Barotherapy

(from Greek baros, “weight”), the therapeutic effect on the organism of increased or lowered atmospheric pressure. Barotherapy depends on the influence of changed atmospheric pressure on the vascular system, the respiratory function, and the exchange of gases. It is done with special apparatus or in barochambers, the most refined of which permit regulation, not only of air pressure, but of humidity, air temperature, and the presence of positive and negative ions in the air as well. In some cases sources of light are installed in barochambers for simultaneously exposing the patient to ultraviolet, infrared, or other rays. Barotherapy is prescribed locally in angiospasms, endarteritis obliterans, myalgias, neuralgias, and so on. General barotherapy is indicated in nonpurulent inflammations of the respiratory tract, bronchial asthma, and so on. Barotherapy is contraindicated if there is a disposition toward hemorrhages, hemophilia, or tuberculosis of the lungs and respiratory tract.