What is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?
The word hyperbaric refers to the medical use of oxygen under greater than normal atmospheric pressures. It comes from the word, hyper meaning “above” and baric meaning “heavy”, referring to the atmosphere as indicated by barometric pressure.
HBOT is a safe and effective therapy that delivers pure oxygen to the patient in a pressurized chamber, allowing the lungs to take in very high levels of pure oxygen.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Benefits
Hyperbaric Oxygen therapy is an FDA-approved treatment for a variety of conditions.
HBOT’s therapeutic value is in promoting healing, enhancing cell and tissue repair, and stimulating nerve regeneration and blood vessel growth.
One hour of hyperbaric oxygen therapy provides the cells of the body 14 times more oxygen than they would normally receive.
High oxygen levels can create amazing effects in the body such as:
- Attacking and eradicating harmful bacteria, viruses, and pathogens
- Reducing inflammation & swelling throughout the body
- Stimulating neurogenesis, the growth of new nerve endings
- Stimulating angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels
- Clearing nitrogen from the cells, and filling them full of rich oxygen
- Increasing blood flow and oxygen to injured tissues
- Increasing blood flow and oxygen to the brain
- Enhancing white blood cell activity at any wound sites, thereby reducing chances of infection & speeding healing
- Improving cognitive and psychological functions
- Forming new connective tissue and skin cells
- Increased energy
- Reduced nerve pain
- Blood vessel dilation
- Stimulates the body’s antioxidant system
The Benefits & Use of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Hyperbaric Therapy Sessions
Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment (HBOT) is performed under medical supervision with one of our trained technicians as part of a treatment program.
When you receive HBOT treatment you will lie in a pressurized chamber for a designated amount of time and will receive a specific number of sessions based on your individual needs. Sessions will be conducted on separate days.
During the treatment, the pressure will increase two to threes times greater than the outside air pressure and as a result, the patient will be inhaling 100% oxygen. Under pressure, the oxygen can dissolve into blood, bodily fluids, spinal fluid, and the lymphatic system. These saturated fluids will then circulate around the body and get into areas where circulation is non-optimal or blocked, bringing the healing benefits of more oxygen, better immune function, reduced inflammation and growth of new blood vessels.
How Long are HBOT Treatment Sessions?
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy sessions typically last from 30-120 minutes. The duration will vary based on the condition being treated.
What does HBOT Therapy Feel Like?
During HBOT treatment we will slowly increase the air pressure in the HBOT chamber. As the pressure is gently increased, you will notice a fullness in your ears. This is completely normal and is how HBOT works. To provide a comparison, it might feel similar to what you feel in an airplane. If desired, you may relieve the pressure by yawning or swallowing.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Indications
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is shown effective for a wide variety of health conditions. As research continues HBOT is looking promising for many conditions.
HBOT Explainer Video
- Gut Issues, like ulcers
- Lyme Disease
- Mild Cognitive Impairment
- Mold Exposure & Treatment
- Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
- Parkinson’s disease
- Radiation injury such as from chemotherapy
- Severe anemia
- Skin grafts
- Spinal cord injury
- Sports injuries
- Subjective Cognitive Decline
- Vision loss (sudden and painless)
- Wound healing
Clearwater / Tampa’s Top Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) Clinic
If you have any of the health conditions listed above, we highly recommend you see one of our doctors and discuss the benefits of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) therapy.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy can help improve the body’s immune system, increase blood flow, and positively affect many bodily functions.
HBOT is safe and non-invasive and is one of the treatments we may recommend to improve the physical and neurological health of our patients.
Hyperbaric Chambers Near Me!
If you’re looking for hyperbaric chambers in the Tampa Bay area, you’ve come to the right place. We have the very best HBOT chambers available.
You can receive hyperbaric oxygen therapy in Tampa Bay at our Clearwater, FL HBOT clinic.
We are located at 301 Turner Street Clearwater, FL 33756. Click here for directions to our HBOT clinic
History of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
British physician Nathaniel Henshaw is credited with developing a pressurized oxygen chamber used as a medical intervention in 1662. He created an airtight chamber in which the internal atmosphere could be controlled using valves, bellows, and oxygen. This early device only increased pressure in the chamber and did not actually increase oxygen concentration, as oxygen had not yet been discovered. Henshaw believed that acute conditions would benefit from increased air pressure, while chronic conditions would respond better to decreased air pressure.
Subsequently, oxygen was discovered in 1773 by Swedish pharmacist Carl Wilhelm Scheele, and 61 years later the French physician Junod built a hyperbaric chamber that was successfully used to treat conditions of the lungs. This brought a renewed interest to hyperbaric medicine and in 1917 German inventors Bernhard and Heinrich Drager successfully treated decompression from diving accidents with pressurized oxygen therapy.
HBOT became the standard treatment for military divers in the United States in the 1940s. Since then, extensive research into the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy as treatment and management for a wide variety of medical conditions has continued.