Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy of Arizona

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Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Foot Ulcers

Authors: Cianci, Paul; McCarren, Marie
From: "Diabetes Forecast", June 1993 v46 n6 p57(5)
Adapted and edited for this web site.

Take a breath. The air you just took in is about 21 percent oxygen. The capillaries in your lungs pick up the oxygen, it dissolves in the plasma of your blood, and gets carried to all parts of your body. And 21 percent oxygen is usually plenty to do the job.

If you have a foot ulcer, the effected tissue in your foot, and your entire body, could use even more oxygen. The white blood cells that fight infection in an ulcer use twenty times more oxygen when they're killing bacteria. Also, the more oxygen your body has to work with, the more efficiently it lays down wound-repairing connective tissue.

Yet, just when you need more oxygen, you may have less. If you have neuropathy (diabetic nerve damage), that may cause changes in blood flow, resulting in islands of low oxygen levels in your foot. Less oxygen means slower healing, and an ulcer that doesn't heal could eventually lead to an amputation. So, you should try to get extra oxygen in your blood when you have a foot ulcer. You need to bring the oxygen levels in the tissues around the ulcer up to normal, or even higher.

But, sitting in your living room and breathing in 100 percent oxygen won't do the trick. Under normal circumstances, only so much oxygen will dissolve in your blood. It's like trying to dissolve salt in water. When you pour a spoonful of salt into a glass of cold water, not all of the salt dissolves. Simply adding more salt doesn't make the water dissolve more salt. But when you pour a spoonful of salt into a glass of hot water, all the salt dissolves. At higher temperatures, more salt dissolves. What temperature does for salt in water, pressure does for oxygen in blood. At higher pressures, more oxygen dissolves.

What temperature does for salt in water, pressure does for oxygen in blood. At higher pressures, more oxygen dissolves. (Notice the gas leaving solution when you open a can of soda.)

Some studies have suggested that hyperbaric oxygen therapy is effective, when used with other therapies, in treating diabetic foot ulcers and preventing amputations due to ulcers.

But HBO therapy isn't magic. It won't work unless it's part of an aggressive team approach.

To get your ulcer to heal you will need:



If you have a patient that needs hyperbaric services, or want more information, please contact us. We welcome the opportunity to consult with physicians and family about the benefits of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy.