Final answer:
Oxygen therapy is primarily ordered to increase oxygen levels in the blood, which is essential for tissue and organ function, especially when the body's intake of oxygen is compromised due to certain health conditions.
Step-by-step explanation:
Oxygen therapy is ordered to increase oxygen levels in the blood. This is crucial for maintaining the health and function of tissues and organs. In clinical settings, conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pneumonia, asthma, or following traumatic injury or surgery can significantly impair oxygen intake, necessitating the use of supplemental oxygen to ensure that the body's demands for oxygen are met.
In the context of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, it is specifically used to treat certain types of infections by assisting with gas and nutrient exchange. This treatment can help to hyper-oxygenate tissues, improve the functionality of white blood cells, and can even help in making antibiotic treatments more effective. Although oxygen therapy is not directly used to conserve water, prevent exposure to sunlight, enhance appetite, or decrease carbon dioxide intake, it serves a vital role in ensuring that oxygen levels in the blood are sufficient to meet the metabolic needs of the body.
It is important to note that while hyperbaric oxygen therapy can assist in the treatment of infections by increasing the activities of neutrophils and macrophages, it is not without risks such as oxygen toxicity. Therefore, its use is carefully controlled and monitored in clinical environments.