Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
What is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, also known as HBOT, involves breathing pure oxygen in a pressurized
environment. By doing so, the body can absorb much more oxygen than it would be able to from
breathing pure oxygen at normal air pressure. As many people know, oxygen is extremely necessary for
the body to function. Exposure to an increased level of oxygen into the brain and body can ultimately
improve an individual’s physiological function and wellbeing. While HBOT has been found to treat many medical conditions, we wanted to highlight just a few key ones here.
Traumatic Brain Injuries
Individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) have less oxygenation going into the brain in comparison to
normal individuals either because of low blood pressure that resulted from serious blood loss or due to
swelling of the brain that leads to decrease in oxygen supply to areas of the brain. Hyperbaric treatment
massively increases the amount of oxygen available to their brain. Not only does this aid in physiological
function, but research has also shown that it helps in cognitive thinking through improving patient’s
memory, executive function, and information processing speed.
Stroke and Cognitive Issues
Similar to individuals with TBI, people who suffer from a stroke also encounter a decreased level of
oxygen going to the brain. Without adequate oxygen delivery to the brain, the brain is unable to nourish
itself and as a result, causes some tissues in the brain to be damaged. Because of this, individuals who
suffer from a stroke often struggle to live a functionally healthy life. Hyperbaric treatment can help
can combat this by providing additional oxygen and improving the blood flow to the damaged tissues.
Not only does this speed up the recovery in damaged tissues, but also aids in one’s cognitive functions
and subsequently, a better quality of life.
COVID-19
It has been found that one of the key determinants in the deterioration of patients who has had or has
COVID-19 was hypoxemia. Hypoxemia is a condition in which the blood has below-normal levels of
oxygen. This can cause serious circulation and breathing issues. In a high-pressure environment, such as
the hyperbaric oxygen chamber, oxygen can pass through the inflamed and thickened tissues
of the lungs more easily to reach the blood stream. Through the blood stream, oxygen can
reach all parts of the body and speed up the healing process in the tissues and organs that have been
damaged by COVID-19.
