History
Caisson disease, otherwise known as decompression sickness or the
bends, is brought on by sudden reduction of the atmospheric pressure,
too rapid for the body to accommodate to the change. The symptoms of
the disease are produced by effervescence of gases, principally
nitrogen, that has been dissolved in the blood and otherbody fluids.
When the atmospheric pressure is suddenly reduced, the dissolved gas
comes out of solution as tiny bubbles that occlude capillaries and
other small blood vessels.
Up until the mid-nineteenth century, there were many incorrect theories
to explain the reason for divers returning to the surface after a deep
sea dive suffering fainting, vomiting, deafness, paralysis and even
death. It was not until 1878, that Paul Bert in Barometric Pressure
showed precisely the cause.
Research into the use of hyperbaric oxygenation began in the 1930s as
navies and universities around the world began to study ways to safely
decompress deep-sea divers. In 1976, the American Undersea and
Hyperbaric Medical Society was established to study emerging clinical
applications of HBO therapy.
Theory
Practitioners of alternative medicine claim that HBO can be used to
treat disorders in which the oxygen supply to the body is deficient. If
due to injury or disease, the heart, lungs, or blood vessels are unable
to maintain good circulation, an increase in oxygen it is claimed, can
compensate. It is also claimed that the treatment has been found to be
beneficial for many conditions including all types of heart disease,
circulatory problems, multiple sclerosis, gangrene and stroke. Some
practitioners even claim that it has been shown to slow down the aging
process and restore natural colour to greying hair.
Practice
In science-based medicine, patients are placed in a decompression
chamber with a recommended air pressure.
In the case of deep sea divers, this pressure is slowly reduced after
the symptoms have been relieved.
In alternative practice, pure oxygen is introduced into the chamber to
raise the barometric pressure inside to greater than normal. The
increased pressure, which surrounds the individual, forces pure oxygen
into the body.
The pressure inside the body is then equalised to the pressure within
the chamber. This causes all body tissues to become flooded with more
than the usual supply of oxygen.
Assessment
In addition to decompression sickness, other disorders approved for
science-based HBO treatment are carbon monoxide poisoning, thermal
bums, acute traumatic ischemias (crush injury), skin grafts and flaps,
and air or gas embolism.
There is no evidence however, to support claims by alternative
practitioners that HBO treatment is effective in the treatment of
patients who have suffered strokes, multiple sclerosis or
cardiovascular disease. Further, the treatment only appears to be
available at some alternative therapy clinics in Mexico.
Pop star Michael Jackson was treated by HBO therapy after receiving
burns during the filming of a Pepsi Cola commercial, but the report
that he slept in a HBO chamber to retard the aging process was just a
publicity stunt. Experts say that breathing 100% oxygen would cause
severe toxicity to the lungs.
References:
Encyclopaedia Britannica.
1992. Decompression chamber, Vol. 3. p.951.
International Medical Center.
(No date) HBO (Hyperbaric Oxygenation
Therapy) Defined. EI Paso, Texas.
Kastner, Mark & Burroughs, Hugh. 1993. Alternative Healing, Halcyon
Publishing, La Mesa, CA.
Kindwall, E.P. 1992. Use of Hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the 1990s. Cleveland Clinical Journal of Medicine.
59(5):517¬28.
McCabe, Ed. 1988. Oxygen Therapies.
Energy Publications, Morrisville, New York.
Thompson, B. 1990. Do Oxygen Therapies Work? East West, September 1990. p.70-75,
110-111.