The Healing Power of the Hyperbaric Chamber
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It’s the only one of its kind in Southwest Florida and it can be found in Lee County. A multi place hyperbaric oxygen chamber offers treatment to patients suffering from a range of illnesses.
According to Marcus Scharre, wound care supervisor with Lee Memorial Health System, once inside the chamber patients have between two to six hours where they can sit, lie, read, or watch a movie. “It’s a painless thing. There are no needles. There’s no pain involved. They just breathe oxygen.”
The multi place hyperbaric oxygen chamber can hold up to seven people inside. Outside, health experts are monitoring the patient’s breathing.
“They are inside breathing 100 percent oxygen under pressure, 2.4 times the pressure we’re at right now. Breathing that under pressure saturates the plasma portion, liquid portion of your blood. Plasma is what transports oxygen and nutrients out to the cells,” said Scharre.
The treatment occurs under 45 feet of pressure. The purpose is to heal wounds caused by diabetic ulcers or radiation. It can also be used to treat heart disease or cerebral palsy. Health experts say the chamber is even used in emergencies, like carbon monoxide poisoning or scuba diving accidents. The treatment also helps enhance immune systems, stimulate growth of new capillaries, and reduce swelling.
“What the patient will physically feel is the pressure change in their ears and a temperature change. It kind of gets warm when we reach our pressure depth and it cools off when we come back up” said Scharre.
A patient will typically have treatment from four to six weeks. Scharre says the more treatments in a row, the better off the patient will be.
View More Health Matters video segments at leememorial.org/healthmatters/
Lee Memorial Health System in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of medical care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For nearly a century, we’ve been providing our community with everything from primary care treatment to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries.
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