A hyperbaric chamber / HBOT delivers oxygen to your body in much greater amounts than your body is used to , and it is able to do this because your body is under pressure,  inside the pressurized chamber. 

While under pressure, oxygen is dissolved directly into your body;  blood plasma, cerebral spinal fluid, all of the fluids and tissues and organs of your body.  In short, this therapy super-oxygenates your body in a way, and to a degree, that no other therapy can possibly come close to.  And the reason is basic physics. It is only possible to dissolve a gas into a liquid by doing so under pressure.   And this is how they get the bubbles into the Coke.  Except with HBOT, the gas is oxygen and the target is the human body, which averages 60% water.

So, while there may be other therapies that use oxygen, there is no way to duplicate the results of a hyperbaric chamber due to its use of pressure as the drive behind this oxygen delivery system.

HBOT helps healing by bringing an abundant amount oxygen-rich plasma to tissues and cells.  This includes the brain and other organs as well.  Injuries and surgeries may damage the body’s blood vessels, which release fluid that leaks into the tissues and causes swelling. This swelling can deprive the damaged cells of oxygen, and then bodily tissues do not heal well. HBOT reduces swelling while saturating  the body’s tissues with oxygen. The higher-than-normal pressure in the chamber increases the amount of oxygen in the blood.  And so HBOT can break this cycle of swelling, oxygen deprivation, and tissue damage.

HBOT stimulates the formation of new collagen and new skin cells. It does this by activating  new blood vessel growth (angiogenesis). It also stimulates cells to produce certain substances, like vascular endothelial growth factor. These attract and stimulate endothelial cells needed for healing.

Angiogenesis- HBOT allows oxygen to reach low oxygen (hypoperfused) areas of the body and stimulates growth of blood vessels to improve blood flow and oxygen supply to compromised bodily tissue so that the body becomes better able to repair itself.

Infection Fighting- high levels of oxygen enhance the function of the cells that fight infection in our bodies and also helps eliminate infections caused by bacteria that cannot live in a higher-oxygenated environment. HBOT also increases the productivity and activity of the body’s own  immune system. This would include Stem Cells (Study at Univ of Penn), Killer T-cells (help fight cancer), and white blood cells that fight infection.

Vasoconstriction- HBOT produces constriction of blood vessels which can reduce edema while, at the same time, delivering significant levels of oxygen to bodily tissues and cells that have not been receiving sufficient oxygen.

Safe, if they have gone through the rigorous FDA process of getting approved/cleared.  This FDA approval is demonstrated by being given an FDA 510K number.

Not all mild hyperbaric chamber manufacturers have an FDA  510K number.  Only the mild hyperbaric manufacturers that have a 510K number from the FDA have passed all FDA testing and standards for home and personal safety, and these chambers are considered safe. 

If you are considering purchasing a mild hyperbaric chamber, I suggest that you ask for the manufacturer’s FDA 510K number, to make sure they have one. Personal injury and property damage, as well as costly repairs,  can result from a chamber that looks nice in the photos,  but will not hold up to the rigors of being pressurized and depressurized  ongoingly.  Just like you can find copies of a Rolex watch that looks like the real thing but lack the quality,  . . .  unfortunately this has begun to happen with the mild / portable chambers by companies coming in with similar names and similar looking chambers .  So it helps to be aware of this and make sure the manufacturer of your chamber has an FDA  510K approval/clearance.  I am often not a big fan of the FDA, but this is one area where they have set a standard of quality that I have personally seen to be useful in protecting the public.  And these chambers are safe enough that no formal training is required to use them – just follow the user-friendly instructions.

Mild-pressure chambers that are FDA approved have a maximum operating pressure of 1.3 ata.

If you see a mild-pressure/home chamber for sale, that claims to go to 1.4 psi or 1.5 psi, this would be a good indication to inquire about their FDA approval.

Safe, when operated by a properly trained individual, who will follow the strict rules and regulations in delivering this therapy.

We also sell high pressure, hospital grade, chambers; most commonly Sechrist, Perry and Bara-Med, as well as multiplace chambers that will accommodate multiple occupants at the same time.  When we sell a high pressure chamber, formal training is mandatory and safety measures must be practiced for the safety of the occupant and operators of these chambers.

High-pressure chambers have a completely different design of operation than the home chambers and consequently as a rule, require a fire suppression system to be in place as a caution in the event of an accident.  Just as with an automobile accident, the cause is almost always human error, as opposed to equipment failure.  And this is why, with a high pressure chamber, special formal training is required to safely operate these machines, and strict rules for the operation of the chamber, and the handling of the occupant, must be followed precisely.

Breathing 100% oxygen at greater than 2 ata for prolonged periods of time can result in oxygen toxicity.  High-pressure chambers are commonly used at pressures over 2.0 ata, and part of the responsibility of the trained operator is to avoid allowing oxygen toxicity to occur. They are trained to take every precaution to keep you safe. Mild pressure/ home hyperbaric chambers have a maximum pressure of 1.3 ata and we have never seen or heard of a case of oxygen toxicity from using these.

High pressure chambers / metal chambers / hard chambers / hospital grade chambers usage for HBOT is covered by many insurance companies for certain conditions.  Check with your own insurance provider to ask about a particular condition.

Insurance may cover hyperbaric oxygen therapy, if you are diagnosed with one of the following:

• Acute carbon monoxide intoxication
• Decompression illness
• Gas embolism
• Gas gangrene
• Acute traumatic peripheral ischemia
• Crush injuries and suturing of severed limbs
• Progressive necrotizing infections
• Acute peripheral arterial insufficiency
• Preparation and preservation of compromised skin grafts
• Chronic refractory osteomyelitis, unresponsive to conventional medical and surgical management
• Osteoradionecrosis as an adjunct to conventional treatment
• Soft tissue radionecrosis as an adjunct to conventional treatment
• Cyanide poisoning
• Actinomycosis, only as an adjunct to conventional therapy when the disease process is refractory to antibiotics and surgical treatment
• Diabetic wounds of the lower extremities if all of these apply:
  1. You have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes and have a lower extremity wound that’s due to diabetes.
  2. You have a wound classified as Wagner grade III or higher.
  3. You’ve failed an adequate course of standard wound therapy.

Of course medical necessity for the HBOT usage must be provided by a licensed physician, and your insurance will probably also require that HBOT be considered   “usual and customary” as treatment for your diagnosed condition.

Mild pressure chambers (up to 1.3 ata) are routinely not-covered by insurance, no matter what the condition. 

You can always appeal the denial of payment by an insurance company for HBOT however, our experience is that denials are very rarely overturned by an appeal.  We know of 2 overturns of denial in over 18 years of working with HBOT.

I have not known HBOT to cause heart or lung problems. On the contrary, because HBOT is super-oxygenating the body, the demand for oxygen, upon the heart and lungs, is lessened.

Think about it:  If you have ever visited a high altitude location, there is a lesser percentage of oxygen in the air you breathe.  And so you may have found yourself huffing and puffing just from walking up the stairs, and at other times when you are normally at ease.  This is because both your heart and lungs must work harder to get an adequate amount of oxygen delivered to the tissues of your body because the ambient air you are breathing contains less oxygen, and so each breath is delivering less oxygen. You are huffing and puffing to increase the frequency of each breath to try to deliver the same amount of oxygen as when you are at lower altitudes.

In contrast, in an oxygen-rich environment (HBOT), the opposite is true: your heart and lungs can work less-hard because HBOT is fulfilling a greater portion of your body’s need for oxygen.

Anyone with a history of heart and/or lung problems (collapsed lung or COPD) should be carefully screened.

As a rule, the answer is no. What does happen sometimes is,  just like when your ears feel  “stuffed up” from being on an airplane, or driving up into the mountains, sometimes HBOT will make your ears feel stuffed and they will need to be cleared – usually accomplished by swallowing, or chewing gum,  or the Valsalva maneuver (close your mouth, pinch your nostrils, and exhale).   If a person does feel their ears are “stuffed up” after an HBOT session, I have always found it to be short term and usually easily and quickly resolved. Of course, anyone with a significant history of middle or inner ear problems should be carefully screened.

We take your health and your safety seriously. And we want you to also. For higher pressures (1.5 ata and above), we encourage you to check with the manufacturer of your implanted device. You may think you do not know their name, but your medical records should contain the manufacturer, as well as the serial number of your implant.

For mild pressures (up to 1.3 ata), while we have never heard back from an implant manufacturer that 1.3 ata was too high for a particular implant, we still encourage you to check with the manufacturer of your implanted device.  Have your serial number available. This way you will be certain for yourself.

Yes, I would be happy to.  This is part of what I offer.  This is included with your chamber purchase.  Ask for details.