Symptoms and Diseases Derived From Infection or Preexisting Conditions

A traumatic ischemia is a condition of inadequate supply of blood to organs and body tissues as a result of a severe physical injury. Crush injuries and compartment syndrome are traumatic ischemias associated with complex wounds resulting from such traumatic injuries.
Great weight, severe blows, gunshots, or automobile and other accidents may cause crush injuries, which are compressions of the extremities or other parts of the body. Crush injuries commonly cause muscle swelling and neurologic problems. Cellular damage and damaged blood vessels are also typical. Complications include infections, nonhealing bone fractures, and amputation.
In anatomical terms, a compartment is a section of the body containing muscles and nerves which is surrounded by connective tissue (fascia). The arms and legs each have an upper and lower compartment.
Acute compartment syndrome is a medical emergency in which serious injury causes severe high pressure within the anatomical compartment, disrupting the blood flow in the compartment. Nerve and muscle death may result from the inadequate blood supply (ischemia) if acute compartment syndrome is untreated. Surgery is usually required.
Chronic exertional compartment syndrome is a condition in which blood flow is restricted (ischemia) in muscles as a result of extreme pressure within the muscles brought on by repetitive exercises like running or cycling. Chronic exertional comparment syndrome is typically relieved by ceasing the exercise activity, although persistent symptoms may indicate the need for medicine or surgery.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) improves the circulation of oxygenated blood to wounds to help fight infection, reduce swelling, and promote healing. The 100 percent oxygen environment and increased atmospheric pressure of HBOT increase the supply of oxygen to damaged, ischemic tissues. HBOT also reduces edema (excess fluid) in the affected area, further helping to improve blood flow. Additional benefits occur as the blood supply to damaged tissue improves.

*Osteomyelitis is a bone infection. Infection may spread to bone from surrounding soft tissue, from elsewhere in the body via the blood, or directly from a bone injury or bone surgery. Osteomyelitis is a serious complication of chronic wounds and necrotizing faciitis and is a distinctive feature of Wagner Grade 3 diabetic ulcers.
Bone infections may be caused by any number of bacteria or fungi. The most common cause of osteomyelitis is MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, which has become a particularly troublesome hospital- and healthcare-acquired infection (HAI).
Actinomycosis, or lumpy jaw, a disease common in animals but rare in humans, may be caused by bacteria of the Actinomyces species or by other anaerobic pathogens.
Blocked vessels (ischemia) or poor circulation of oxygenated blood in and around infected bone may lead to inflammation (osteitis), abscess (pus), swelling (edema), pressure, and death (necrosis) of soft and bony tissue.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is an effective adjunct to antibiotics and surgery, the traditional treatments for osteomyelitis. When the bacteria involved are anaerobic, meaning they thrive in low-oxygen environments, hyperbaric oxygen kills them and stops them from replicating, spreading, and releasing damaging toxins. HBOT may also improve circulation, boost the effect of antibiotics, deliver infection-fighting blood components to the infection site, and accelerate bone growth and healing.

​Clostridal myositis and myonecrosis is an acute, rapidly progressive infection of the soft tissues commonly known as “gas gangrene”. the infection is caused by one of several bacteria in the group known as “clostridium”. Clostridium bacteria are “anaerobic”, meaning that they prefer low oxygen concentrations to grow. If clostridium are exposed to high amounts of oxygen, their replication, migration and exotoxin production can be inhibited. This is the rationale for the use of hyperbaric oxygen in the treatment of gas gangrene.

Thousands of people are affected by Lyme disease throughout the world. Often it can be misdiagnosed as other illnesses, therefore the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) say the number of sufferers may be 5 to 10 times more than the estimated number. It is commonly called the great mimicker.
The symptoms of Lyme disease are varied which include fever, flu symptoms, headaches, fatigue and muscle and joint pain. Lyme disease is often, but not always, accompanied by a rash that looks like a bull’s-eye at the site of a tick bite. Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that is usually transmitted via the bite of an infected tick, which carry the bacterium in their stomachs. It’s interesting to note that this is a relatively new disease, having only been formally recognized in 1975, based on the original case that occurred in Lyme, CT. While Lyme infections in the U.S. are most common in the northeast, especially in New York, where over half of all tick are thought to carry the bacteria-they have reported in all 50 states, as well as numerous other countries around the world.
Late-disseminated Lyme causes a variety of problems like immune-system dysfunction, nervous system disorders, cognitive disorders, chronic sleep troubles, cardiac problems and even personality and mood swings. While late disseminated Lyme is not fatal, symptoms can be so disabling that many patients become bed-bound.
The late Dr. William Fife of Texas A&M University pioneered groundbreaking research into using Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) to treat Lyme disease. Dr. Fife saw dramatic improvements in the total health of Lyme patients. In most cases, patients were able to stop using antibiotics and other medications. HBOT promotes healing by increasing the oxygen concentration in the body to 15-20 times greater than normal at the cellular level. Many body functions are restored and the immune system receives a massive boost.
Benefits of HBOT for Lyme disease include; increased energy, relief from pain, restored cognitive function, allows organs and glands to normalize and forces out toxins and other impurities.

A number of types of infections of soft tissue may benefit from adjunct treatment with hyperbaric oxygen and are included in the category of “necrotizing soft tissue infections”. Names of such clinical syndromes include crepitant anaerobic cellulitis, progressive bacterial gangrene, necrotizing fasciitis, and nonclostridial myonecrosis. Gag gangrene (clostridial myositis and myonecrosis) is a separate entity.
Necrotizing soft tissue infections themselves may induce conditions adverse to control of the infection by normal host defense mechanisms. The infections commonly lower tissue oxygen levels, impairing the ability of the white blood cells (neutrophils) to fight infection. Toxins produced by bacteria involved may also inhibit neutrophil activity.
The primary treatments for necrotizing soft tissue infection are surgical excision of infected tissue and administration of appropriate antibiotics. Hyperbaric oxygen may be beneificial in several ways. Some of the bacteria involved in necrotizing soft tissue infections are “anaerobic”, growing most rapidly in a low oxygen environment. In the hyperbaric chamber, tissue oxygen levels may be raised sufficiently to inhibit bacterial growth. In addition, hyperbaric oxygen treatment may enhance the ability of neutrophils to kill bacteria, by a number of different mechanisms.