The macula is a small spot located on the retina that is necessary for your vision, that is, the ability to see straight ahead. There are two forms of the condition. About 90 percent of people with AMD have the dry form, while the remaining ten percent have the wet form. In the dry form, there is loss of pigment in the retina, and small, yellowish deposits form within the layers of the retina. These deposits result in loss of central vision, which makes it difficult to do such simple tasks as reading or driving. The dry form usually progresses slowly, causing a gradual disruption of vision. Wet macular degeneration is more aggressive, and may cause faster or even sudden loss of central vision. Although straight ahead, central vision is impaired by the disorder, patients usually retain peripheral vision, so they are not completely blind.

Oxygen deficiency is part of the cause of macular degeneration, because lack of oxygen hampers the cells in pumping out toxins, resulting in inflammation that hinders the generation of new blood vessels in injured tissues. This in turn results in more inflammation and swelling that causes increased oxygen deficiency, a vicious cycle.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy infuses needed oxygen into damaged cells under pressure. HBOT dissolves oxygen into your body, diffusing it everywhere, even into hard-to-reach inflamed and swollen areas. HBOT brings oxygen to the retina and to the macula.

A report by two doctors from Demark, Drs. Jansen and Nielson details two case histories of dry macular degeneration improving with HBOT. One patient, a type-2 diabetic, went from a visual acuity of 0.5 (difficulty reading), to 1.0, where he could read normally, with just one treatment. The second patient's visual acuity was only 0.2, he could not read at all. After five sessions of HBOT in three days, his acuity was 0.9, where he could read normally.

These Denmark doctors say a "very rapid" day-by-day improvement in the macula and recommend that treatment be started as early as possible, before there is irreversible damage.

Macular Degeneration reversed in 77 year old woman

In a recent pilot study into the effects of HBOT on macular degeneration, a 77 year old woman diagnosed with macular degeneration 1993 was given 10 treatments and recorded an improvement of 65% in one eye. After a further 10 treatments the same eye further improved to a total of 75% while the other eye improved 50%. Near acuity improved from N16 to N10.