Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Benefits
Why do I need more oxygen?
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy allows patients to utilize the most important nutrient our bodies need for daily function and healing oxygen. Under pressure, our bodies can dissolve oxygen into the plasma of our blood in order to transport significantly more oxygen to our bodily tissues for optimizing function, healing, and recovering from injury. We do not need to teach you the importance of oxygen, as we all experience it on a day-to-day basis. We can go weeks without food, days without water, but we can only go minutes without oxygen.
The question we often receive is, Why do I need more oxygen? We like to explain this in terms of other nutrients our bodies need to function and heal. For example, most of us have enough vitamin C to carry out the daily activities we need, but in certain cases we may want to mega dose on vitamin C, like when we are trying to fight off a cold.
When talking about oxygen, this process is a little different because our red blood cells only have a certain capacity to carry oxygen and deliver it to our bodies, and the highest we can go is 100% oxygen carrying capacity. The only way to carry more oxygen is when we put it/you under pressure, and that is precisely what the hyperbaric chamber does.
Healing Benefits of HBOT
Want to learn more about HBOT?
If youre interested in learning more about HBOT or giving it a try, contact us to schedule an appointment and discuss adding HBOT to your treatment plan.
Small Bowel Obstruction Secondary To Pelvic Irradiation
Fukami et al stated that HBOT is a controversial treatment for adhesive post-operative small bowel obstruction , with only a few small studies reported. These researchers evaluated the clinical value of HBOT in the treatment of adhesive post-operative SBO. Between April 2006 and March 2012, all patients with adhesive post-operative SBO were treated using either decompression therapy or HBOT. Patients undergoing HBOT were treated once-daily at a pressure of 2.0 atmospheres absolute and received 100% oxygen. Patients showing no clinical and radiological improvement with HBOT were converted to decompression therapy by means of a long tube. Medical records were reviewed and outcomes analyzed. A total of 305 patients were treated, of whom 142 underwent tube decompression therapy during the 1st 3years and the remaining 163 had HBOT during the last 3years. The median number of HBOT was 3 . A total of 143 patients were treated successfully with HBOT without long-tube decompression. HBOT was associated with earlier resumption of oral intake and a shorter hospital stay . The rate of operation was 7.4% in the HBOT group and 14.8% in group treated by decompression alone . the authors concluded that in this study, HBOT was safe for the treatment of adhesive post-operative SBO. It reduced the need for surgery and time to recovery as well as the hospital stay.
Prophylactic Hbot Prior To Mastectomy
Rajpal and associates stated that mastectomy skin flap necrosis represents a significant complication of breast reconstructive procedures and is reported to occur in 30% to 52% of patients undergoing breast reconstruction. Early identification of ischemia and early initiation of HBOT could mitigate the effects of ischemia and rescue otherwise non-viable breast flap tissue. These researchers retrospectively examined the outcomes of HBOT therapy in 8 breasts with compromised mastectomy skin flaps between September 2015 and January 2017. Indocyanine green angiography was used to assess perfusion intra-operatively and post-HBOT administration 7 patients were referred for HBOT within 24 hours of mastectomy 1 patient failed to improve despite starting HBOT within 24 hours. All other patients manifested successful healing of their mastectomy skin flaps with acceptable cosmesis after 10 HBOT treatments. The mean relative perfusion of the at-risk area was 13.8% pre-HBOT and 101.6% post-HBOT. The average area at-risk pre-HBOT was 17.1 cm2 and reduced to zero post-HBOT. Relative perfusion values after HBOT were found to be 6.8 times greater than those measured prior to HBOT. The authors concluded that a short course of HBOT may be sufficient to successfully rescue at risk post-mastectomy breast flaps ICGA was a useful adjunct for evaluating post-mastectomy breast flap perfusion before and after HBOT therapy.
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Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy For Chronic Lyme Disease
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy has been utilized more and more in the last decade to deal with Lyme disease. Monumental research by the Texas A& M University has shown dramatic improvements in the general state of patients with Lyme disease when treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Hyperbaric has been demonstrated to:
Here we look at the latest studies done on Lyme disease with hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Can Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Treat Lyme Disease
Lyme Disease ranks as the most common tick-borne illness in many parts of the world, including the United States, Europe and Asia. Its also among the hardest to treat, with many patients getting little relief from common treatments that involve antibiotics.
As many as 300,000 may get Lyme Disease each year in the U.S. alone, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Untreated Lyme Disease can lead many symptoms, including fever, rash, facial paralysis and arthritis.
Recent research has found that hyperbaric oxygen treatment can treat Lyme Disease and may prove especially effective for those who are resistant to other treatments.
Aviv Clinic currently offers personalized HBOT protocols at The Center for Advanced Healthcare at Brownwood in The Villages, Florida. Currently, Aviv doctors are seeing success with treatment of Lyme patients who have received antibiotics for at least 10 years without significant improvement. The patients report feeling better than they have in years and in some cases have stopped taking antibiotics.
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Treatment Of Bacterial Keratitis
Dakhil and colleagues stated that no RCTs are available in the literature that discusses the effect of HBOT in bacterial keratitis. Chong et al reported a 30-year old woman with culture-proven soft contact lens associated Pseudomonas keratitis who was getting progressively worse despite topical, oral, and intravenous antibiotics. On her 3rd day, HBOT was started for 90 mins daily in addition to her antibiotics therapy 24 hours later, her vision improved from counting fingers to 6/24 HBOT continued to complete a course of 3 days. Patient discharged with the vision of 6/9. The authors concluded that further studies into the therapeutic effect of HBOT as adjunctive therapy to antibiotics are needed to prove its clinical efficacy and to determine the safe dose to avoid ocular and systematic complications.
The Relation Between Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy And Lyme Disease
While there has not been a tremendous amount of research done on hyperbaric oxygen therapy as it relates to Lyme disease, it is actually in the top three conditions we see in patients at HBOT USA.
The results that we see in our office are very significant for these patients. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a unique but effective treatment for Lyme disease.
This is because the bacteria that causes Lyme disease is anaerobic, meaning it cannot survive in oxygen-rich environments.
This bacteria can sometimes be resistant to certain antibiotic treatments, but will not endure oxygen-rich environments.
With hyperbaric oxygen therapy providing high doses of oxygen in pressurized environments, the additional oxygenation effectively neutralizes bacteria that causes diseases such as Lyme disease.
Traditional treatment is usually a dose of antibiotics, but some physicians have started to add hyperbaric oxygen therapy as part of treatment to effectively cure Lyme disease in patients.
Another benefit of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for Lyme disease is that it can manage symptoms that may still be present even when the infection is gone.
In cases like these, hyperbaric oxygen therapy usually relieves these symptoms when nothing else does.
Symptoms like inflammation, nerve damage, and muscle pain tend to return to normal when treated with HBOT.
Sample Studies on Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and Lyme Disease
Periorbital twitching and numbness in the extremities disappeared after 20 treatments.
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How Many Hbot Sessions Do I Need
If you are not exactly sure how hyperbaric chambers for wound healing works, here are some of the need-to-know details. First off, HBOT stands for Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, and it involves breathing pure oxygen in a pressurized room or tube. Below we take a look at a few key areas of HBOT and how it can possibly benefit you:
A Brief History Of Hbot
The first documented use of HBOT was in 1662. A British physician developed a domicilium, which was the first hyperbaric chamber. However, it was not until the 1800s that the foundations of hyperbaric oxygen therapy were laid. French engineer, physician, and scientist Paul Bert wrote La Pression Barometrique in 1872.
The first United States hyperbaric chamber was built in New York in 1891 by Dr. J. Leonard Corning.
Cornings interest in HBOT stemmed from witnessing severe decompression illness among the Hudson Tunnel site workers, who would often experience severe muscle pain and paralysis after working below sea level all day. This was also a well-known phenomenon in bridge building, the most famous of which was the Brooklyn Bridge in the 1889s.
Not long after, chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology at Kansas University Medical School Dr. Orval Cunningham researched the use of hyperbaric chambers for the influenza pandemic after observing that morbidity and mortality rates from the Spanish influenza pandemic of 1918 were greater in higher elevations than in coastal areas, which he attributed to the barometric pressure.
In the 1930s and 1940s, the United States Navy began conducting research on the use of HBOT to treat deep-sea divers with decompression sickness. Twenty years later, the treatment also became known to treat carbon monoxide poisoning.
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What Happens Inside The Hbot Chamber
Our HOBT chamber is considered a mild or portable chamber. It is made of fabric that inflates with pressure to a level of 1.3 ATA , which is the same as diving underwater to a depth of 11 feet. This is lower pressure than the hard chambers which can be pressurized to 2.5 ATA. As a result, our chamber presents less risk of ear or sinus pressure difficulties and actually has a better documented effect on the immune system than the higher pressure chambers.
Our trained office personnel will be in attendance and will take you through the process with step-by-step supervision. After your initial preparation, you will get inside the chamber and will put on your oxygen mask. For the first few minutes, the chamber will be inflated with room air.
During the chamber pressurization time, you will need to pop your ears frequently to maintain equal pressure . Your ears may feel full during this time. To help relieve this, take a breath and blow it out gently through your nose while holding your mouth and nose closed. Swallowing, moving your jaw , and yawning also help.
As the air flows into and out of the chamber, you will notice a hissing type noise and an increase in air temperature . Once the pressure level is reached, the air temperature should become comfortable again. You will be offered the use of soft foam earplugs in case the noise is too great for comfort.
Stages Of Lyme Disease
- Stage One This is the early stage of the disease, when the bacterium is focused in a localized area, typically the site of the tick bite.
- Stage Two In this stage bacteria are beginning to spread throughout the body. Patients may begin experiencing additional symptoms.
- Stage Three At this stage, bacteria are widespread in the body. If treatment has not begun, patients may be experiencing severe symptoms and loss of quality of life.
When a tick attaches and feeds on your skin, it is essential to remove the tick as soon as possible. The longer the tick is attached, the higher the risk is of contracting Lyme disease. After a tick bite, it is normal for a small, red bump to appear. This red bump typically heals on its own and is not a sign of Lyme disease. If the tick spreads Lyme disease, the initial symptoms will develop within 30 days .
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Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Offers Symptomatic Relief From Lyme Disease
The deer tick and the western black-legged tick are the only two ticks known to carry and transmit Lyme disease to humans. Lyme disease symptoms come in three phases:
Lyme disease is not curable. Instead, doctors typically prescribe antibiotics to prevent symptoms from progressing past the first phase. Unfortunately, antibiotics do not completely eliminate anaerobic bacteria. Moreover, antibiotics tend to kill all bacteria in the body, even beneficial bacteria that live in your digestive system. Combining HBOT with antibiotics, or using HBOT as the primary treatment for Lyme disease, is rapidly increasing in popularity as research and patient feedback is proving HBOT to be highly effective at managing symptoms of Lyme disease.
Have You Been Diagnosed with Lyme Disease? Call Skaggs Chiropractic Today to Schedule a Consultation Appointment
Learn more about the many health benefits of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for Lyme disease and other systemic infections by calling Skaggs Chiropractic today at
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Hbot For Lyme Disease
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy supports recovery from the disease with enriched oxygen, increasing blood flow and bringing essential nutrients to the cells. Lyme disease is a microaerophile, meaning that it thrives in low oxygen environments. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy can directly kill the organism by flooding it with oxygen.
As an integrated healing center, our clinical team is trained to support you through your personalized treatment plan and any questions you may have about Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. Our mission is to provide relief to you in your wellness journey.
Pricing:
Hard-Shell Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy :
Introductory session $200
90 minute single session $190
Package 5 sessions $875
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Types Of Hyperbaric Oxygen Chambers
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy uses 2 types of chambers:
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Monoplace chamber. This is a chamber built for one person. It’s a long, plastic tube that resembles an MRI machine. The patient slips into the chamber. It is slowly pressurized with 100% oxygen.
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Multiplace chamber. This chamber, or room, can fit two or more people at once. The treatment is largely the same. The difference is that people breathe pure oxygen through masks or hoods.
Effects Of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy On Lyme Disease
29 January 1998
The purpose of this study was to determine if hyperbaric oxygen therapy affected Lyme disease caused by the spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi.
The spirochete B. burgdorferi is a microaerophilic organism carried by the Deer tick and transferred to humans and other mammals by its bite. Symptoms often begin by a bulls-eye rash and erythema migrans. Symptoms may include pain in joints and muscles, sore throat, fever, swollen glands, and mental fogginess. If not diagnosed within the first one or two months, the disease may become a chronic infection. At that time it apparently becomes sequestered in fibroblasts and other cells which, in turn, appear to protect it against effective treatment by all known antibiotics so far tested. The disease is difficult to diagnose without serological findings and requires the skill of a highly qualified physician, experienced in treating this disease.
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Improvement Of Free Flap Survival
Friedman et al noted that HBOT has been advocated, both as an adjunctive or primary form of treatment, for a variety of disorders, including gas gangrene, osteo-radionecrosis, and carbon monoxide poisoning. It has also been used to improve ischemic wounds before skin grafting and to support ischemic flaps. These investigators analyzed the available literature that examined the use of HBOT for composite grafts, skin grafts, random flaps, distant flaps, and free flaps. An appraisal of the level of evidence for each of these uses of HBOT was offered. Although there are a significant amount of animal data supporting the application of HBOT for grafts and flaps, there is very little clinical information other than case reports and series to sustain its choice over other modalities of therapy. The authors concluded that multi-center prospective clinical studies are needed comparing HBOT to other mechanical or pharmacologic interventions to improve wound healing for grafting or to support flap survival.
Furthermore, an UpToDate review on Hyperbaric oxygen therapy does not mention improvement of free flap survival as an indication of HBOT.
What To Expect At R3 Wound Care And Hyperbarics
The wound care specialists at the clinic will work to assess each patient and then recommend the right treatment plan for them based on their condition. As a patient at R3 Wound Care & Hyperbarics, youll receive HBOT in a private setting with the latest hyperbaric technology where youll be able to hear and speak to your treatment team, who will be monitoring you throughout the procedure.
The treatment is painless, although you may experience a sensation of pressure in your ears, very similar to the sensation you feel in an airplane while descending. During your treatment, you can sleep, watch TV, listen to music or relax.
Each of our four Texas clinic locations has state of the art equipment, skilled wound care specialists, and a comfortable atmosphere. At R3 Wound Care & Hyperbarics, our primary function is wound care treatment, and we are independent of any hospital. You dont even need a referral from a doctor to make an appointment or receive treatment.
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Hbot For Lyme Disease Can It Improve Symptoms
Before getting started, its important to note that HBOT is not an FDA-approved therapy for the treatment of Lyme disease. This is due to a lack of studies and evidence for or against its utility.
That being said, a number of promising clinical studies and case reports have shown that HBOT is effective in treating Lyme disease throughout the USA.
In a clinical trial conducted at Texas A& M University, 91 Lyme disease patients were given HBOT treatment . The HBOT protocol included a 60-minute session for up to 3 months.
After the 3-month period, each patient was evaluated using a Lyme disease questionnaire developed by Lyme disease specialists. Surprisingly, 84% of the patients displayed either significant improvement in symptoms due to Lyme disease, or a complete elimination of their symptoms, indicating HBOT was markedly efficacious. The authors attributed the reduction in symptoms to the higher pressurized atmosphere of the HBOT chambers, which produces oxygen levels that kill off the bacterium responsible for the disease3.
Essentially, the study suggests HBOT removes bacteria and toxins from the body as the elevated oxygen in the blood delivered via HBOT kills bacteria/viruses. The increased blood oxygen may also aid in the removal of heavy metals and toxins which are often present in Lyme disease as well.
The patient was characterized/diagnosed with CLD prior to HBOT treatment.
However, some other ways HBOT works to treat Lyme disease were discussed as well, such as: