What is the Protocol for Hyperbaric Treatment?
Specific HBOT treatment protocols depend on your specific situation. The more severe your condition, the more HBOT treatments you will need. There is no “magical” HBOT protocol that everyone administers.
Your HBOT treatment protocol will be determined jointly by your referring physician and the medical director of the HBOT program. In fact, your referring physician will play a big role throughout the duration of your HBOT treatment.
For acute conditions – like exposure to a toxin or a sports injury – 1 or 2 HBOT treatments can usually be enough. In fact, most people with acute conditions can be completely treated in 10 days or less.
For chronic conditions – like soft tissue or bone damage – you will need more than just a few treatments. In fact, it is not uncommon for people to need 20-30 HBOT treatments or more. Depending on the severity of the ailment, chronic conditions can take a few weeks, a few months, or even a few years to heal with HBOT treatments.
When it comes to chronic conditions, some doctors will recommend as many as 40 initial treatments. Then, they will have the patient rest for a few weeks, before starting another 40 HBOT treatments.
And, it is also very common for doctors to incorporate HBOT with other forms of treatment – like physical therapy. That way, patients can get the most well-rounded treatment possible.
Whether you suffer from an acute condition or a chronic one, most HBOT treatment sessions are the same. The vast majority of sessions last 1 ½ hours or so. Rarely are patients ever in an HBOT chamber for more than 2 hours.
However, in certain emergency situations, longer HBOT sessions may be needed. For extreme cases – like severe carbon monoxide poisoning or severe decompression sickness – doctors may give you an HBOT treatment that lasts several hours. It is not unheard of for seriously sick patients to spend as much as 8 hours in an HBOT chamber.
Patients can be given 1 or 2 HBOT sessions per day. Usually, doctors advise waiting a few hours in between sessions. For best results, HBOT treatment should be administered several times per week.
The entire HBOT process is an outpatient procedure. As soon as your session is over, you are free to go home, go back to work, or do anything else that you need to do. You will not need any time to “recover” after an HBOT session. Once your session is finished, you can immediately resume your normal daily activities.
