Hyberbaric Oxygen Therapy

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Numb Toes and Aching Soles -- Coping with Peripheral Neuropathy

By A. Senneff

ISBN 0-9671107-1-8

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is a medical treatment by which oxygen is

administered at greater then normal pressure to patients. It has long been

used to treat carbon monoxide poisoning as well as burns and open wounds.

Recently, usage has been extended to a broad list of medical problems - from

spinal cord injuries to secondary infections associated with AIDS.

A patient undertaking Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy goes into a special chamber

resembling a one-person submarine. (If you have claustrophobia like my wife,

bless her, forget it.) Pure oxygen is then pumped in under pressure,

resulting in a final oxygen concentration 10 to 15 times that of outside air.

The pressure is said to force the oxygen into the body tissues, supposedly

restoring circulation where blood flow had been previously reduced or

restricted.

Several years ago a study reported by SEARCH Alliance was undertaken to assess

the efficacy of the treatment for peripheral neuropathy in HIV patients.

Although nerve conduction tests did not show any objective benefit for the

ten patients who underwent the test, seven reported subjectively that the

numbness and lethargy which they had felt before was diminished.

Even if it is someday demonstrated to be more beneficial than now thought for

PNers, there are two possible strikes against Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy; its

high cost and the relative inaccessibility of treatment centers. Almost all

of the 300 or so Hyperbaric Oxygen chambers in the U.S. are located in

hospital or other institutions.

There is at least one company offering something called " aerobic oxygen. "

According to Good For You Canada Corporation (how about that for an uplifting

name), its aerobic product is stabilized oxygen in a non-toxic liquid form.

The result, according to Good For You, is that more oxygen is introduced into

the blood stream than through normal breathing processes.

The company is rather coy in talking about the product's benefits. They say

in their sales literature, when answering the hypothetical question of what

can be expected from using it: " Everyone is different, and therefore no one

can say what the product can do for you. Look at the qualities of oxygen and

judge for yourself - you will never know until you try it! "

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There is a book review by Dorothy Gosling, RN (retired)

http://members.medinex.com/members/d/g/o/dgosling/bookrevu.html