Understanding Wound Care Essentials

Welcome to Hyperbaric Medical Services & Wound Care, where your journey to optimal wound healing begins with a solid understanding of the essentials. In this blog post, we'll guide you through the fundamental aspects of wound care, empowering you with knowledge that plays a pivotal role in the healing process.

Recognizing Different Types of Wounds:

Wounds come in various forms, each requiring specific attention. Whether it's a cut, diabetic wound, venous wound, or a more complex chronic wound, our experts are here to help you understand the unique characteristics of different wound types. Recognizing these distinctions is the first step toward targeted and effective treatment.

Crucial Steps in Wound Management:

Wound management is a comprehensive process that involves several key steps. From the initial assessment to ongoing care, we prioritize a systematic approach. This includes cleaning the wound gently to remove debris and bacteria, applying suitable dressings to promote healing, and monitoring for signs of infection or other complications. Understanding these steps empowers you to actively participate in your own wound care journey.

Expert Insights for Comprehensive Wound Care:

At Hyperbaric Medical Services & Wound Care, our commitment is to provide not only medical expertise but also valuable insights to enhance your understanding of wound care. 

Throughout this blog series, expect expert advice on topics such as wound prevention, innovative treatments, and the role of lifestyle factors in supporting the healing process. We believe that well-informed individuals make more confident decisions about their health.

Practical Tips for Optimal Healing:

Beyond theory, practical tips are essential for day-to-day wound care. From maintaining good hygiene practices to recognizing warning signs that may require professional attention, we'll share actionable advice to help you navigate the challenges of wound healing successfully. Small steps in your daily routine can contribute significantly to the overall effectiveness of your wound care efforts.

In conclusion, the journey to optimal wound healing is a partnership between you and our dedicated team at Hyperbaric Medical Services & Wound Care. Armed with knowledge, you are better equipped to actively engage in your own well-being. Stay tuned for more insightful posts that will deepen your understanding of wound care and guide you toward a healthier, happier life.

The role of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in enhancing quality of life in breast cancer survivors.

Defeating breast cancer is often not the end of the battle. With the advent of breast conserving therapies such as lumpectomy, radiation is more commonplace. However as a consequence so are the side effects such as late radiation-induced tissue toxicity (LRITT). LRITT occurs to the normal, adjacent tissues and can arise months to many years later. It can present as skin changes, pain, swelling, limitation in movement or impaired healing after reconstructive surgery. These problems can have significant and lasting impact on the quality of life. Therapeutic options are limited. Hyperbaric therapy however has been shown to significantly reduce the impact of the late effects of radiation after breast cancer.

Download the case study here.

Amputations Can be Avoided

Amputations are an unnecessary consequence of diabetes and can be devastating. Studies show that the rate of diabetic amputations vary significantly not just by race and ethnicity but by income and geography. In other words amputation can be avoided. Access to state of the art medical care is crucial. Let Hyperbaric Medical Services and Wound care help.

Read the article here.

HMS's Dr. Paul Cianci presented with Albert R. Behnke Award

HMS’s Paul Cianci, M.D. F.A.C.P. F.U.H.M. and Emeritus Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of California Davis was recently presented the Albert R. Behnke Award for his significant contributions to the field of Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine. This honor is the highest award in the field worldwide. He was previously received the Spencer and Boerma awards for scientific and clinical contributions to the field. Dr. Cianci received his undergraduate degree at Springfield College, his medical degree at New Jersey College of Medicine (now Rutgers), and his internship and residency at Oakland Naval Hospital.  He served eight years on active duty in the Navy during the Vietnam conflict providing care for sick and wounded Marines and later as a Reserve officer, as Western U.S. Diving Medical Officer for all diving units west of the Mississippi.  His significant contributions have contributed to the health, safety and well- being of Naval divers including development of an emergency dive procedure procedures for the onsite treatment and evacuation of Navy divers suffering from Decompression Sickness in remote sites. He additionally developed an ‘off the shelf system’ for delivery of on-site treatment with oxygen. Both of these were later was promulgated to the entire Fleet. He served as President of the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society, consultant to the Surgeon General of the Air Force, the Navy and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the State of California. He has lectured in North America, Central America, The Caribbean, Europe, The Middle East and Asia. Dr. Cianci remains active in the field of Diving and Hyperbaric medicine working at Hyperbaric Medical Services.

Call us to schedule your consultation

Sudden Hearing Loss: More Common than We Thought

Losing one of your senses needs to be addressed urgently, because once lost, it might not come back. The sudden loss of hearing in one ear should be treated as a medical emergency.

Over 66,000 NEW cases of Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (ISSHL) present every year in the United States.[1] (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24232060).  This is defined as a loss of greater than 30 decibels over 3 contiguous frequencies over a 72-hour period.   The ENT literature says that between 1/3 to 2/3 of patients will have spontaneous recovery, but many of these only regained 50% of their previous hearing.  Prompt and aggressive treatment is appropriate to salvage as much hearing as possible.

Treatment usually involves steroids, either intravenous, oral, or intratympanic injections, or a combination of these. Adding hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been shown to improve outcomes. A recent study showed that patients that had combination therapy of steroids and hyperbaric oxygen had a 61% higher chance of achieving complete hearing recovery than those that just got steroids. [2]https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaotolaryngology/article-abstract/2704029

Why would HBOT help? One of the causes for sudden hearing loss may be due to a lack of oxygen to the cochlea, the part of the inner ear responsible for hearing. Hyperbaric oxygen is designed to increase the amount of oxygen that is dissolved in the plasma and increases the available oxygen to this area.

Multiple studies have affirmed that starting hyperbaric oxygen therapy early in the course of this disease confers better benefits. Both the Cochrane Review[3] https://www.cochrane.org/CD004739/ENT_hyperbaric-oxygen-for-sudden-hearing-loss-and-tinnitus-ringing-in-the-ears-of-unknown-cause and the clinical practice guidelines [4]of the American academy of Otolaryngology-head and Neck Surgery https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0194599812436449 include hyperbaric oxygen as a reasonable addition to steroid therapy.

Almost all studies that have researched the combination of hyperbaric oxygen and steroids in sudden hearing loss recommend early implementation of hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Many insurance carriers are starting to cover this therapeutic option, but even if the plan does not cover it, you should consider starting hyperbaric oxygen therapy.  Most patients started to see clinical benefit within 2 weeks or 10 treatments, although some needed up to 20 to achieve the best outcomes.

If you have sudden hearing loss, see your ear nose and throat physician immediately, and then consider adding hyperbaric oxygen to the treatment protocol.

Call us to schedule an urgent consultation.

1. Alexander, Thomas H., and Jeffrey P. Harris. "Incidence of sudden sensorineural hearing loss." Otology & Neurotology 34.9 (2013): 1586-1589.

2. Rhee T, Hwang D, Lee J, Park J, Lee JM. Addition of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy vs Medical Therapy Alone for Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2018;144(12):1153–1161. doi:10.1001/jamaoto.2018.2133

3. Bennett MH, Kertesz T, Perleth M, Yeung P, Lehm JP. Hyperbaric oxygen for idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2012, Issue 10

4. Stachler, Robert J., et al. "Clinical practice guideline: sudden hearing loss." Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery 146.3_suppl (2012): S1-S35.