I have some questions for those of you who have tried HBOT. Any guidance on this would be greatly appreciated. 1) What should be done to protect the eyes during the dives (i.e. keep eyes closed, goggles, etc.)
2) What are the most effective oral antibiotics to be on while doing HBOT? (Cant do IV's).
3) Any tips (Do's or Dont's) in general on how to get the most out of the dives? What are the top ten things to know or be aware of?
4) What warning signs should we look out for with regard to ear problems? I know there will be pressure on the ear drums, but at what point to you call it quits during the dive if you think something is really going to harm your ears/hearing loss (for someone who already had hearing loss, tinnitus and ear pain)?
5) Is it helpful to take an antioxidant while doing HBOT?
Thank you. I've been calling around to several well known HBOT clinics/hospitals, but they are reluctant to give guidance on this.
Posted by oxygenbabe (Member # 5831) on :
Here are my opinions:
1) Penicillins are good for lyme. Therefore amoxicillin in high dose (4-6 grams a day?) or IM bicillin. If you take your abx an hour before the dive you'll have maximal amount of abx in your blood while doing the dive.
2) Ears--get earplanes from the drugstore (for flying). Your ears should be okay then if you use the Valsava manuever and/or drink water (I find swallowing helps). Your ears adjust.
3) I personally think you should mop up oxidative stress with an antioxidant but if you do it near to the treatment you could ameliorate some of the killing power. So if you do your dive in the morning then maybe take your antioxidants at night. Just my 2 cents.
4) Keep your eyes closed if you notice any eye changes at all. Oxygen diffuses across the cornea and the lens is vulnerable.
Posted by Boomerang (Member # 7979) on :
Hubby chews gum. Says that really helps with his ears.