I've now completed three nights alone and three treatments. I'm still adjusting to sleeping alone in a twin size bed in what is essentially a hotel room, but each night is a little better than the one before. The same can also be said about my treatments. Hyperbarics are hard on the ears and sinuses in the first and last 10 minutes of each treatment, but the middle is me relaxing in a bed watching movies. I won't complain. My ears and sinuses are also adjusting so each treatment is a bit easier. Unfortunately, the damage is done and I'm currently rocking two black eyes. They should get better soon, but I'm special looking right now. At least I don't have to go anywhere.

What you eat plays a significant role in how your body functions on a day-to-day basis. However, many people don’t think about how their diet management affects their body’s wound healing process.

HOW DOES DIET MANAGEMENT AFFECT WOUND HEALING?

A healthy diet is a necessary piece of the puzzle for wound healing and maintaining your overall health and well-being. That means you should be balancing your diet and including all dietary essentials, including:

Proteins

Carbs

Fats

Micronutrients (vitamins and minerals)

It’s important to understand that everyone is different—so that means each individual will want to consult with a registered nutritionist or dietician if they need help balancing their diet, especially when it comes to wound healing.

CARBOHYDRATES AND WOUND HEALING

When some people hear the word “carbohydrates”, they panic because they only think about how carbs break down into sugars, such as glucose. However, when part of a healthy, balanced diet, this glucose is put to good work.

When it comes to wound healing, glucose is converted into adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a type of cellular energy, which is used in the healing process.

FATS ARE ALSO ESSENTIAL FOR WOUND HEALING

Healthy fats, such as fatty acids, lipids, phospholipids, linoleic and arachidonic acids, all play essential roles in maintaining the body and encouraging proper wound healing. While each plays their own roles, research has shown that these healthy fats are essential in tissue regrowth and cellular metabolism and help with inflammation.

PROTEIN’S ROLE IN WOUND HEALING

Protein is arguably one of the most important aspects of any diet because it is used in nearly every function of your body. When it comes to wound healing, protein is used to repair tissues and help carry oxygen throughout the body and help fight off infections.

MICRONUTRIENTS AND WOUND HEALING

The micronutrients that are included in a healthy diet include your vitamins and minerals. While your body needs a wide range of micronutrients, research shows that zinc and vitamins A and C are among some of the most vital for wound healing. Each of these micronutrients is essential to the body’s innate healing processes, and when you don’t receive enough, you may notice that you start to feel more run down than usual. They also help with the body’s inflammatory response and have roles in the production of collagen.

Other notable micronutrients that are important to wound healing include:

Magnesium

Iron

Copper

Vitamin E

Vitamin B

HOW HYPERBARIC WOUND CARE CAN HELP HEAL WOUNDS

When it comes to diet management, it’s essential to understand that everything you consume will impact your body and its functions. Eating a well-balanced diet ensures that your body can function properly and keep creating the essential cells needed to help carry oxygen throughout the body.

Unfortunately, when someone must undergo strict diet restrictions, this can significantly impact their wound healing ability, requiring them to seek a wound clinic to help them devise a plan to get them back on track.

Here at Wound Care and Hyperbarics, we understand that some individuals may have difficulty balancing the necessary nutrients needed to help deliver oxygen where it needs to go. That’s why we offer a hyperbaric wound care treatment, which delivers 100% oxygen to the body through inhalation and absorption. This ensures your body is getting the oxygen it needs to help improve your body’s wound-healing abilities.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been controversial in the cancer world. Many oncologists tell their patients not to use it out of fear of making the cancer worse. However, that fear is based on a lack of knowledge on how hyperbaric oxygen works. Most cancer cells find a way to spread and stimulate the body to create new blood vessels which then feeds the cancer. Hyperbaric oxygen also can help create new blood vessels and so the fear is that by creating new blood vessels, it will increase the spread of the cancer. If you have questions about how hyperbarics can help your cancer treatment

DDRC Healthcare, Hyperbaric Medical Centre, is regarded as a world renowned centre of excellence and recognises the value of highly trained staff. Wherever possible nursing and chamber staff are encouraged to undertake independently accredited external certification, thus achieving “best practice” recognition for their role.

Included in this is the European Baromedical Association (EBAss) and European College of Baromedicine (ECB) qualifications which encompass both practical and theoretical training enabling our hyperbaric technicians and nurses to obtain an internationally recognised qualification of European Certified Hyperbaric Registered Nurse (ECHRN) or European Certified and Hyperbaric Chamber Operator (ECHCO). We ensure our staff achieve this within two years of their starting work with us.

The EBAss scheme of independently accredited examinations aims for technicians and nurses, throughout Europe, to be examined on their abilities by an independent body.

DDRC Healthcare is the only hyperbaric chamber in the country to have staff qualified to EBAss standards and is delighted that three of our nursing team have recently passed their examinations.

Nurses (l to r) Sarah Witts, Del Waller & Jo Small with Operations Director Pete Atkey

Hyperbaric Associates of New York’s expertise spawns from accomplished individuals who are passionate about what Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy can do for the human body. Whether as a stand-alone or complimentary treatment, we truly believe that Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy can enhance an individual’s healing process safely and efficiently so that optimal health can be achieved. http://www.hyperbaricassociates.com