Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT): General information and discussion of Home Units

[yann]

I'm going to have to try this... Coincidentally, Mercola put up an article on the subject yesterday...

Maybe he reads the C's

Vitamin C seems to counteract the detrimental effects, including oxidative stress induced by hyperbaric treatments:

For maximum effect of vitamin C, check out the liposomal Vitamin C
It can be homemade with standard vitamin C (ascorbic acid but better with sodium ascorbate), lecithin and ultrasound cleaner

Did Liposomal Vitamin C cure cancer? -- Sott.net

Allan Smith was near death in a coma and about to be taken off life support, with swine flu, non-functioning "white" lungs and leukemia when he was given high-dose intravenous vitamin C, followed by a new oral "nano-sized" vitamin C product that...

www.sott.net

Soignez-vous avec la vitamine C liposomale fait maison -- Sott.net

Traduit de l'anglais par News of tomorrow « En fait, même si aucun symptôme extérieur n'indique de problème, une personne peut être dans un état de carence en vitamine C plus dangereux que le scorbut lui-même. Lorsque cet état n'est pas détecté,...

fr.sott.net

 

[KJS]

The prices of hyperbaric chambers in Poland are in the range of 30USD per 60-minute session, so it's 1200USD for 40 sessions, and most probably one could negotiate a discount. So if anyone is visiting the country, almost all big cities here have a few places where one can do hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

 

[liam1310]

Crazy prices over here. I emailed a guy today explaining I would need 40 sessions minimum, explained my health situation. Will see if he can do me a cash deal on the sessions. Will do the same with the other places, hopefully get a reasonable price.

 

[Laura]

There is a place about 15 minutes from me called Restore Hyperwellness and they offer "Mild Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy" I'm not sure what the "mild" means. I just called them and would be $89 per 60 minute session, and if you become a member (monthly fee required), the price drops down to $49/session. All in all, for 45 sessions it would run about $2200.

Mild Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

That sounds reasonable enough to get started right away. Don't forget to take extra liposomal Vitamin C before and after the therapy.

 

[Mrs. Peel]

That sounds reasonable enough to get started right away. Don't forget to take extra liposomal Vitamin C before and after the therapy.

There practice is you need to do a televisit with a nurse to make sure you are medicallly cleared for the therapy. My only concern is that it says your ears may pop or hurt, I remember when flying my ears hurt like the dickens when landing. Normally that wouldn't concern me, but with my current ear problems I'm wondering if it might make them worse?

 

[Laura]

There practice is you need to do a televisit with a nurse to make sure you are medicallly cleared for the therapy. My only concern is that it says your ears may pop or hurt, I remember when flying my ears hurt like the dickens when landing. Normally that wouldn't concern me, but with my current ear problems I'm wondering if it might make them worse?

Since Gaby taught me how to gently blow my pinched nose with my mouth shut, so that my ears clear, I haven't had any such trouble. I now do it several times a day. It has really helped the ringing.

 

[Bo]

There practice is you need to do a televisit with a nurse to make sure you are medicallly cleared for the therapy. My only concern is that it says your ears may pop or hurt, I remember when flying my ears hurt like the dickens when landing. Normally that wouldn't concern me, but with my current ear problems I'm wondering if it might make them worse?

I would also like to add that perhaps you can consult with them on slowly raising the pressure until you feel your ears become used to the pressure, added with the advice given by Laura on how to keep the ears clear. If it becomes to much you can always ask them to lower the pressure since it should be possible in such practices that the one overseeing the session has direct contact with the patient through some form of headset.

The below for example is a list (from the wellness institute near my house) that advices people not to use it if they suffer from the following;

Note: Now I do not know how much of an issue those suffering from the list below could experience side effects from the chamber, but atleast make sure you are fully prepared knowledge wise if you do.

Do you have one of the relative contraindications below?

- ear barotrauma
- Insulin related problems (blood sugar drop during pressure chamber use!)
- Dental problems (aerodontalgia)
- Anemia
- Long ear surgeries in the past
- Untreated thyrotoxicosis (Stokes disease)
- History of a spontaneous collapsed lung
- Malignancy (Cancer)
- Patent Foramen Oval (PFO)
- Viral infection, such as a respiratory infection
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or other lung conditions
- Long barotrauma (Long pressure injury)
- Implants, such as a pacemaker
- angina pectoris
- Asthma or wheezing
- Abnormalities, such as uncontrolled bleeding
- Uncontrolled high blood pressure
- decompression sickness
- Epileptic attacks
- Severe hay fever
- heart problems
- Eye abnormalities (progressive myopia and cataracts)
- History of optic neuritis
- Intraocular Gas Bubbles
- Drug and/or alcohol abuse (Body temperature rising in the hyperbaric chamber)
- Diving from flies (within 24 hours of room treatment)
- Severe claustrophobia
- Pregnancy


-----
Do you have one of the absolute contraindications below or do you use one of the medications below?

Doxorubicin Hydrochloride (Adriamycin)
Bleomycin
cisplatin
Disulfiram (Antabuse)
Mefanide acetate (Sulfamylon)
Untreated pneumothorax
Fever

-----------------------------------------

I am still delving deeper into learning about this practice, but from what little I have gathered so far, I personally think that if you doubt or believe you might suffer from some side effects, it would seem logical to slowly raise the pressure to the point you feel ''okay'' and then slowly overtime raise it to the pressure it is supposed to be at.

 

[A Jay]

I would also like to add that perhaps you can consult with them on slowly raising the pressure until you feel your ears become used to the pressure, added with the advice given by Laura on how to keep the ears clear. If it becomes to much you can always ask them to lower the pressure since it should be possible in such practices that the one overseeing the session has direct contact with the patient through some form of headset.

The below for example is a list (from the wellness institute near my house) that advices people not to use it if they suffer from the following;

Note: Now I do not know how much of an issue those suffering from the list below could experience side effects from the chamber, but atleast make sure you are fully prepared knowledge wise if you do.

...

I am still delving deeper into learning about this practice, but from what little I have gathered so far, I personally think that if you doubt or believe you might suffer from some side effects, it would seem logical to slowly raise the pressure to the point you feel ''okay'' and then slowly overtime raise it to the pressure it is supposed to be at.

The way that it's described on this list of possible risks and side effects of HBOT barotrauma of the ear seems fairly straightforward to avoid using the technique to equalize ear pressure Laura mentioned:

Barotrauma of the ear​

Barotrauma is a term that refers to injury due to increased pressure. Barotrauma of the ear is the most frequent complication of HBO. The middle-ear is an air-filled cavity behind the ear drum that connects to the throat through a slit-like passage called the eustachian tube. During compression, if the air pressure in the middle-ear cannot be equalized with the external pressure, the eardrum will bow inward, leading to pain and possibly rupture, leading to hearing loss.

There practice is you need to do a televisit with a nurse to make sure you are medicallly cleared for the therapy. My only concern is that it says your ears may pop or hurt, I remember when flying my ears hurt like the dickens when landing. Normally that wouldn't concern me, but with my current ear problems I'm wondering if it might make them worse?

I'm sure they've developed a good means of helping people navigate the issue of ear pressure discomfort, so just talk to them about it and see what they say. They probably know of and can recommend a few different techniques for equalizing the pressure.

 

[Gruchaa]

Hi guys! Interesting topic! You are saying about 40 sessions. Can I ask if this needs to be everyday or every 2 days? What frequency is the best? And also time spent per one session? Thanks!

 

[Zasino]

HBOT has helped greatly in healing my diabetic foot. I took 25 daily sessions (except on week-ends) of 50min each in a "hard" type chamber seating 12 persons on 2 opposed rows. "hard" means the pressure goes up to over 2atm, so when it comes down again it does so in 2-3 steps each lasting about 10 minutes. Nothing of the sort with "soft" chambers however: You can stay up to 90 minutes in up to two sessions per day according to the restore website and Mercola's video interview.

 

[Thor’s Pantheon]

Yes. It is this one.

We have bought also the optional air cooler. Including delivery the total amount is $6,200. We have to add the import tax to this amount.

Hi Pierre,

Was that $6200 USD?

Also, can you list the high level reasons you chose this manufacturer?

Thanks

 

[Steph_rivers]

Those two videos where highly informative and just mind blowing to say the least. Further studies have been conducted with HBOT and ketogenic diets as optimal methods of treatment/enhancements! Coincidence? (Yea right)… this is incredible. Not only can this save lives, wake up stem cells, open capillary blood flow, treat wounds, *the list goes on* to prove oxygen is our primary nutrient for growth. I’m looking to see if I can get the 1.5 ATA chamber that Pierre linked. There seems to be a lot of restrictions for this in the US…. You need a prescription because the FDA claims 99% oxygen to be a drug….. that’s a dead giveaway they don’t want this freely to the public. That machine doesn’t even utilize oxygen to that level of concentration.

 

[Beorn]

I'm interested in trying out the therapy but I have had a spontaneous pneumothorax in the past (18 years ago). I'm not sure if that means I'm at risk of that happening again in the chamber? It looks like even low settings under 1.3 atmospheres may also have a good effect for general health. I would probably ask the staff to start at 1.1 to dip my toe in the water, so to speak.

According to the Mercola interview it's not only oxygen saturation but the fluctuation in pressure that helps the body heal. So it seems to me shorter (60 minutes?) sessions done more frequently would be better than less frequent but longer session.

 

[liam1310]

Was a bit concerned since I have a defibrillator inserted, apparently its okay as long as the pressure doesn't go above 4.0 ATA, thats according to the manufactures website. So thats good to know, incase anyone else was woundering about this. Also, the American heart association endorses hyperbaric oxygen for heart attacks.

Got a discount, this place charges 100e per session reduced it to 85e per session, still very pricey.

Im looking at one on alibaba, its a lie down portable one, Dr Hugo is the brand 3465 dollars, doesn't inc shipping or import taxes.

​

 

[Yas]

We found some clinics that offer Hyperbaric Chamber sessions here in Mexico and we're in the process of finding out more about those clinics and also about the treatment itself. The clinic we're looking into now offers 15 sessions for about 146.5 USD. I'm going to do some more research and see what exactly the clinic is offering and report back .

One thing I'm trying to find out is if it is OK to do 15 sessions first, then wait for a month, and then do 15 sessions again, and then wait again, until you reach the 45 mark. It shouldn't be a problem, but I just want to see if I find some information regarding the effectiveness of doing it in such a way.

Doing just a quick search brought up so many interesting articles about the treatment! It looks promising for a lot of different conditions, including difficult inflammatory illnesses. For example:

Hyperbaric oxygen treatment for inflammatory bowel disease: a systematic review and analysis

Hyperbaric oxygen treatment for inflammatory bowel disease: a systematic review and analysis - Medical Gas Research

Background Traditionally, hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT) has been used to treat a limited repertoire of disease, including decompression sickness and healing of problem wounds. However, some investigators have used HBOT to treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn's disease and...

medicalgasresearch.biomedcentral.com

Results
Thirteen studies of HBOT in Crohn's disease and 6 studies in ulcerative colitis were identified. In all studies, participants had severe disease refractory to standard medical treatments, including corticosteroids, immunomodulators and anti-inflammatory medications. In patients with Crohn's disease, 31/40 (78%) had clinical improvements with HBOT, while all 39 patients with ulcerative colitis improved. One study in Crohn's disease reported a significant decrease in proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-alpha) and one study in ulcerative colitis reported a decrease in IL-6 with HBOT. Adverse events were minimal. Twelve publications reported using HBOT in animal models of experimentally-induced IBD, including several studies reporting decreased markers of inflammation or immune dysregulation, including TNF-alpha (3 studies), IL-1beta (2 studies), neopterin (1 study) and myeloperoxidase activity (5 studies). HBOT also decreased oxidative stress markers including malondialdehyde (3 studies) and plasma carbonyl content (2 studies), except for one study that reported increased plasma carbonyl content. Several studies reported HBOT lowered nitric oxide (3 studies) and nitric oxide synthase (3 studies) and one study reported a decrease in prostaglandin E2 levels. Four animal studies reported decreased edema or colonic tissue weight with HBOT, and 8 studies reported microscopic improvements on histopathological examination. Although most publications reported improvements with HBOT, some studies suffered from limitations, including possible publication and referral biases, the lack of a control group, the retrospective nature and a small number of participants.

Conclusions
HBOT lowered markers of inflammation and oxidative stress and ameliorated IBD in both human and animal studies. Most treated patients were refractory to standard medical treatments. Additional studies are warranted to investigate the effects of HBOT on biomarkers of oxidative stress and inflammation as well as clinical outcomes in individuals with IBD.

Another one that shows reduced inflammation:

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Alleviates the Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis via the Reduction of IL-17a and GM-Csf Production of Autoreactive T Cells as Well as Boosting the Immunosuppressive IL-10 in the Central Nervous System Tissue Lesions

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Alleviates the Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis via the Reduction of IL-17a and GM-Csf Production of Autoreactive T Cells as Well as Boosting the Immunosuppressive IL-10 in the Central Nervous System Tissue Lesions - PubMed

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disease mainly caused by autoreactive T cells, followed by neuronal demyelination and disabling paralysis. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is usually an adjunct to therapy for the treatment of neurological disorders. However, it remains still...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Abstract
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disease mainly caused by autoreactive T cells, followed by neuronal demyelination and disabling paralysis. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is usually an adjunct to therapy for the treatment of neurological disorders. However, it remains still controversial whether HBOT is an effective option for the treatment of MS. Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is a well-studied mouse model investigated for the MS pathogenesis and the efficacy of the therapeutic intervention. Both encephalitogenic Th1 and Th17 are pivotal T cell subsets immunopathogenically producing several disease-initiating/modifying cytokines in the central nervous system (CNS) lesions to further exacerbate/ameliorate the progression of EAE or MS. However, it remains unclear whether HBOT modulates the context of T helper cell subsets in CNS lesions. We employed EAE in the presence of HBOT to assess whether disease amelioration is attributed to alterations of CNS-infiltrating T cell subsets. Our results demonstrated that semi-therapeutic HBOT significantly alleviated the progression of EAE, at least, via the suppression of Th17 response, the downregulation of CD4 T helper cells expressing GM-CSF or TNF-α, and the boosting of immunomodulatory IL-4 or IL-10-expressed CD4 T cells in the CNS lesions. Conclusively, HBOT attenuated EAE through the modulation of T cell responses in an earlier stage.

About another autoimmune condition:

Early hyperbaric oxygen therapy attenuates disease severity in lupus-prone autoimmune (NZB x NZW) F1 mice

Early hyperbaric oxygen therapy attenuates disease severity in lupus-prone autoimmune (NZB x NZW) F1 mice - PubMed

The effects of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO(2)) therapy on the immune system are reported including potential changes to the CD4/CD8 ratio and a decreased proliferation of lymphocytes during exposure. The immunosuppressive effect of HBO(2) had been suggested to be applicable for the treatment of...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Abstract
The effects of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO(2)) therapy on the immune system are reported including potential changes to the CD4/CD8 ratio and a decreased proliferation of lymphocytes during exposure. The immunosuppressive effect of HBO(2) had been suggested to be applicable for the treatment of certain autoimmune diseases. (NZB x NZW) F1 hybrid mice, the unique lupus-prone mice, have been used for elucidating the pathogenesis of SLE. To investigate the effect of HBO(2) on NZB/W F1 lupus-prone mice, 32 female mice were divided into four groups. Three groups of mice were treated with HBO(2) (2.5 atm abs (ATA) for 90 min daily over 2 weeks) starting at (A) 3 months, (B) 6 months, or (C) 8 months of age, while the remaining group (D) served as control. Animals were followed until 11 months of age. Experimental parameters included life span, proteinuria, peripheral lymphocytes, anti-dsDNA antibody titers, and renal histopathology. HBO(2) treatment resulted in increased survival, decreased proteinuria, alterations in lymphocyte-subset redistribution, reduced anti-dsDNA antibody titers, and amelioration of immune-complex deposition in groups A and B. Our data demonstrated that HBO(2) therapy attenuated disease severity in NZB/W F1 mice. HBO(2) treatment may be of use in the clinical treatment of lupus patients and would benefit from further study.

About aging:

Study finds hyperbaric oxygen treatments reverse aging process

Study finds hyperbaric oxygen treatments reverse aging process

A new study from Tel Aviv University (TAU) and the Shamir Medical Center in Israel indicates that hyperbaric oxygen treatments (HBOT) in healthy aging adults can stop the aging of blood cells and reverse the aging process. In the biological sense, the adults' blood cells actually grow younger as...

medicalxpress.com

A new study from Tel Aviv University (TAU) and the Shamir Medical Center in Israel indicates that hyperbaric oxygen treatments (HBOT) in healthy aging adults can stop the aging of blood cells and reverse the aging process. In the biological sense, the adults' blood cells actually grow younger as the treatments progress.

The researchers found that a unique protocol of treatments with high-pressure oxygen in a pressure chamber can reverse two major processes associated with aging and its illnesses: the shortening of telomeres (protective regions located at both ends of every chromosome) and the accumulation of old and malfunctioning cells in the body. Focusing on immune cells containing DNA obtained from the participants' blood, the study discovered a lengthening of up to 38% of the telomeres, as well as a decrease of up to 37% in the presence of senescent cells.

That's all very interesting, I'll read more about it