An Introduction to Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapies

1. An Introduction to
HyperbaricOxygen
Therapies
Sam Gerson MD

2. An
Introduction to
Hyperbaric
Oxygen
Therapies
 Samuel “Sam” Gerson, MD, combines a career as an emergency
physician with extensive experience as a SCUBA diving instructor.
Currently a research diver for the American Academy of
Underwater Scientists, Dr. Samuel Gerson also served as an
investigator in a NewYork Presbyterian Hospital study on
hyperbaric oxygen in cases of carbon monoxide poisoning.

3. An
Introduction to
Hyperbaric
Oxygen
Therapies
 During hyperbaric oxygen therapy, patients rest in a sealed
chamber with air pressure of 1.5 to three times normal
atmospheric levels. Inhaling pure oxygen within this environment,
they take more oxygen into their lungs than usual.The blood
carries this oxygen throughout the body to cells that need it most,
thus efficiently promoting healing.

4. An
Introduction to
Hyperbaric
Oxygen
Therapies
 Long a widely accepted treatment for decompression sickness in
scuba divers, hyperbaric oxygen therapy has emerged as an option
for treating a wide variety of infections and illnesses.The
Committee on Hyperbaric OxygenTherapy of the Undersea and
Hyperbaric Medicine suggests that it is useful in addressing
arterial gas embolism, radiation injury, and anemia stemming
from severe blood loss, among other conditions. It has also proven
effective in treating carbon monoxide poisoning as well as a
number of injuries that result from or are exacerbated by a lack of
blood or oxygen flow to the affected region.