Top 5 Health Benefits of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves sitting or lying inside an enclosed chamber pressurized with high levels of air, called a hyperbaric chamber, for one to two hour sessions.

HBOT can be used to treat carbon monoxide poisoning, severe burns, nonhealing wounds and decompression sickness. In addition, HBOT may assist certain cancers in healing as well as being used for other purposes.

Hyperbaric Oxygen therapy should not be recommended for anyone who has recently undergone ear surgery or an infection, is feverish, uses insulin for diabetes treatment (as the hyperbaric chamber can lower blood sugar levels), or is experiencing lung disease - this includes certain restrictions pertaining to lung conditions. Always consult your physician before beginning Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. 

So here we go. The top 5 Health Benefits of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy:

1. Increased Oxygen Levels

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy may provide a valuable service in treating injuries and illnesses by increasing oxygen-rich blood's flow directly to injured tissues, speeding healing time and decreasing infection risks. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy also enhances medications used to treat such issues by providing more oxygen directly into their tissues.

At higher than normal pressure, oxygen molecules are able to penetrate 400% deeper into your tissues than they otherwise would be - penetrating constricted blood vessels, inflamed tissues, crossing blood brain barriers, lymph nodes, cerebrospinal fluid and muscle. Once in these areas, this oxygen becomes part of ATP production which provides energy for all cell functions in your body.

Treatment occurs in rooms or chambers designed for one person at a time, similar to diving or traveling on an airplane. You will wear a mask or hood that covers your face during treatment connected with a breathing tube - similar pressure is felt inside these chambers as during diving.

2. Increased Circulation

Hyperbaric oxygen chambers increase the pressure of your blood plasma, making it easier for red blood cells to carry oxygen to tissues and organs, thus helping the body create new blood vessels and increase collagen production, leading to faster healing times and improving overall wellbeing.

Enhancing immune functions and weakening infection-causing bacteria by restricting their oxygen use or secretion can strengthen your defenses against infections. Furthermore, regular physical exercise can increase stem cell counts in circulation that serve as building blocks of all other cells that replace dead or damaged ones more quickly than ever before.

Under HBOT, patients breathe 100% pure oxygen inside a 7-foot long clear plastic monoplace chamber containing pressurized air at two to three times normal atmospheric pressure. If experiencing claustrophobia is an issue for you, wearing a mask or hood and taking breaks periodically to breathe normal air may help. A healthcare provider will always be present throughout treatment to monitor progress and answer any queries that arise.

3. Increased Blood Cell Production

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy not only delivers oxygen directly, but it also works by stimulating new blood vessel formation in injured tissues. This enables fresh, oxygen-rich blood to enter more quickly while waste products leave quickly as well as expediting healing in chronic wounds such as diabetic ulcers or nonhealing surgical wounds.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy improves cellular functions and white blood cell production. This increases your body's ability to kill bacteria quickly, and may facilitate faster healing for some infections that do not respond well to antibiotic treatment.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy increases blood vessel pressure to disperse oxygen molecules throughout your body and help damaged tissues absorb more oxygen while supporting white blood cells' immunity against infections.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy helps your immune system work more effectively and provide protection from health problems such as poisonings or carbon monoxide intoxication. Furthermore, hyperbaric oxygen therapy may even counteract some infections caused by bacteria producing harmful toxins.

4. Reduced Inflammation

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy increases air pressure within a chamber by two to three times that of usual, enabling your lungs to absorb more oxygen than possible through breathing pure oxygen at normal air pressure. The extra oxygen helps fight bacteria, increase red blood cells and promote vasculogenesis (growth of new blood vessels).

HBOT provides conditions inhospitable to bacteria and viruses, helping reduce inflammation. Furthermore, oxygen stimulates white blood cell function - the body's primary defense cells against infections which require oxygen in order to produce superoxide radicals that kill bacteria.

Your sessions may last two hours and involve breathing 100% pure oxygen from a treatment chamber, with sessions lasting anywhere from one to two hours each time. While inside, you'll have time for watching movies or TV, sleeping, listening to music or podcasts or taking advantage of healthcare provider monitoring you closely during sessions; be sure to inform them if any medical implant devices such as pacemakers may react negatively due to pressurization during that time.

5. Reduced Pain

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy infuses your body with concentrated doses of oxygen, helping each cell in your body protect and repair itself, providing numerous health benefits.

These treatments may include diabetic foot ulcers, certain infections, failing flaps and grafts, carbon monoxide poisoning and arterial infarctions and wounds that refuse to heal. It may also benefit those suffering from chronic regional pain syndrome (CRPS) or fibromyalgia with poor circulation.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is administered in either single-person monoplace chambers or multiuser multiplace chambers, and many individuals enjoy passing their time watching television, movies, music or podcasts or sleeping during treatment. Healthcare providers are present throughout treatment to answer questions, check vitals and administer medications as necessary; eventually the pressure in the chamber returns to normal air pressure when treatment concludes.

An HBOT session may present certain risks, such as claustrophobia or anxiety attacks. A sedative may be prescribed beforehand. Furthermore, due to certain physical conditions it may be uncomfortable or impossible for patients to lie flat during treatment, therefore multiplace chambers are available for those needing to remain upright during sessions.

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