicity, in your central nervous system.
• Lowered blood sugar in people who have diabetes treated with insulin.
• In certain circumstances, fire — due to the oxygen-rich environment of the treatment chamber.

You'll be provided with a hospital-approved gown or scrubs to wear in place of regular clothing during the procedure.

For your safety, items such as lighters or battery-powered devices that generate heat are not allowed into the hyperbaric chamber. You also may need to remove hair and skin care products that are petroleum based, as they are a potential fire hazard. Your health care team will provide instruction on preparing you to undergo hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

To benefit from hyperbaric oxygen therapy, you'll likely need more than one session. The number of sessions depends upon your medical condition. Some conditions, such as carbon monoxide poisoning, might be treated in three visits. Others, such as nonhealing wounds, may require 40 treatments or more.

To effectively treat approved medical conditions, hyperbaric oxygen therapy is usually part of a broad treatment plan. This plan may include other therapies and medicines that are designed to fit your unique needs.