Depth medicine is one of the modern branches of medicine. It is concerned with studying the physiological and pathological effects of depths (high pressures) on human health and safety, as well as treating diseases resulting from a person’s descent into the depths of the sea, including, for example:
- Embolization (with gas or air bubbles)
- Hypotension disease (caseion)
- Lung laceration
- Ear laceration
- Nitrogen narcosis
In hospitals and medical institutions, the depth and compressed oxygen therapy doctor does the following:
- تقديم الإرشادات الطبية For professional divers and deep-sea workers, especially in the field of offshore oil exploration.
- Providing medical advice to diving and water sports enthusiasts.
- Examining individuals wishing to work in the field of diving and determining their suitability to work at depth, in coordination with other specialist doctors in the hospital.
- Periodic examination of divers and depth workers to ensure their fitness and ability to continue working.
- Diagnosing and treating diseases to which divers are exposed.
- Complete supervision of compressed oxygen therapy devices.
Compressed oxygen therapy
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy branches out from and overlaps with depth medicine, and the depth physician must be qualified and capable in all aspects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which very simply means using oxygen under high pressure as an effective and effective therapeutic medium and substance for many injuries and diseases, and is known by the abbreviation (HBOT).
Oxygen is the secret of life
A person can do without drink, food, and many wants and needs for long hours, even for several days, but he can never do without air - specifically oxygen - for more than a few minutes, and air - as is known - is a natural mixture of several gases, prepared by God Almighty to suit the lives of everyone on the face of the Earth, and it occupies the air space from the surface of the Earth to the atmospheric barrier at an altitude of 300 km.
Atmospheric pressure (pressure) arises from the weight of the gases that make up the air and affects all creatures and objects above the surface of the Earth, and its effect on them from all sides equally at any specific point, and therefore it is always equal on the bodies of living creatures, including humans.
As we rise above sea level, atmospheric pressure decreases.
Each of the gases included in the composition of air has its own pressure, which we call “partial pressure.” The partial pressure of the gas depends on the proportion and amount of its presence in the gaseous mixture, and in the case of air, as follows:
Oxygen turns into a harmful gas when its partial pressure reaches more than (2 atmospheres of pressure), which is equivalent to the pressure that a person is exposed to at a depth of 90 meters below the surface of the water using normal air for breathing, or the equivalent of a depth of (11 meters) using 100% pure oxygen for breathing. The harmful effect of oxygen is known as oxygen poisoning.
Proven use cases for compressed oxygen
Compressed oxygen is used as an effective and proven therapeutic substance to treat a wide range of diseases and health disorders.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the International Underwater Medicine and Hyperbaric Medicine Society (UHMS), the South Pacific Underwater Medicine Society (SPUMS), the American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS), and many other scientific and medical bodies have approved compressed oxygen as an effective and essential treatment for the following diseases:
- Embolization by gas or air bubbles.
- Carbon monoxide poisoning.
- Carbon monoxide poisoning accompanied by cyanide poisoning.
- Infection with clostridial bacteria (cancrine)
- Wounds, medical injuries and other conditions
- Hypertension (casiohypoxia) disease.
- Helping heal some wounds.
- Intracranial pus.
- Some types of anemia.
- Inflammation and erosion of soft tissues.
- Bone infections
- Delayed wounds caused by radiation.
- Skin grafts.
- Thermal burns.
- Diabetic foot ulcers.
In addition to the diseases above, in which pressurized oxygen (HBO) is an essential therapeutic element, there is another wide spectrum of diseases and health problems in which pressurized oxygen can be used as a useful and helpful treatment based on the conviction of many leading medical bodies and institutions in the world, including the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). We mention some of them:
- Alzheimer's disease.
- Facial nerve paralysis.
- Some chronic infections.
- Meniere's disease.
- Spinal cord injuries.
- Some sports injuries
- الصداع النصفي.
- Partial drowning
- Rheumatoid arthritis.
- Complications of cancerous tumors.
- Brain injuries
The basis of how compressed oxygen works or works
Henry's Law regulates the relationship between the amount of gas dissolved in a given liquid and the partial pressure of that gas at a specific temperature.
The effect of compressed oxygen as a therapeutic substance can be summarized as follows:
- When the pressure of inhaled oxygen is increased to 2 atmospheres, the oxygen pressure in the blood plasma and other body fluids increases 10 times its normal level, that is, an increase of 1000%. At this pressure, a sufficient amount of it dissolves in the body fluids and goes directly to the cells and tissues that have been deprived of it - partially or completely - due to disease or injury, without the need for oxygen transported or carried on the hemoglobin. With this effect, it (i.e. compressed oxygen) is an element or substance.
Increasing the pressure and amount of oxygen in the human body (hyperoxia) leads to stimulating the tissues specialized in producing and forming white blood cells and increasing their fighting ability to confront germs and toxins secreted by those germs. It is known that the most important duties of white blood cells are to defend the body against germs and their toxins.
In cases of embolism with gas or air bubbles, the use of compressed oxygen is the ideal treatment, and it must be used urgently and without any delay.
It leads to the formation and generation of new blood vessels to irrigate and nourish tissues that have been damaged and destroyed by chronic diseases or severe injuries, or have been exposed to the risk of radiation for a long time.
It contributes to increasing the ability of the body's tissues to build, especially tissues that are subject to destruction due to chronic disease, radiation, or burns.
Compressed oxygen has a constricting effect on the blood vessels, and this increases the body’s ability to get rid of tumors resulting from the infiltration and accumulation of fluids (edema).
Frequently asked questions
What is the specialty of depth medicine?
Underwater medicine is a branch of medicine that is concerned with studying, diagnosing and treating health and psychological problems, including those problems that a person may face while in the depths of the sea or in high-pressure environments, such as divers, submarine workers, or when using therapeutic pressure chambers. This specialty includes monitoring the effects of high pressure on the body, treating cases of oxygen or nitrogen poisoning due to deep diving, using high-pressure oxygen therapy to treat various conditions such as chronic wounds, severe infections, or carbon monoxide poisoning, and studying adaptation.
Are oxygen sessions beneficial?
Yes, hyperbaric oxygen sessions are useful in many medical conditions, during which pure oxygen is inhaled in a closed chamber at a pressure higher than normal atmospheric pressure, which helps increase the amount of oxygen reaching the body’s tissues. This type of treatment is used to treat carbon monoxide poisoning, as well as chronic ulcers, non-healing wounds, burns, and a number of severe conditions. It is sometimes used to improve recovery after surgical operations or in cases of poor blood flow, but on the condition that the use is done under specialized medical supervision to avoid complications.
What is the meaning of depths?
The word depths are those parts or areas that are far from the surface, whether in the sea or land. When we mention the word “depths of the sea,” we mean the remote areas located far from the surface of the sea or ocean over large distances, where atmospheric pressure increases, temperatures decrease, and the level of oxygen decreases. The depths include the areas in which people work or dive, and the word acquires a medical dimension related to the physiological changes that the human body is exposed to in those conditions, such as the effect of high pressure on blood circulation, breathing, and the nervous system.
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