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HYPERBARIC OXYGEN THERAPY
DESCRIPTION
Mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy (mHBOT) is a type of oxygen therapy that causes a rise in the body’s blood plasma oxygen content. This results in enhanced oxygen delivery to the tissues, brain and organs of the body. With this therapy, additional oxygen can be dissolved in the blood plasma and go directly into tissues. It promotes relaxation, increases stamina and endurance, stimulates the body’s own healing processes and helps to return to a state of balance and wellbeing.
PURPOSE
Oxygen is essential for life. It is involved with all body’s vital functions, and we require a continual supply of oxygen to survive. The brain, which makes up about two percent of our total body mass, requires over twenty percent of the body’s oxygen needs. Ninety percent of the energy produced by the body comes from oxygen alone and only the remaining ten percent comes from the food we eat. Bacteria, parasites, toxins, and viruses all have one thing in common – none can survive in an oxygen rich environment.
Systems in the body can easily be thrown out of balance if the oxygen uptake is weak or deficient. Perhaps the most important factor in oxygen deficiency is atmospheric pollution. Automobile exhaust, factory emissions and planetary deforestation are the greatest causes of lowered oxygen content in the air we breathe. At the same time, foods that have been processed, cooked and preserved through canning tend to be very low in oxygen content. High fat foods like meat, eggs and dairy products tend to be lower in oxygen as well.
Oxygen deficiency is often overlooked, and therefore, it is not seen as a cause for many symptoms and diseases. Some of the symptoms associated with imbalances in the flow of oxygen within the body include premature aging, depression, anger, sadness, fatigue, dullness and sluggishness. However, when poor oxygenation is chronic, our overall immune response to germs and viruses is weakened, making us vulnerable to a wide range of diseases.
In 1966, Nobel Prize winner Dr Otto Warburg confirmed that the key precondition for the development of cancer is a lack of oxygen on the cellular level.
Some of the reasons that individuals will seek mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy include allergies, arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome, circulatory problems, acid stomach, stress, headaches, migraines, eczema, psoriasis, sports injuries and sleeping disorders.
This type of oxygen therapy has also been found useful in assisting people with diabetic complications, impaired lung capacity, heart disease, as well as cancer patients, patients recovering from plastic or cosmetic surgery, and patients suffering from stroke, Alzheimer, Parkinson, brain dysfunctions and HIV-related disorders.
Finally, mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy is believed to enhance performance in physical exercise and competitive athletics. Hyperbaric chambers were widely used in the former Soviet Union, East Germany and other socialist countries. In the West, some of the professional sports teams utilise chambers in their training rooms.
Oxygen is our source of life. The more oxygen we are able to enjoy, the more we can partake of life itself. |
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METHOD
Mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy takes place inside a specially designed inflatable chamber. The chamber used at Aqua Zen uses filtered ambient air with an additional oxygen concentrator to safely administer oxygen to the body. Our state-of-the-art Vitaeris 320 chamber is the best and largest in the fleet of mild hyperbaric chambers.
PROCEDURE
Your first visit will be booked for two hours. After taking a full medical history and discussing your lifestyle details and personal health goals, you will be assisted to enter our chamber.
During the treatment itself you will be fully clothed and is therefore recommended to wear loose and comfortable clothing. The chamber will seem smaller when deflated than it is when fully pressurized. Within one minute the chamber will inflate completely with filtered air, allowing enough room to sit upright or lie down comfortably. After the chamber inflates, it will begin to pressurize. This is the time when you may experience pressure in your ears (similar to ascending or descending in a plane). Once the chamber is to full pressure, all you have to do is to breathe normally. You can sleep, meditate, read a book or a magazine, or listen to music.
Each oxygen therapy session lasts 90 minutes.
After the treatment you can carry on your day as normal. Food and drink can be resumed straight away as well. Most people report a sense of increased alertness, energy, wellbeing and youthfulness after each session.
We recommend occasional oxygen therapy treatments to maintain sufficient oxygen levels within the body and prevent decreased immune response. It is ideal for persons experiencing increased levels of stress, working intensively, especially in sealed buildings, consuming alcohol on a regular basis, as well as for persons flying in airplanes frequently and for persons participating regularly in sports activities or heavy exercise.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
How does mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy exactly work?
Mild Hyperbaric oxygen chambers are simple enclosures, which can be pressurized to allow the person inside to experience atmospheric pressures greater than the normal environmental pressures. Inside the hyperbaric chamber the barometric pressure is increased, making air denser, which provides more oxygen molecules per unit. This saturation of oxygen in the blood’s plasma allows the extra oxygen to be diffused or transported to the surrounding body tissues and thus available for use by the cells as needed.
How is the use of mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy different from oxygen in normal atmosphere?
The normal use of oxygen forces oxygen into the red blood cells only, which usually carry oxygen. However, the administration of high-pressure oxygen forces oxygen into the blood plasma, the liquid part of the blood, which normally doesn’t carry this life giving gas (oxygen).
Is it Safe?
Mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy is completely safe. The mild hyperbaric chamber uses filtered ambient air, so there is no risk of oxygen toxicity to the body even with regular use. The chamber can be depressurized and opened from the inside. Once inside the chamber, both visual and verbal communication is possible with our outside attendant. No dangerous side effects have been reported with mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Are there any contraindications?
There are a few contraindications to be aware of when considering mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy and they include: ear canal problems or an ear infection, pregnancy, glaucoma, and flu or cold symptoms. Additionally, you should not enter the chamber if you are inebriated (drunk), or if you are wearing perfume or cologne. |
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