HBOT for CO and other things

John R. Hall

I know this is way off topic but a lot of non-hydronic topics are discussed here with very good input from Wallies. I recently wrote a business brief on a local clinic which uses hyperbaric chambers to treat all types of physical ailments. I won't get into the long list here but you can find out more by typing in the keyword 'hyperbaric' during an online search.

In short, this is how it works:

Patients undergoing hyperbaric treatment (HBOT) are placed in a chamber where 100% oxygen is circulated. The oxygen is pressurized so that air pressure may be 2-3 times greater than normal. This allows the lungs and skin to absorb more concentrated oxygen in a shorter period of time.

Hyperbarics started as a treatment for the bends, suffered by scuba divers, and now it is commonplace in Europe for people who suffer strokes, CO poisoning, anemia, and yes, autism. It is a common form of healing in Europe but faces big hurdles in the U.S. In my opinion, big pharmaceuticals and their lobbyists don't want it because it is therapy treatment and not medicinal -- lots of lost revenues for healing people in a different way. Go figure.

Anyway, the CO topic is my only connection to anything HVAC so I am using that as my vehicle to spread the word. My mother is planning a visit to this clinic this week to see how hyperbaric can help my dad with helping to increase his anemic blood flow and heal scarring from his cancer radiation treatment. I plan to chronicle his story if he begins HBOT treatment.

Unknown

John recent information

about 100% oxygen have shown this causes brain cell damage. They now mix CO2 with the oxygen to reduce the possibility of this happening. I do not have the info on this handy but will look for it and send it to you when I locate it.

Jim Davis_3

Tim, that came from a 2002 Toronto Hospital study, but guess what. I found similar info in a 1931 Natural Gas Magazine, published in Cincinnati. Not quite as complete as the 2002 study but it lets us know that once upon a time there were some smart people out there.

Unknown

Thnks Jim, I know

I have that report around somewhere I will have to dig it out.

Hey not all of gas guys are dumb!!!

Brad White_191

A few years back

when I was on a diving vacation in Curacao, in 2003, I had a long chat with a local Dutch nurse about this. (I had an unfortunate rapid ascent but checked out OK).

She mentioned that the island has a hyperbaric chamber which was all but donated by a local philanthropist. During treatment, a physician stays in there with you which takes a special person right there. The treatment can be at least a week, sometimes more.

This nurse said that to maintain the unit was expensive so they expanded the modalities of treatment to include some of the things you mentioned (autism? Cool.). The prevalence of diabetes on the island was a source of lots of poorly healing wounds. She said that cuts and sores closed up almost while you watched. Amazing stuff- and this was at a small hospital outside Willemstad, hardly more than a small community hospital but practicing advanced medicine thanks to a generous diver.

On the diving side, she did mention that they did not use 100% O2 but did mix in, I thought she said, Argon, much as you would for deep diving mixtures. Of course the idea in treating DCS after a dive mishap is to release excess nitrogen so any displacement of 78% of atmosphere is welcome. The treatment of CO dosing is a natural extension of this. What a great age.