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Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar inaugurated the first hyperbaric oxygen chamber at a government facility in the state at Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru on Monday. Set up at Rs 3.5 crore, the chamber is an airtight room which is pressurised with pure oxygen to treat certain infections and conditions such as carbon monoxide poisoning, gangrene, and stubborn wounds.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) subjects patients to higher pressures (up to 3 times the normal atmospheric pressure at sea level). A doctor working with Victoria Hospital stated that it decreases edema (swelling) as it stimulates better circulation. “The fluids built up inside the body can move through the body to be filtered and eliminated. When tissue becomes hyper-oxygenated through the HBOT treatment, it becomes saturated with the oxygen known to stimulate healing,” he said.
Minister Sudhakar stated that it would cost Rs 3,000-4,000 for a one-hour session in hyperbaric chambers at private hospitals but the government plans to provide this treatment for free at Victoria Hospital for the benefit of the poor. “The state government intends to make costly treatments free which will make Karnataka a healthy state. Poor people cannot go to private hospitals as it is too expensive for them. We are improving government hospitals to make them just as good as private hospitals so that every last person in Karnataka will be able to receive good healthcare,” the minister added.
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