The medical use of oxygen at a higher pressure than normal atmospheric pressure to increase the amount of oxygen in blood, organs and tissues in the body. A person breathes pure oxygen while lying on a table in a sealed chamber that has been pressurized to about 1.4 to 2.8 times normal atmospheric pressure.
People are asked to breathe normally during the treatment, which can last from 30 minutes to two hours. Some of the more common side effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy are ear popping and mild discomfort, which usually diminish when the pressure is lowered. After the treatment, people often feel tired and lightheaded.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is considered a conventional treatment for a number of conditions such as decompressure sickness and carbon monoxide poisoning.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is thought of as an alternative therapy when used for conditions such as multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, cancer, autism, chronic fatigue syndrome, Lyme disease, AIDS, stroke and migraines. At present, there is insufficient scientific evidence to support these uses.
