What is HBOT?
Before discussing the long-term benefits of HBOT therapy, it is important to understand how it works. The HBOT sessions take place in a specially built room, where the air is more pressurized than in the normal usual environment. The first sensation while experiencing HBOT is similar to diving deep into the water or flying at altitude, by plane. The person doing HBOT therapy breathes high-purity oxygen with the help of a mask connected to a tank. Due to the high pressure in the chamber, the lungs are forced to open and inhale more oxygen than they could under normal circumstances.
Since the early 1930s, HBOT therapy has come to be known, studied, and promoted as an alternative or additional treatment for many health conditions. It is a non-prescription and non-invasive procedure. Originally developed by the United States Navy, HBOT therapy has been used to treat those working in deep diving and aeronautics. This is how HBOT therapy came to be a combination of a pressurized atmosphere and oxygen inhalation after the beneficial effects on oxidation and regeneration of cells in the body were noticed.
HBOT therapy is gentle and effective and is approved by the FDA for the treatment of 13 different diseases. The United States Food and Drug Administration is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services that approves any products, food, or equipment distributed and sold in the country.
The main benefits of HBOT therapy are:
- It strengthens the body’s immune system
- May increase overall longevity
- Increased mitochondrial fission, replication, size, and shape
- Stem cell proliferation
- Production of superoxide dismutase, the body’s most powerful agent in helping to break down potentially harmful oxygen molecules in cells
- The balance of the microbiome
- Raising new blood vessels
- Antimicrobial effect
With the approval of HBOT therapy and its widespread use, people living with chronic conditions, such as anemia, diabetes, or other autoimmune diseases, can regain the functionality they were used to before being diagnosed. With the help of HBOT therapy, they can return to a normal life, full of the activities they were used to doing.
What are the main benefits of HBOT therapy in the long term?
The short-term benefits are noticed by reducing the pain or healing the wounds, and immediate effects, are felt by people with acute illnesses. On the other hand, HBOT therapy also has long-term benefits, which are not necessarily noticeable to the naked eye, but rather through a general state of well-being, which can be quantified with the help of special medical tests. For the expected effects of HBOT therapy to take place, it takes at least 5 sessions, but the most recommended is to perform a program of a minimum of 20 sessions.
1. Helps to improve blood circulation in the body
The functioning of the whole organism and, implicitly, the general state of health, is determined by the good circulation of the blood, which continuously transports minerals, oxygen, and nutrients to the cells. Also, the toxins are transported to the elimination areas of the body. Good blood circulation oxygenates aged cells or injured areas, removes toxins, and fights bacteria, viruses, or infections. In this way, the inflammation is reduced and the pain begins to disappear. Healing is accelerated, and the skin and other organs can function at full capacity, effects that can be easily noticed in the general physical appearance.
2. Improves the appearance of the skin
Recently, it has been discovered that oxygen is a very important component for rejuvenating the skin, improving its appearance, and minimizing the effects of UV rays. For this reason, the interest in HBOT therapy is growing, given that the results of hyperoxia conditions include the attenuation of the formation of wrinkles and sunspots. The degradation of the extracellular matrix molecules is slowed down and even reversed, by starting the self-healing process.
3. Helps reduce inflammation
Inflamed or infected tissues benefit from the increased intake of plasma rich in 100% pure oxygen, which helps to vascularize those areas. Inflammation is due to the fluid released by the blood vessels and their effect is to deprive the affected cells of oxygen. For this reason, the tissue begins to die, except when resorting to HBOT therapy which floods the tissues with oxygen.
4. Prevents reperfusion injury
This represents severe tissue damage, which occurs when the blood supply returns to the cells after a period of deprivation of oxygen. When, as a result of a bruised wound, the blood flow is interrupted, a process of releasing harmful radicals begins inside the cells. They can irreversibly damage the tissues, as the blood vessels become blocked and the blood flow stops. With the help of HBOT therapy, the identification of respective radicals helped to be identified and eliminated, so that the healing process is stimulated.
5. Increases the body’s immunity
HBOT therapy, through the major oxygen supply, can deactivate the toxins from the body, blocking their action. As the oxygen concentration in the tissues increases, the immune system also strengthens, which leads to the development of resistance to infections. HBOT therapy also supports the ability of white blood cells to detect and destroy microbes, viruses, or bacteria. In a word, it increases the body’s immunity, with long-term effects.
6. Helps to get a healthier skin
The major oxygen supply, due to HBOT therapy, supports the formation of new collagen and new skin cells. Blood vessels are encouraged to grow and cells are stimulated to produce certain substances, such as vascular endothelium. They attract and stimulate the endothelial cells needed for healing.
7. Reduces the feeling of chronic fatigue
Chronic fatigue syndrome is a condition that affects millions of people of all ages. If in the past only older people suffered from chronic fatigue, today more and more young people are affected, especially due to a chaotic lifestyle, extended working hours, and alcohol or tobacco consumption. Chronic fatigue is a disorder that weakens the body for extended periods. Bed rest and sleep do not relieve fatigue, and the condition is aggravated by any kind of effort. Symptoms include insomnia, joint pain, problems concentrating, and muscle fatigue. HBOT therapy is one of the recommended options for treating fatigue because increasing cellular oxygenation helps to solve this chronic problem. The beneficial effects are the relief of the general fatigue and the pain that the patients who suffer from this condition feel.
8. Helps to return to a normal lifestyle
With all the benefits mentioned above, the health of the body improves. People who resort to HBOT therapy are starting to feel better and are returning to many of their favorite activities, which they did just a few years ago. Walking, going out with friends, and even practicing amateur sports are possible because the body is invigorated, works better, and states of fatigue no longer make their presence felt.
HBOT therapy certainly helps to increase the quality of life, supporting the body’s ability to heal itself. The supply of high-purity oxygen is important, and the beneficial effects can be felt in the long run. More information about HBOT therapy and hyperbaric chambers can be found on Oxyhelp INDUSTRY website.