Diabetic Wounds

One of the most common complications of Diabetes are hard-to-heal wounds

The numerous factors that increase the likelihood for diabetics to have wounds, which can later become infected, include:

• Changes (damages) in blood vessels (microangiopathy) - cause a hypoxic condition in tissues (insufficient oxygen supply), which result in spontaneous skin damage, hinder the normal healing of wounds and infections.
• Peripheral Nerve Damage (neuropathy) - in the lower extremities (legs) causing abnormal sensation (feet feel cold, numb), reduce the sensation of pain and thus help in the development of traumatic wounds without the patients realizing.

Initial data: Diabetic patient for 25 years, does not smoke, has been using insulin for 13 years. The left leg was operated on 3 months ago.

The right leg has present ulcers and low tissue oxygenation levels.

In the case of a Diabetic wound where:

1. the supply of oxygen to the tissues is interrupted by infection,
2. blood circulation is inadequate,
3. we are dealing with damage to the immune system,

HBOT increases the oxygen pressure in the wound making the following effects possible:

• HBOT reduces pain by increasing oxygen transport to ischemic tissues (tissues suffering from insufficient oxygen) and improves circulation and blood supply.
• HBOT accelerates wound healing by stimulating the growth of new and healthy tissue (formation of new capillaries called neoangiogenesis)
• HBOT reduces infection -by directly killing bacteria -by increasing the capacity of white cells (leukocytes) in fighting against infection and in eliminating waste (during an infection we have waste such as dead cells) formed during the body's fight against infection.
• HBOT increases the effectiveness of some antibiotics.
• HBOT reduces edema (swelling or as we might otherwise say, swelling in the infected area). Edema helps -in the progression of the infection and its consequences as well as -in the damage to blood circulation as a result of damage to the overall affected area.
• HBOT significantly accelerates the formation of new bone tissue (osteogenesis), thereby helping in the resolution of bone infection (osteomyelitis) and assists in the removal of dead bone tissue after infection (osteoclastic activity).
• HBOT strengthens the immune system and thereby prevents infection in general.