Healing Wounds with Advanced Oxygen Therapy

Posted by alvina on July 27th, 2019

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been used over previous decades to treat various illnesses, from decompression sickness to diabetes-related wounds and sores. It works by increasing the amount of oxygen that you can get into your body through heightened pressure of oxygen, and this increase in oxygen provides your body with more fuel to support the immune system and other healing processes. Historically, this has been achieved through entry of the whole body into ‘oxygen chambers’, which can accommodate one person at a time, or be large enough to fit several people. Recent developments have made dramatic changes to the capabilities of this treatment, however, and we can now access topical treatments of advanced oxygen therapy, which focus on specific areas in need of repair.

What is topical advanced oxygen therapy?

The definition of topical related to directly applying something to the body, and with regard to advanced oxygen therapy this means focussing the pressurised oxygen directly onto wounds, sores, or other problem areas. This changes not just the effectiveness of oxygen therapies, but also the accessibility and portability of them too. Patients no longer have to spend extended time alone inside oxygen chambers, and products are becoming available which offer repeated or single use, both in a much more acceptable size than the traditional chamber. Due to the previous size and expense involved with hyperbaric oxygen chambers, the therapy has been reserved for very serious conditions, or people with enough money to be able to afford the step price tag. With the advent of topical advanced oxygen therapy, those costs have reduced considerable, making this treatment a more viable option for many different people suffering a variety of debilitating conditions. Some products come as small as a cell phone!

What are the benefits of topical advanced oxygen therapy for wound healing?

The benefits of topical oxygen treatments are fairly unanimous in scientific discussion, with various studies supporting the claims by manufacturers that their products can greatly improve the healing process in a variety of different types of wound. Arterial and venous ulcers have shown promising improvements after treatment with topical advanced oxygen therapies, along with wounds on the extremities relating to diabetes. The human body requires lots of oxygen to function as it is supposed to, and even more when it needs to heal itself. The focussed exposure of 100% pressurised oxygen to localised areas gives the body an influx of what it needs, and stimulates faster recovery and healing. The procedure is relatively safe, and is not very invasive, and as technology continues to be developed and tweaked it is becoming even more successful.

Are there any risks involved with advanced oxygen therapies?

There are some side effects to advanced oxygen therapies, but many of those known relate to the situation of being enclosed in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. These include possible lung damage, skin irritation and temporary changes to sight and hearing. However, with the focussed treatment involved in topical advanced oxygen therapy, these symptoms are far less likely. There is not much research into the side effects of topical advanced oxygen therapy for wound healing, due in part to its youth as a treatment.