First of all, we need to know what hyperbaric oxygen therapy is?
Answer: The process of treating diseases by breathing pure oxygen or high-concentration oxygen in an environment with a pressure higher than one atmosphere is called hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
The HBOT chamber is a device that provides us with hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Which diseases can hyperbaric oxygen be used to treat?
1. Emergency indications
Acute carbon monoxide poisoning and toxic encephalopathy, acute gas embolism, acute decompression sickness, anaerobic bacterial infections (gas gangrene, tetanus, etc.).
② After poisoning from certain harmful gases (such as hydrogen sulfide, liquefied petroleum gas, gasoline, etc.), asphyxia, retinal artery embolism, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
③ Acute brain dysfunction (such as electric shock injury, drowning, suicide, etc.), crush injury and crush syndrome, acute peripheral circulation disorder, severe spinal cord injury.
2. Non-emergency indications
Sudden deafness, blast deafness, infectious hepatitis, vertigo syndrome, chronic liver dysfunction, retinal vein thrombosis, peptic ulcer, central serous chorioretinopathy, ulcerative colitis, retinal oscillation, sports injury, optic atrophy (early stage), rosesugar rash, diabetic retinopathy Herpes zoster, viral encephalitis, erythema nodosum, certain symptomatic epilepsy, periodontal disease, cerebral edema, postoperative orthodontic treatment of teeth and jaws, pulmonary edema, malignant tumors (in combination with radiotherapy or chemotherapy), shock, neonatal asphyxia, postoperative replantation of amniotic limbs (fingers, toes), fetal distress in intrauterine conditions, osteomyelitis.
3. Exploratory indications
Diabetes, cervical spondylosis, bronchial asthma, fungal infection, arrhythmia, Parkinson's disease, glaucoma, brain abscess, manganese poisoning, meningitis, autoimmune diseases, muscular dystrophy, circulatory disorders caused by radional therapy, rheumatoid arthritis, mental illness, adult respiratory distress syndrome.
The health benefits of hyperbaric oxygen
Hyperbaric oxygen not only has therapeutic effects on many diseases, but also can achieve good health care effects by adjusting the pressure value. Moreover, during the health care process, it will not cause the discomfort that occurs during treatment.
Suitable population
In daily life, hyperbaric oxygen health care is beneficial to all kinds of people.
Beauty care and skin care
Oxygen inhalation can beautify and nourish the skin in the most natural way, eliminate sub-health and fatigue, and maintain vigorous energy. Effectively promote skin elasticity, restore a smooth and rosy complexion, and rejuvenate youthful vitality.
Young people: Relieve neck discomfort
With the popularization of electronic products, the number of "phubbers" is increasing, and the incidence of cervical spondylosis is also rising year by year. For this disease, conservative treatment combined with hyperbaric oxygen therapy has achieved satisfactory therapeutic effects.
Student: Eliminate fatigue and enhance learning ability
Medical practice shows that under hypoxic conditions, students' memory and calculation abilities will significantly decline. Oxygen supplementation can quickly restore blood oxygen concentration, enhance oxygen supply to the brain, and improve learning and examination abilities. Especially during the review period for the high school entrance examination and college entrance examination, students have overused their brains due to long-term reading and studying. Most of the examinees have experienced varying degrees of dizziness, drowsiness, inattention, slow reaction, memory decline, and easy fatigue when doing mental work. The direct cause of these phenomena is cerebral hypoxia. Therefore, taking hyperbaric oxygen before an exam is very beneficial.
White-collar workers: Enhance efficiency and relieve stress
White-collar workers are often in air-conditioned environments with doors and Windows tightly closed, resulting in polluted air and insufficient oxygen content indoors. They suffer from severe oxygen deficiency. Moreover, they have irregular lifestyles, heavy mental labor, and excessive mental stress. Appropriate oxygen supplementation is of great significance to white-collar workers, as it can enhance work efficiency and mental state, and relieve work pressure.
Middle-aged and elderly people: Prolong life and prevent Alzheimer's disease
After people reach middle and old age, the brain gradually shrinks and the functions of memory, hearing and vision gradually decline. By inhaling oxygen and replenishing it regularly and promptly, the insufficient oxygen supply caused by the decline of physiological functions can be directly compensated for, maintaining the normal functions of various organs in the body, preventing various middle-aged and elderly diseases caused by hypoxia, maintaining physical and mental health, and delaying the aging process.
Avoid falling into the traps of oxygen inhalation
Misconception 1: Can oxygen inhalation cause poisoning?
When the pressure of hyperbaric oxygen therapy is at 2 atmospheres, continuous inhalation for about 2 to 4 hours can cause oxygen poisoning. Oxygen poisoning can occur after continuous inhalation for about 1 to 2 hours at a pressure of 3 atmospheres. At present, the vast majority of hyperbaric oxygen therapy regimens use intermittent oxygen inhalation, with the pressure generally being 2 atmospheres. First, inhale for 30 minutes, then rest for 5 to 10 minutes, and inhale for another 30 minutes, totaling 1 hour of oxygen inhalation. It can be seen from this that the oxygen inhalation pressure and duration of hyperbaric oxygen therapy are both within the safe range. Therefore, the answer is affirmative: Normal hyperbaric oxygen therapy does not cause oxygen poisoning.
Misconception 2: Can long-term oxygen inhalation lead to addiction?
Oxygen inhalation directly increases the oxygen content in arterial blood rather than acting on a specific part of the body to indirectly improve hypoxia. It merely increases the oxygen that the body has been continuously taking in since its birth. There are no substances that are unfamiliar to the body, need to be adapted to, or need to be analyzed. Therefore, it only improves rather than alters the natural physiological state and biochemical environment of the organism. When oxygen inhalation is stopped, there will be no discomfort. However, if oxygen inhalation is stopped for a long time, some of the original symptoms may recur. So, inhaling oxygen is not addictive.
Misconception 3: Only patients need oxygen inhalation
Oxygen is the most important energy source for sustaining life, just like food and water, it is the most fundamental element for human health. Some people suffer from prolonged oxygen deficiency in their bodies due to various reasons, such as college entrance examination students (increased oxygen demand), pregnant women (increased oxygen demand), the elderly (narrowed blood vessels or reduced heart and lung function, etc.), heart disease or emphysema. Their prolonged oxygen deficiency can lead to poor physical condition, such as headaches, insomnia, and weak immunity. Oxygen inhalation is the fastest and most direct way to improve the situation. Natural breathing is a natural right, but proper oxygen inhalation can be a masterpiece.