How to Prepare

How Do I Prepare for Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?
The hyperbaric medicine team will discuss necessary preparations with you prior to your treatment.
The following guidelines will also help you prepare for your treatment:

• Smoking: Do not use tobacco during your course of treatment. Tobacco products constrict blood vessels and limit the amount of blood and oxygen that can be delivered to tissues.
• Medications: It is very important that you provide the hyperbaric medicine team with a complete list of medications that you are taking, including nonprescription drugs. Some medications change the body’s response to oxygen and will be discussed with you individually.
• Illnesses: If you experience symptoms of a cold or flu, such as fever, cough, sore throat, nausea, vomiting, headache, diarrhea, or generalized body-aches, please notify a hyperbaric staff member as soon as possible. These symptoms may require a temporary delay in your treatment schedule. Treatment may be resumed when your symptoms resolve.
• Clothing: Personal items are not permitted within the hyperbaric chamber. You will be provided a cotton garment to wear during therapy. Cotton is necessary to reduce static electricity.

The following items must also be excluded from the chamber:

• Nail polish/remover
• All metal objects; including jewelry
• Hairspray/make-up
• Perfume/deodorant/shaving lotions
• Oils/grease (hair and skin products)
• Denture or partial plates
• Contact lenses or glasses.

Accepted Indications:

• Compromised skin grafts and flaps
• Enhanced healing of selected problem wounds
• Refractory osteomyelitis
• Soft tissue radionecrosis
• Decompression sickness
• Carbon monoxide poisoning
• Acute blood loss anemia
• Air or gas embolism
• Gas gangrene
• Crush injuries and compartment syndromes
• Thermal burns intracranial abscess

Hyperbaric Medicine Department (605) 719-8966