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Hyperbaric oxygen therapy
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This has a number of applications, including the treatment of cerebral palsy and other forms of brain injury. In recent years, many healthcare professionals have also successfully used HBOT in the treatment of children with autism.
In addition, hyperbaric oxygen therapy can help in cancer recovery, wound healing as well as the treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome, migraine headaches and a host of other chronic conditions.
There are two types of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy – regular HBOT and mild HBOT (mHBOT).
Regular HBOT uses very costly and sophisticated equipment, in which the patient enters a high-pressure room or chamber – at 1.5 to 2.0 atmospheric pressure – filled with pure oxygen.
Such facilities are typically available only in medical hospitals or specialist clinics. They require medical supervision as well as safety precautions. Oxygen in excess can be toxic. Moreover, oxygen is highly flammable. Because of these reasons, the cost of treatment is typically high and may run into a few hundred dollars per session.
Mild HBOT employs just slightly raised air pressure – about 1.3 atmospheric pressure – with normal air. All that is needed is a bag that is big enough for the patient to enter and strong enough to withstand slightly increased air pressure.
Mild HBOT may be available in smaller clinics and the cost of treatment is much lower than that of regular HBOT.
While mild HBOT is still not exactly cheap, it is affordable enough for some people to afford a unit for home use. It cost tens of thousands of dollars, as opposed to regular HBOT which costs at least a few hundred thousand dollars to set up.
Plus, mild HBOT it is safe for home use. No medical supervision is required and, unlike regular hyperbaric oxygen therapy, there are no dangers from receiving too much treatment.
Most significantly, mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy is not necessarily less effective than regular HBOT. It is still a very effective way of getting more oxygen into the body at the cellular level.
Increasing oxygen supply
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In HBOT, the gas is oxygen and the liquid is blood. So when a person enters a HBOT chamber, more oxygen is dissolved in the blood.
Under pressure, oxygen does not only hook up to red blood cells – the "traditional" way oxygen is delivered to tissues. It also dissolves into the blood plasma.
This is significant because when that plasma circulates near dormant or injured tissues, the oxygen in the plasma will dissolve further into the cells there. In fact, damaged or injured cells receive more oxygen from the blood plasma than from red blood cell in the "traditional" delivery system.
Greater oxygen supply will enhance the recovery of damaged tissues such as damaged brain cells (encephalopathic brain), a bruised muscle, a sprained tendon, surgical wound, etc.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy can therefore be used to treat a broad range of medical conditions.
Safe uses of HBOT
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy has a history of several decades. It has been safely and effectively used for a wide variety of conditions, including:
In fact, HBOT has been – and can be – used for any condition related to immune dysfunction and / or conditions related to supply of blood to an organ.
Mild HBOT is approved by the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for treating high altitude sickness caused by lack of oxygen to the tissues.
Over 2800 mild Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Chambers are in service today with a flawless safety record.
The mild HBOT Chamber is a Class II Medical Device that is cleared by the US FDA for use in the home, clinics, and sub-acute care.