What is Mono-place hyperbaric chamber therapy?

Pressure chamber for the application of HBO therapy

Mono-place hyperbaric chamber are common to apply hyperbaric oxygen therapy. In medicine, a pressure chamber also refers to as a decompression chamber. A modern pressure chamber usually consists of a main chamber, in which the treatment takes place, and a secondary chamber, which serves as a lock for people.

In many cases there is also a very small chamber with a capacity of only a few liters, which is common to introduce and remove medical instruments or medication.

Safe use in the mono-place hyperbaric chamber

The modern pressure chamber common for HBOT therapy differs greatly from the narrow single-person chambers from the early days of hyperbaric medicine. It usually offers space for twelve or more people, sometimes even for patients lying in hospital beds.

For their safety, patients in the decompression chamber monitor with video cameras, intercoms and sensors. Medical personnel can exit or enter the main chamber via the airlock during ongoing treatment.

Furnishings, medical technology and clothing must function fire-proof at increased air pressure and up to nine times the oxygen partial pressure. Today, mono-place hyperbaric chamber, in contrast to the first of their kind, are usually not brick rooms, but a tightly sealed, pressure-resistant steel vessel.

Pressure chamber therapy for many diseases

Treatment in a decompression chamber carries out for the following indications. Diving accident, carbon monoxide poisoning as a result of:

• Smoke gas formation
• Gas gangrene infection
• Arterial gas embolism
• Diabetic foot syndrome
• Bone necrosis and bone marrow edema syndrome.

The duration of treatment depends on the respective indication. The therapeutic mono-place hyperbaric chamber is also popular among commercial divers. It is to properly adjust to atmospheric pressure post-deployment to prevent decompression sickness. The stay in the decompression chamber can last several hours, days or weeks after long and deep diving operations.

You will be examined for your suitability for pressure

Before hyperbaric oxygen therapy, you will examine for your suitability for pressure. For example, by means of an ECG and lung function test. The patency of the auditory tube (tuba auditiva) – the tubular connection between the pharynx and the middle ear also check. This is important for equalizing the pressure in the ears.

Contact the doctor or nursing staff at any time

Mono-place hyperbaric chamber Space from which you can contact the doctor or nursing staff at any time (e.g. by speaking loudly). The pressure in the chamber now slowly increases so that the pressure in the ears can equalize without complications and as comfortably as possible.

You can facilitate this process yourself by chewing gum or pressing air into the throat area while pinching your nose.

Once the intended pressure reaches, put on an oxygen mask. You now breathe in pure oxygen through these. At the end of the therapy, the pressure reduces over a period of several minutes, which is also referred to as discharge.

Duration and number of treatments

This depends on the indication (area of ​​application), a session in the mono-place hyperbaric chamber lasts between 45 minutes and more than six hours. Treatments lasting several hours are necessary, for example, in the acute therapy of diving disease.

How many sessions held in individual cases also varies? Depending on the indication and the course of the disease, some patients only have to sit in the pressure chamber once, while others have to sit down several times (up to 30 times or more).

What are the risks of hyperbaric oxygen therapy?

The doctor treating you will explain to you in advance about the possible side effects and risks of mono-place hyperbaric chamber therapy. These include, for example:

• Barotrauma: These injuries cause by sudden changes in pressure in gas-filled body cavities (e.g. in the ear) when the pressure is insufficient.
• Irritation of the respiratory tract
• Temporary visual disturbances

Some people also react to breathing oxygen under pressure with seizures (rarely).

What do I have to consider with hyperbaric oxygen therapy?

If you experience the following symptoms during a hyperbaric oxygen therapy session in the decompression chamber, you should remove the breathing mask and contact the doctor/nurse immediately (speak up or press the call button):

• Tingling in fingertips, tip of nose or earlobe
• Face twitch
• Sudden double vision
• Burning in the upper airways or under the breastbone
• Malaise
• Restlessness

Also react if you notice such symptoms in other patients in the mono-place hyperbaric chamber.

The costs for hyperbaric oxygen therapy usually only cover by social security in certain cases. Find out about this in advance

What is a hyperbaric chamber?

To a three-year-old, the hyperbaric chamber could describe as something between a submarine and an airplane cabin. The hyperbaric chamber is approximately 7 meters long and over 2 meters in diameter. It weighs 19 tons and has 12 comfortable seats.

How does a hyperbaric chamber work? ​

Medical oxygen inhales under overpressure. This dissolves in the body, similar to a soda maker. For this we use the laws of physics (eg Henry’s law).

The mono-place hyperbaric chamber treatment is also called hyperbaric oxygen therapy. It is a recognized method of treating wounds and diseases. The therapy usually lasts two and a half hours. Oxygen is inhaled through a mask.

Why do you need the HBO? ​​

To put it simply, HBOT helps wherever there is a lack of oxygen in the body. Since diseased or injured tissue needs a generous supply of oxygen to heal and maintain its function, the alternation of oxygen deficiency and oxygen oversupply accelerates the formation of newly formed tissue and vessels.

HBO stands for “Hyperbaric Oxygenation” – it is a therapy method used in many medical disciplines worldwide. One goal is to supply tissue that is undersupplied (e.g. in wounds or bones) with sufficient oxygen again.

The treatment under the supervision of specially trained doctors

This takes place in a medical mono-place hyperbaric chamber under the supervision of a doctor and specially trained staff. During the treatment, there is a defined overpressure in the chamber, under which the patients inhale medical oxygen through masks.

The overpressure causes the oxygen in the blood to go into physical solution. As a result, the diffusion distance or penetration depth of the oxygen multiplies and reaches body cells that were previously not sufficiently supplied. The therapeutic increase in oxygen concentration triggers other bodily processes.