FAQs

Commonly referred to as HBOT, hyperbaric oxygen therapy enhances the body’s natural healing process by delivering oxygen under pressure, which increases the oxygen content in the blood, plasma, cerebral spinal fluid, and other body tissues. There are two basic types of HBOT—hard HBOT and mild HBOT. With hard HBOT, treatments are delivered in a hard-sided chamber typically at pressures greater than 1.5 ATA and using 100% oxygen. 100% oxygen is extremely flammable; therefore, hard HBOT involves managing the risk of explosion. Another concern with hard HBOT is oxygen toxicity.

While hard HBOT with 100% oxygen results in only slightly greater oxygen saturation in the tissues, many conditions respond better to mild HBOT. In clinical trials to date, there has been virtually no difference in clinical outcomes between mild HBOT and hard HBOT.

Mild HBOT refers to hyperbaric oxygen therapy at lower pressures, typically 1.5 ATA or below, and the use of an oxygen concentrator delivering 90-95% oxygen via cannula with a 40% ambient air concentration inside a chamber. Mild HBOT has no known safety risks with fire or toxicity, and it is substantially less expensive.

Links:

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/doctors-pressurized-oxygen-chambers-covid-fight-72101889