Hello and thank you for sending your question. Your question is a good one and I will work on providing you with some information and recommendations.

Hyperbaric oxygen when used in a controlled environment and for the right reasons should not provide any significant increased risk of development of polycythemia.

Polycythemia can develop in situations where oxygen concentration is low. Sometimes we see this in patients who smoke cigarettes frequently or in patients who have chronic sleep apnea.

For hyperbaric oxygen however I do not see a significant risk for development of this type of blood problem. Again the hyperbaric oxygen needs to be used in a carefully controlled environment and for an indication which has been agreed upon by the patient and clinician.

I would not recommend recreational use of a hyperbaric oxygen chamber.

Thanks again for sending your question. Please do not hesitate to ask any additional questions if you have other concerns.

Sincerely,

Dr. Robert

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Hello again and thank you for clarifying your question.

I do not foresee any complications again even in the setting of underlying myeloproliferative disorder as you have described. If the hyperbaric treatments are given for a short period of time for a clear indication there should not be any type of problem related to the underlying hematological disorder.

Thanks again for sending your question. Please let me know if you have any additional concerns that you would like to discuss.

Sincerely,

Dr. Robert

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