Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is used as a primary or adjunctive treatment to treat various medical and surgical conditions. It is also an effective anti-aging treatment and is also used in the treatment of sports injury. Nowadays with the availability of portable hyperbaric chambers, patients no longer need to travel long distances in order to find a hyperbaric treatment center. It is now possible to either rent or even purchase one for availing hyperbaric oxygen at home.
Benefits Of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Oxygen is essential for life. At atmospheric pressure, it makes up about 21% of the air that we breathe in. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a treatment in which a patient breathes in 100% pure oxygen under increased pressure in a specialized chamber. The pressure causes the extra oxygen to be taken up by the bloodstream and dissolved at a much faster rate. The extra oxygen helps rejuvenate damaged cells and helps combat effects of strokes, heart attacks and digestive disorders.
Oxygen under pressure has the capacity of infusing vital organs with energy which leads to faster healing. Many sportspersons use almost daily hyperbaric oxygen at home as it helps heal sports injuries faster. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy also boosts the immune system by increasing the number of white blood cells. More red blood cells are produced when muscles within the body are saturated with oxygen. As the increased oxygen is able to reach bones, tissues and other body parts faster, it helps fight infections effectively.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is used to treat conditions such as air or gas embolism, carbon monoxide poisoning, gas gangrene, anemia, skin grafts and thermal burns. Regular treatment is also known to have benefited people with diabetic ulcers, stroke and cancer disease. Exposure to pure oxygen also stimulates brain cells and patients with brain damage due to accidents are known to show signs of speedy recovery when subjected to hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
How Is Hyperbaric Oxygen Administered?
During hyperbaric oxygen treatment, pressure is increased up to 1.5 times that of normal so that the patient is able to breathe 100% pure oxygen. The combination of increased pressure and oxygen content causes oxygen to dissolve into the bloodstream and body tissues at up to 20 times the normal concentration.
Hyperbaric oxygen is administered to the patient in a closed chamber. The traditional types of chambers are hard shelled pressure vessels ranging from fixed size to portable ones. They have a pressure vessel, entry latches, airlock for allowing food, medicines and instruments to enter the chamber and a carbon dioxide scrubber. Pressure in the chamber can be increased by opening the valves to allow high pressure from storage cylinders.
Portable or mild chambers can be used for hyperbaric oxygen treatment at home. They have lower pressure of soft-sided chambers. In the US, commercially available chambers can even go up to 4 PSI. These chambers are operated either with oxygen concentrators or with 100% oxygen as the breathing gas. Soft chambers are approved by the FDA and are used primarily for the treatment of sports injuries, autism and neural conditions.
Why Avail In-Home Hyperbaric Oxygen?
Hard-sided chambers can only be used in clinic settings. They are more expensive and not available to everyone. The soft or mild chamber can be used at home after a course of high pressure treatment to increase the effectiveness of the treatment. A course with a soft-sided chamber can also be used to assess a person’s response to this therapy before proceeding with higher pressure and concentration. In-home hyperbaric oxygen chambers are safe and approved by the FDA. They offer the advantage of easy access to those living far away. With hectic schedules it may be even difficult to visit hyperbaric centers which are close by. By renting a chamber you can get the benefit of in-home hyperbaric oxygen without having to travel. You can also do more than one hour of treatment in a day, that too according to your convenience. You can get to do more sessions than at the center. This makes it affordable as the cost per treatment is reduced. Convenience of time is another benefit of renting or purchasing the chamber.