HBOT – What It Is and How it Helping With Our Health?
These days, people in general are more than excited to try new things that come on the market. It doesn’t really matter what are they used for – skincare routine, a new Apple watch, a phone with a better camera or even different kinds of treatments. HBOT can be classified as one of those treatments, and even if it is not actually new, the majority of people are just finding out about its existence.
They read about it in magazines, and they see information on the internet or even on the social media pages of celebrities like Cristiano Ronaldo and Michael Phelps. This way, they find out that it exists, it is safe to use, and is beneficial. Now the only thing left is for them to really understand the process and what is behind it. Let’s get to it!
What exactly is HBOT?
HBOT is the abbreviation used for hyperbaric oxygen therapy. If you want to use HBOT you will be able to breathe pure oxygen while being inside a pressurized chamber. Breathing pure oxygen in these conditions has been proven to help our body recover from several injuries and it is also believed to help boost one person’s mood.
The main purpose of HBOT is to raise the levels of oxygen in our blood. With a bigger amount of oxygen, our blood cells tend to stop aging and bring a lot of benefits to our body and our general health. This makes it a perfect treatment for people having a lot of physical activity in their day-to-day life and that is why a lot of well-known names from the sports area have shown to the world that they are using this kind of therapy in order to have their best performances when being in the spotlight.
What is the history of hyperbaric oxygen therapy?
Even if people are still finding out about the existence of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, it has been here for centuries. The first noted use of oxygen therapy is from 1662 when Nathaniel Henshaw, a British physician, used a pressurized room to treat both pulmonary and digestive diseases. Later on, the benefits of the compressed hyperbaric air were used for divers, starting with the use of diving bells and going to 1819 when the first deep sea diving suit was created.
For a long period of time, HBOT was used a lot for divers and their recovery after going into the deep sea. Seeing the benefits, scientists started studying oxygen therapy more and more, and, starting from the 20th century, doctors started using it on their patients suffering from flu. French doctors even discovered that patients that have been under hyperbaric-assisted surgery recover faster and the complications are taken down to a minimum. Now, HBOT is in the spotlight for being beneficial to anyone and studies are being conducted to find even more benefits than the ones already discovered.
What are the benefits and risks of using hyperbaric oxygen therapy?
We are all used to the fact that there are risks for everything that comes with benefits and this is exactly the case with HBOT. Hyperbaric therapy, not being a medical procedure, has to be fully explained to everyone thinking of using it. This is exactly why we need to present to you both the benefits and the risks of using hyperbaric oxygen.
The benefits of HBOT are multiple and come from different areas. We have anti-aging benefits, wound healing, but also benefits in curing certain diseases, such as:
- Carbon monoxide poisoning
- Prevention of dental osteoradionecrosis
- Diabetic foot injury
- Ischemic ulcer
- Stage IV neuroblastoma
- Gas embolism
- Radiation injuries – results of cancer treatment.
HBOT is still under a lot of studies, one of the main purposes now being proving that oxygen therapy is beneficial in treating COVID-19 patients. This has not yet been approved, the specialists still waiting for more proof. Moving on, we need to let you know that this kind of therapy is not 100% safe, as it comes with certain risks that need to be taken into consideration before using HBOT. Some of these risks are:
- Damage to the ears, sinuses, eyes, teeth, and lungs
- Increased blood pressure
- Anxiety and claustrophobia for staying in a small closed space
- Lung collapse and pulmonary edema.
These side effects are not always present but can appear due to the user not being well-informed. These risks may come from not knowing how to use the equipment properly, but also from using it while suffering from certain conditions, such as asthma, HIV, AIDS and Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. In order to avoid any inconvenience, please see a doctor and ask if it is safe for you to use HBOT.
What equipment do I need in order to be able to use HBOT?
In order to benefit from this therapy, you need to use a hyperbaric chamber. You can either use one in the comfort of your own home or in a spa-like facility. You can choose one of the possibilities depending on how long it was recommended to you to use HBOT. In case you need to use it on a daily basis you will probably want to buy a hyperbaric chamber for yourself.
There are multiple markets that sell the equipment. You can find it in two main forms – one of them has a fixed shape and a hard shell and the other one uses a zipper to close and you may need assistance while filling the soft shell with pressurized air. The fixed hyperbaric chamber is the safest one and the one specialist recommends the most for home use.
Oxyhelp and how they have changed the hyperbaric chambers market
One of the most appreciated on the market is Oxyhelp. Their work in the hyperbaric industry has made it possible for a lot of people to use the HBOT equipment, both in testing labs and inside a person’s home. They are putting on the market their best products mono-place and multi-place hard-shell hyperbaric chambers. You do not have to worry as they are shipping the chambers worldwide helping you with the installation process and also the training.
If you are not 100% certain about purchasing a hyperbaric chamber, with Oxyhelp you can also rent one for a period of two years. At the end of these two years, they will give you a discount if you want to purchase the equipment that you have been using. The discount consists of the price you paid for renting the equipment for one year.
If you need more information before deciding if you want to buy a hyperbaric chamber, you can always access oxyhelp.com. The website is designed in order to give everyone all the details they might need – scientific studies, partners, testimonials, and related articles about their products.
