Crohns Disease is an inflammatory condition affecting parts or many parts of the gastrointestinal tract from the mouth to the anus, causing many symptoms including diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain and weight loss. It has long been associated with disorders affecting other parts of the body including gallstones and improper absorption of nutrients. It may also cause arthritis or skin rashes due to the flare-up of gastrointestinal symptoms.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, or HBO, is a healing process through which 100% pure oxygen is delivered throughout the body by pressure that is higher than normal atmospheric pressure. It has been shown to promote many healing functions. The increased pressure and increased oxygen enables blood and body tissues to dissolve oxygen at up to 20 times a normal concentration. This is high enough to sustain no life at all.

 

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy can be used in combination with other conventional medical treatments and when medication alone has not relieved the symptoms to a sustainable degree.

HBO is usually administered within a clean cylindrical tube. During treatment the patient is surrounded by and inhales 100% pure oxygen. The pressure within the chamber is then increased to 1-1/2 to 2 times the pressure outside of the chamber. Usually lasting about an hour, when the treatment is finished the patient is decompressed and allowed to leave.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy has been shown to considerably limit the amount of inflammation in the bowels, lowers CRP values (c-reactive protein), lowers sedimentation rate (the rate at which red blood cells are lowered to the bottom of a test tube) and also lowers the white blood count. HBO has the ability to alleviate much of the pain associated with Crohns Disease as well as returning normal function of bowl movements and improvement of weight.

When all conventional methods of treating Crohns Disease have been exhausted, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy can give patients with chronic pain associated with the disease a chance to become pain free and live a more normal life.

 

 

 

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