All over the country, health care providers are offering hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) treatments for a variety of medical disorders. HBO has only a few medical indications including air embolism, decompression sickness, carbon monoxide poisoning and a few bacterial infections. Now this therapy is being offered to children with autism. Autism is a complex mental disorder and no one really knows what causes it or how to best treat it. So far, the disorder has been treated with a Hodge podge of therapies, including a variety of cognitive behavior therapies. The results of such therapies are mediocre at best and the poor parents are left searching for alternative treatments.
Now hyperbaric oxygen has been introduced as a treatment for autism. The autistic child is placed in a pressurized chamber where pure oxygen is delivered. The doctors who offer HBO suggest that the increase in oxygen may help reduce brain swelling and improves oxygenation of the nervous tissues. Therefore, if the brain gets more oxygen then hopefully it will work better.
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