According to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), which include Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, affect as many as 1.6 million Americans, most of whom are diagnosed before age 35. These chronic, life-long conditions can be treated but not cured. IBD can significantly affect a patient’s quality of life and may have a high financial burden.

 

Those who suffer with these conditions experience diarrhea, bleeding, weight loss, anemia, and abdominal pain. Treatment focuses on symptom management and for some, requires bowel resection. Treatment with hyperbaric oxygen has shown promise in the reduction of inflammation, alleviation of symptoms and an increased quality of life.

 

It is especially noteworthy that many of the studies on Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis used hyperbaric therapy in patients who were not responding well to multiple medical treatments including corticosteroids, other medications, and dietary changes.

 

Hyperbaric therapy has been demonstrated to substantially reduce inflammation throughout the body. It drives increased levels of oxygen into the body, which travels through the plasma, subsequently reducing inflammation and pain.