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Diabetic foot ulcers can, for
many patients, seem to appear
out of nowhere. Diabetics tend
to lose sensation in the feet;
therefore, they are more easily
injured and they may not even
notice that the injury has
occurred. This can leave these
ulcers untreated for a period of
time and leave them susceptible
to serious infection. Once a
patient presents with a diabetic
foot ulcer, a physician will
need to determine if the ulcer
is ischemic (caused by narrowing
of the arteries), neuropathic
(actual injury to the nerve) or
a combination of both.
Traditional treatment involves
bandaging, using an
anti-bacterial topical product
and an orthotic to keep the
pressure off the ulcer. This
traditional method does not have
an impressive success rate when
used alone, but when combined
with hyperbaric chamber
treatment, the statistics show a
significant rise. For instance,
diabetics suffering with foot
ulcers who undergo traditional
treatment avoid amputation 61%
of the time. However, with added
hyperbaric oxygen therapy, the
number rises to 89%.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy
involves little participation
from the patient. The patient
simply lies inside the
hyperbaric chamber and breathes
normally. While in the chamber,
the patient is exposed to 100%
oxygen and 2 to 3 times the
normal atmospheric pressure.
This pressure is equivalent to a
diver reaching 50 feet
underwater. This method of
therapy exposes the infected
tissues to high concentrations
of oxygen. The atmospheric
pressure increases the level of
dissolved gases in the patient’s
blood by 2 to 3 times its normal
amount. In other words, the
oxygen dissolved in the blood
increases from 0.32% to 6.8%.
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