HBOT AND OTHER USES

As I've been researching HBOT, I've been amazed at all of the things it can be used to cure or improve on.  It's pretty amazing stuff.

How HBOT WORKS

Here are some of the conditions that are treated by HBOT or Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

• Acoustic trauma
• Abscesses
• ADD/ADHD
• AIDS / HIV
• Air Gas Embolism
  ALS
• Alzheimer's
• Anemia  (blood loss)
• Aneurysms
• Atherosclerosis
• Anti-Aging
• Arthritis (acute)
• Asthma
• Autism
• Autoimmune
• Bells Palsy
• Bed Sores / Pressure Wounds
• Bone Infection
• Bone Breaks / Fractures
• Bone grafting
• Bone Necrosis
• Brain Injury (Concussion, Oxygen Deprivation)
• Brain infections 
• Brain Dysfunction
• Brain Stem Syndromes (ischemia, infarct)
• Brown Recluse Spider Bite
• Burn Injuries
• Buerer's disease
• Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
• Concussion
• Cerebral Palsy
• Cerebral edema 
• Chronic fatigue syndrome
• Cirrhosis
• Colitis
• Coma (acute & prolonged)
• Compartment Syndrome
• Cranial nerve syndromes
• Trigeminal neuralgia
• vestibular disorders (vertigo, tinnitus, meniere's syndrome)
• sudden deafness
• brain stem syndromes
• Crohn's Disease
• Crush Injuries
• Cyanide Poisoning
• Decompression Sickness
• Diabetic Wounds
• Diverticulitis GI
• Early Organic Brain Syndrome
• Fetal Alcohol Syndrome 
• Fibromyalgia
• Flesh eating bacteria (acute necrotizing fasciitis)
• Frostbite
• Fungus
• Gangrene
• Glaucoma with vidual field loss
• Heart Attack (with stem cell therapy)
• Acute Coronary Syndrome
• Hypoxia (with organ transplant, infections, or cancer)
• Ileus
• Immune System Enhancement
• Infections
• Inflammatory Bowl Disease (IBS)
• Ischema (restricted blood flow)
• Lepromatous Leprosy
• Ligament injuries (post surgical repair)
• Lou Gherig's Disease (ALS)
• Lung Disorders
• Lung Lavage
• Lyme Disease
• Meniere's Syndrome
• Meningitis
• Migraine Headaches
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Muscle Atrophy
• Myocardial infarction
• Near Drowning
• Neurologic Disorders
• Necrotic Tissue / Bone
• Optical 
• Retinal Artery Occlusion
• Macular Edema
• Diabetic Retinopathy
• Macular Degeneration
• Macular Hole Surgery
• Pancreatitis
• Parkinson's
• Peptic ulcer
• Peyote Poisoning ( Look it up! It really is used for that!)
• Pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis
• Pulmonary Toxcity
• Periventricular Leucomalacia (PVL)
• Pressure Wounds
• Radiation Injury (soft tissue & bone including radiation for cancer treatment)
• Scar Reduction post surgery or injury
• Scleroderma
• Severed Limbs
• Sickle Cell Anemia crisis & Hematuria
• Slow healing wounds
• Smoke inhalation
• Soft Tissue Necrosis (including radiation necrosis)
• Soft Tissue Swelling
• Skin Grafts  and Flaps
• Spinal cord contusion (partial motor or sensory loss)
• Stroke (will benefit even long after the event)
• Sympathetic Reflex Dystrophy
• Tendon and Ligament injuries
• Tinnitus
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Trigeminal neuralgia
• Vascular Dementia
• Vascular Ulcers
• Vestibular disorders
• Vertigo
• Wounds - that are severe or having trouble healing

Pressure Wound...

So.. I think I may have mentioned earlier, when I came back from vacation I found a sore on Max's right hip - the same one that the gangrene was in.  I assumed it was a hot spot from him urinating on himself and not being cleaned up well.  Both hospitals informed me that it was a pressure wound from being on the same side so long and not being rotated, and pointed out that it was actually a hole in his side and you could see the bone.  I had just cut the fur down around it, but they shaved it down at Southpaws. Looks NICE HUH?!

actually 2 holes  - a big one and then a tiny smaller one - they later joined and formed one BIG hole.

Well.. it's been over a month and a half and it still hadn't closed up, it had actually gotten bigger! In fact, the edges had healed leaving a hole in his hip, and new skin had formed in the hole, creating a pocket. NOT a good thing - so we had to have the edges of the hole cut off and then the whole thing stitched up so that it could all heal together and close. Max ended up with a 4 inch cut on his side. 

Max hanging out on his beanbag chair... So much for rotating him for the first few days.. I managed to get him in his cart for a while, standing and practicing balance for a while and then he had to lay on the left side for the first few days.. He's now laying on his stitches for a few hours.. He can sit up on his rump but I think it irritates him to do that between his foot and his hip... a few more weeks and all will be better..

Just the Toes

The following is Max doing a foot soak to try and remove some of the dead (necrotic) tissue from his gangrene.  This is after 18 HBOT treatments.. Today is 5 days after his 18th treatment and we are not just left with dead skin on his toes... there is new tissue under the dead black skin.. so we're soaking it in salt water to try and soften it up so that it comes off... I am beginning to thing we need to get Max a bath with those little fish that eat dead skin.... (not sure how sanitary that is... but they'd have a field day on his foot)

Work outs!

Tomorrow Max is going back up for some additional HBOT treatments and hopefully we'll get him to be able to see Carol for some additional Physical Therapy while he's up there.   We got the O.K. for additional weekly treatments!

Max's strength has come back big time, and his awareness and alertness is also SO much better than it's been since June!  He constantly wants to be practicing his exercises!!! This is the old Max back in action! He wants to practice standing, wobbling and catching himself and taking steps. He wants to practice holding his head up and he wants to turn left and right!  He also loves to practice sitting from a standing position!!

His balance has gotten much better since the beginning of the week! It's amazing!

Here are some pictures and a video of Mr. Max in action!

Hanging out before his workout

Poor lighting but practicing sitting outside

Working out on his "too big" peanut ball

Practicing standing on his own

I'm still standing... yeah yeah yeah...

(The video below is of Max as we were leaving the hospital. He may look rough but he had flopped over to try and get up in his cart. He leads with his head. This is the most I've seen his arm move on it's own!  I can now see how the techs might think he was having a seizure!!!  He was actually trying to get up!  (Video taken Easter Morning, Sun 3/31/2013)

The following Video was taken on Tuesday 3/2/2013 - Granted I've been stuck in a bean bag chair after a night of partying.. in college.. (of course) so I can clearly understand how difficult it might be to get up when one is stuck in a bean bag chair!

And the following video was taken today  Wed 3/3/2013.  Max has more movement in his legs. He has more balance and he's able to stabilize himself and if that darn ball wasn't so huge he'd probably be able to turn himself around!


*** The shaved hip and the hole in his hip are from a pressure wound from being left in the same place too long. I thought it was a hot spot when I got back from vacation but was told it was a pressure wound by the doc's at the hospital..

***The wrapping on his foot is just a pee pad held up over his hock with a loose rubberband so that he doesn't get any dirt or gunk from outside in his foot. He has no problem standing on that foot as you will see! It's still healing and a little oozy in places and scabbed in others. It's just protection..