Stroke Survivor Blog

What is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT)?

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy – Hyper (high) baric (pressure) oxygen therapy (HBOT) is the inhalation of 100 percent medical grade oxygen at greater than normal atmospheric pressure. This is equivalent to breathing 100 percent oxygen underwater from depths of 33 feet or more.

HBOT is a simple, non-invasive and painless way of delivering high doses of oxygen to the body. Patients breathe 100% oxygen while pressurized  in a chamber.

Treatments range from 60 to 90 minutes long. The pressure in the chamber causes the oxygen you breathe to dissolve in your blood and diffuse into the tissues and fluids of the body. This saturates the cells with oxygen, thereby energizing and regenerating them as well as causing them to trigger powerful healing mechanisms.

The curative benefit of supersaturating the body with oxygen has now been clinically established. Inside the chamber, the oxygen level in the blood can be increased up to twenty times the normal level, and in the rest of the body, substantially more. This extra oxygen not only helps heal wounds, it also helps fight infections, reduce swelling, gets rid of toxins in the body, and stimulates the growth of new blood vessels.

HBOT is not a “cure all” but a part of your total medical or surgical care. HBOT usually works in adjunction with other forms of physical therapy or treatment. Watch the video below of my interview with Steve’s HBOT technician from Green Bay Hyperbarics.

How Does HBOT Work?

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy works systemically, meaning it needs to be breathed in through the lungs in order for the blood to get fully saturated and deliver the high doses of oxygenated blood and nutrients throughout the body.

The biggest misconception of the treatment is that it forces the oxygen through the skin. This is not what it does. Our lungs are designed to deliver oxygen and unload carbon dioxide that is in our blood. A better example of how the hyperbaric treatment works is the salt and water analogy.

The way it works is simple. It’s like trying to dissolve salt in water. When you pour a spoonful of salt into a glass of cold water, not all of the salt dissolves. Simply adding more salt won’t make the water dissolve more salt. But when you pour a spoonful of salt into a glass of hot water, all the salt dissolves because at  higher temperatures, more salt dissolves.

What temperature does for salt in water, pressure does for oxygen in the blood. The treatment is capable of increasing the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood by a much as 20 times. This is unattainable anywhere on earth unless you go into a hyperbaric chamber.

How Does HBOT Help Stroke Survivors?

When stroke causes an injury to the brain, blood vessels are damaged or destroyed. The tissue that surrounds the area of dead brain cells has had its circulation compromised and may be only receiving a fraction of the blood flow and oxygen that it needs for optimum health. That disruption in blood flow and oxygen creates a decrease in function which remains for months or years. The brain cells in these areas are said to be “sleeping” or in “hibernation”.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy stimulates the formation of new blood vessels in the area of the damaged tissues by sending signals to brain cells (neurons). These signals stimulate new blood vessels which slowly reconnect to the damaged tissues. Within 60 days of daily HBOT treatments the “sleeping” neurons wake up and resume their normal functions as the proper blood cell structure is re-established. These new blood vessels improve the blood flow and oxygen delivery to the damaged brain tissues and this results in permanent improvements in the stroke and brain injured person. What you see is the return to life of a previously paralyzed and useless limb, improvement in swallowing, speech, thinking (cognition), memory, etc.

However, not all of the disabilities disappear since the central core of dead tissue cannot be revived. But after two months of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, these people may continue to improve for at least two years after their HBOT treatment, especially if they continue with physical therapy. This all occurs in patients who may have not seen any improvement in their conditions for years after their stroke even with the use of any and all other therapies. This indicates that the neurons are able to slowly re-establish their lost connections in ways not possible before hyperbaric oxygen.

Is HBOT Covered by Insurance?

Most insurance companies cover therapies that are FDA approved. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is FDA approved for Air or Gas Embolism, Carbon Monoxide Poisoning and Smoke Inhalation, Clostridial Myonecrosis (Gas Gangrene), Cyanide Poisoning, Compartment Syndrome, and other Acute Traumatic Ischemias, Decompression Sickness, Diabetic Wounds, Necrotizing Soft Tissue Infections (Refractory), Radiation Tissue Damage (Osteoradionecrosis), Sever Anemia, Skin Grafts and Flaps (Compromised), and Thermal Burns. It is not yet FDA approved for Stroke, so it most likely will not be covered by insurance.

Conditions Benefited by HBOT

In addition to the FDA approved conditions mentioned above, other conditions have been documented to benefit from Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, including ADD/ADHD, AIDS, ALS, Alzheimer’s, Anoxic Brain, Injury, Autism, Bell’s Palsy, Cancer, Cerebral Palsy, Chronic Fatigue, Chronic Inflammatory Disease, Crohn’s Disease, Decreased Immune Function, Diabetes, Fibromyalgia, Heart Disease/Cardiac, Immune Dysfunction, Infections, Lupus, Lyme Disease, Macular Degeneration, Meniere’s Disease, Migraines, Mitochondrial Disorders, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Multiple Sclerosis, Near Drowning, Parkinson’s, Peripheral Neuropathy, Post Electrocution, Raynaud’s Phenomenon, Reflex, Sympathetic Dystrophy, Retinitis Pigmentosa, Rheumatic Diseases, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Scleroderma, Severed Limbs, Sickle Cell Crisis, Spinal Cord Injury, Sports Injuries, Stroke, Traumatic Brain Injury, Trigeminal Neuralgia, Vascular Disease, Venomous Bites, Wound Healing, Before and After Surgery, General Wellness and Prevention.

How Many HBOT Treatments are Needed?

The number of treatments needed depends on the severity of the condition. Patients on an average are treated once a day for 20 to 40, and sometimes 60 consecutive treatments to receive the maximum benefit.

How Long are the HBOT Treatments?

Treatments in general are between 90 and 120 minutes for each session.

How Much Do HBOT Treatments Cost?

The cost varies depending on the length of time and the facility where the treatment is taking place. Steve’s treatments cost $125 for a 90-minute treatment. Compared to other parts of the country, this is a very reasonable price. However, it is an out-of-pocket expense and can add up quickly.

Are There any Adverse Reactions to HBOT?

There are several reactions a patient may experience when undergoing deeper depths of pressure. For this reason, it is imperative to be treated only by a skilled Certified Hyperbaric Technologist who will carefully monitor the pressure and stay in constant communication with the patient while undergoing this treatment.

Barotrauma: Pain in the ears caused by the increase of pressure is the most common problem during hyperbaric therapy. This condition known as Barotrauma is failure to equalize the pressure on the two sides of the eardrum. This usually leads to pain in the middle ear. In the sinuses, pain can result due to congestion. Wearing earplugs called EarPlanes, designed to be used to relieve ear pain when flying, may help eliminate this reaction.

Oxygen Toxicity: Breathing oxygen under pressure for over 3 hours straight can cause oxygen toxicity. Because oxygen is a drug, it can cause seizures if taken in higher concentrations without any air breaks. This can happen to one in 10,000 patients at deeper depths.

Serous Otitis: Fluid accumulation in the ears as a result of breathing high concentrations of oxygen.

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