Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

Mayo Clinic Overview

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves breathing pure oxygen in a pressurized room or tube. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a well-established treatment for decompression sickness, a hazard of scuba diving. Other conditions treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy include serious infections, bubbles of air in your blood vessels, and wounds that won't heal as a result of diabetes or radiation injury.

In a hyperbaric oxygen therapy chamber, the air pressure is increased to three times higher than normal air pressure. Under these conditions, your lungs can gather more oxygen than would be possible breathing pure oxygen at normal air pressure.

Your blood carries this oxygen throughout your body. This helps fight bacteria and stimulate the release of substances called growth factors and stem cells, which promote healing.

Product Advanced Hyperbaric Chambers For Sale - Oxycell

Videos

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Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy- Interview with Dr. Sonners

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Dr. David Steenblock - The Power of Hyperbaric Oxygen, Stem Cell Therapy & PEMF For Health!

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) is a medical treatment that involves breathing pure oxygen in a pressurized room or chamber. This therapy is used to treat a variety of medical conditions by enhancing the body's natural healing processes. The increased pressure allows the lungs to gather more oxygen than would be possible breathing pure oxygen at normal air pressure. This oxygen-rich environment can help in the healing of tissues and fighting infections.

How Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Works

During HBOT, patients are placed in a hyperbaric chamber where the atmospheric pressure is increased to two to three times higher than normal. This process allows the lungs to absorb more oxygen, which is then carried by the blood to the rest of the body. The increased oxygen levels can help reduce inflammation, promote healing, and fight off bacteria.

The therapy typically involves sessions that last between 30 minutes to two hours, depending on the condition being treated. Patients may require multiple sessions over a period of days or weeks to achieve the desired therapeutic effect.

Conditions Treated with HBOT

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is used to treat a variety of conditions, including:

• Decompression Sickness: Often associated with scuba diving, this condition occurs when nitrogen bubbles form in the bloodstream due to rapid changes in pressure.
• Carbon Monoxide Poisoning: HBOT can help remove carbon monoxide from the blood more quickly than normal air pressure.
• Non-healing Wounds: Particularly in diabetic patients, HBOT can promote healing in chronic wounds by increasing oxygen supply to the affected area.
• Infections: Certain infections, such as gas gangrene and necrotizing fasciitis, can be treated with HBOT due to its ability to inhibit the growth of anaerobic bacteria.
• Radiation Injuries: Tissue damage caused by radiation therapy can be mitigated with HBOT, which helps repair damaged blood vessels and tissues.

Benefits of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

The primary benefit of HBOT is its ability to increase oxygen delivery to tissues, which can accelerate healing and improve outcomes in various medical conditions. Some of the key benefits include:

• Enhanced Healing: By increasing oxygen supply, HBOT can speed up the healing process for wounds and injuries.
• Reduced Inflammation: The therapy can help reduce swelling and inflammation, which is beneficial for conditions like arthritis and sports injuries.
• Improved Immune Function: Oxygen-rich environments can enhance the body's ability to fight infections and improve overall immune function.
• Tissue Regeneration: HBOT can stimulate the growth of new blood vessels and tissues, aiding in recovery from injuries and surgeries.

Risks and Considerations

While HBOT is generally considered safe, there are some risks and side effects associated with the therapy. These may include:

• Barotrauma: Changes in pressure can cause damage to the ears, sinuses, and lungs.
• Oxygen Toxicity: Breathing pure oxygen at high pressures can lead to oxygen toxicity, which can cause seizures and other complications.
• Claustrophobia: Some patients may experience anxiety or discomfort in the enclosed chamber.

It is important for patients to discuss their medical history and any potential risks with their healthcare provider before undergoing HBOT. Certain conditions, such as lung disease or a history of ear surgery, may increase the risk of complications.

ARTICLES/STUDIES

“Holy Grail” – Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatments Reverse Aging Process in First Clinical Trial

What Are the Benefits of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?

Oxygen and Pressure Epigenetics: Understanding Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy After 355 Years as the Oldest Gene Therapy Known to Man

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy in preventing mechanical ventilation in COVID-19 patients.

Aging

Hyperbaric oxygen can significantly modulate the pathophysiology of the skin aging in a healthy aging population.

Antibacterial

Efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in bacterial biofilm eradication.

Brain Injury

• Hyperbaric oxygen alleviates the activation of NLRP-3-inflammasomes in traumatic brain injury
• Hyperbaric oxygen therapy reduces astrogliosis and helps to recovery brain damage in hydrocephalic young rats.
• Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in the Treatment of Acute Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: A Systematic Review.
• Results of acute cerebral infarction treatment with hyperbaric oxygen therapy, 2020-2022.

Cancer

• Hyperbaric oxygen treatment sensitizes gastric cancer cells to melatonin-induced apoptosis through multiple pathways.
• Hyperbaric oxygen suppressed tumor progression through the improvement of tumor hypoxia and induction of tumor apoptosis in A549-cell-transferred lung cancer.
• Effects of an early intervention with hyperbaric oxygen treatment on arm lymphedema and quality of life after breast cancer.

Cardiovascular

Hyperbaric oxygenation is an efficient strategy to improve cardiac parasympathetic reactivation and is beneficial for subsequent performance.

Cellular Effects

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy increases telomere length and decreases immunosenescence in isolated blood cells.

Cerebrovascular

Hyperbaric oxygen in patients with ischemic stroke following cardiac surgery: a retrospective observational trial. HBO2₂ therapy was associated with significant improvement in patients with acute neurological deficits due to ischemic stroke following cardiac surgery. Though this fact suggests gas embolism as the most likely cause of stroke in this collective, other underlying pathologies cannot be ruled out. Randomized studies are needed for further evaluation.

COVID-19

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy improves neurocognitive functions and symptoms of post-COVID condition.

Dementia

Protective effect of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on cognitive function in patients with vascular dementia.

Diabetes

• Hyperbaric oxygen rapidly improves tissue-specific insulin sensitivity and mitochondrial capacity in humans with type 2 diabetes.
• Hyperbaric oxygen therapy in management of diabetic foot ulcers.
• Hyperbaric oxygen but not hyperbaric air increases insulin sensitivity in men with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
• Use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) in chronic diabetic wound.
• The effectiveness of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for healing chronic venous leg ulcers.

Fibromyalgia

• Hyperbaric oxygen therapy appears to be feasible and safe for individuals with fibromyalgia.
• Efficacy and safety of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for fibromyalgia.

Leg Ulcer

Application of topical hyperbaric oxygen therapy and medical active dressings in the treatment of arterial leg ulcers.

Muscle Injury

• Hyperbaric oxygen reduces inflammation, oxygenates injured muscle, and regenerates skeletal muscle via macrophage and satellite cell activation
• Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for soft tissue injury in open musculoskeletal trauma.

Necrosis

Hyperbaric oxygen treatment is associated with a decrease in cytokine levels in patients with necrotizing soft-tissue infection.

Neuroprotective

• Hyperbaric oxygen therapy ameliorates pathophysiology of 3xTg-AD mouse model by attenuating neuroinflammation.
• Synergistic neuroprotective effects of hyperbaric oxygen and N-acetylcysteine against traumatic spinal cord injury in rat.
• Hyperbaric oxygenation alleviates chronic constriction injury (CCI)-induced neuropathic pain and inhibits GABAergic neuron apoptosis in the spinal cord.
• The efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen in the treatment of sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

Oral Health

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for the treatment of moderate to severe periodontitis.

Pain

• Hyperbaric oxygen therapy can improve pain symptoms, quality of life, emotional and social function of patients suffering from fibromyalgia triggered by TBI.
• Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for pain, opioid withdrawal, and related symptoms.

PTSD

• The use of hyperbaric oxygen for veterans with PTSD: basic physiology and current available clinical data.
• Hyperbaric oxygen therapy improves symptoms, brain's microstructure and functionality in veterans with treatment resistant post-traumatic stress disorder.

Radiotherapy Protection

• Hyperbaric oxygen treatment might have the potential to alleviate radiotherapy-related gastrointestinal complications.
• Scoping Review and Meta-analysis of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Radiation-Induced Hemorrhagic Cystitis.
• Hyperbaric oxygenation therapy minimizes deleterious effects of irradiation on flexural strength and the bone stiffness analysis.

Withdrawal Symptoms

Hyperbaric Oxygen Attenuates Withdrawal Symptoms by Regulating Monoaminergic Neurotransmitters and NO Signaling Pathway at Nucleus Accumbens in Morphine-Dependent Rats.