Ocular Conditions

There are some conditions of the eye that benefit from hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT.) One of the most recent additions to the approved indication list by the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) is an eye condition called Central Retinal Artery Occlusion (CRAO.) The rationale provided by the UHMS for the treatment of CRAO with HBOT can provide some insight into the rationale for using HBOT for some other eye disorders:

"The retina has the highest rate of oxygen consumption of any organ in the body at 13ml/100g/min. Therefore, it is very sensitive to ischemia." - UHMS CRAO page.

The best way to mitigate damage caused by a lack of oxygen to a tissue, is to deliver oxygen to the tissue in question. This is the logic behind approving HBOT for CRAO and it holds true for a variety of other conditions involving a lack of blood flow or oxygen to metabolically active tissues. This apples to the retina more than any other tissue in the body. But there are also other reasons for incorporating HBOT in a variety of eye conditions that are specific to the condition.

Experimental Ocular Conditions That May Benefit From Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy