Breath for life

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) is a painless and specialised oxygen therapy that involves breathing pure oxygen whilst in a hyperbaric chamber at increased atmospheric pressure (higher than normal air pressure). This allows blood plasma to absorb up to ten to fifteen times more oxygen at pressures greater than sea level.

FDA Cleared Conditions

As of July 2021, the FDA has cleared hyperbaric chambers for the following disorders:

• Air and gas embolism (bubbles in blood vessels)
• Anaemia (severe anaemia when blood transfusions cannot be used)
• Burns (severe and extensive burns treated at a specialised burn centre)
• Carbon monoxide poisoning
• Crush injury
• Decompression sickness (diving risk)
• Gas gangrene
• Hearing loss (complete hearing loss that occurs suddenly and without any known cause)
• Infection of the skin and bone (severe)
• Radiation injury
• Skin graft flap at risk of tissue death
• Vision loss (when sudden and painless in one eye due to blockage of blood flow)
• Wounds (non-healing, diabetic foot ulcers)

*** Please note that the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society and The European Undersea and Baromedical Society have another list, so the approved conditions may differ slightly.

*Please note that we regretfully cannot offer service to patients with open wounds at NUMA. We advise patients with problem wounds to contact London Hyperbaric Medicine (LHM Healthcare Group), operating at both Whipps Cross University Hospital (Barts Health Trust) and James Paget University Hospital.

Emerging Indications

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is an emerging therapy, and so research into its efficacy is ongoing. HBOT is being studied for the conditions listed below, including COVID-19. However, at this time, neither the FDA nor NICE has cleared or authorised the use of any HBOT to treat COVID-19 or any emerging conditions beyond those listed above. The website, clinicaltrials.gov, has more information on HBOT clinical trials for COVID-19 and other conditions.

• Long Covid
• Aseptic Necrosis of hip and knee
• Concussion and Traumatic Brain Injury
• Stroke
• Ulcerative Colitis
• Crohn’s disease
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease
• Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS/RSD)
• Fibromyalgia / ME / Chronic Fatigue
• Lyme Disease
• Interstitial Cystitis
• Preconditioning for Surgery and Accelerated Recovery
• Sports Performance and Injuries
• Cognitive impairments