A hyperbaric chamber can help improve symptoms of long-COVID with appropriate delivery of oxygen throughout the body. Some people recover within 7-14 days after experiencing the COVID-19 disease.
However, many continue to experience ongoing symptoms of the disease, such as headache, fatigue, breathlessness, etc. While the initial recovery is successful and the virus leaves the patient’s body in a few weeks, some symptoms heal slowly. This means that symptoms like breathlessness and headaches reduce slowly over months.
As a result of these long-term COVID-19 symptoms, patients experience difficulty in daily functions. A hyperbaric chamber can improve oxygen concentration in the body and reduce long COVID-19 symptoms.
Symptoms of Long-Term COVID
People who have experienced even mild or medium COVID-19 experience long-COVID when the disease is treated. While we don’t know the exact cause, it may be because of oxygen deprivation in the body for a long duration. This leads to the following symptoms:
- Breathlessness
- Cough
- Fatigue
- Chest pain
- Joint pain
- Concentration problems
- Brain fog
- Pounding heart
- Anxiety
- Loss of taste
- Dizziness
How Hyperbaric Chamber Can Help?
Scientists believe that oxygen deprivation in the body during COVID-19 disease causes these symptoms. When hyperbaric chambers are used to improve the oxygen in the body, healing is accelerated. Damaged and diseased cells and tissues in the body receive oxygen and heal slowly, which reduces symptoms.
What is Hyperbaric Chamber Therapy?
Hyperbaric chamber therapy is a process of offering pure oxygen to the body. The chamber delivers 100% oxygen and increases the pressure on the environment. At an increased pressure, the body’s liquids, including lipids and plasma, start transporting oxygen to diseased and damaged tissues. An improved concentration of oxygen in the body improves and triggers a range of healing processes. As a result, the body can heal and recover quickly.
For example, diseased tissues and cells need more oxygen, however, the inflammation at the location stops cells and tissues from receiving this oxygen supply at the required rate. When HBOT enables the body to carry oxygen via bodily liquids, the oxygen concentration is improved and healing processes accelerate.
Hyperbaric Chamber for Long-Term COVID
A patient, Dave Shollock, of Restore Health & Longevity in Wayne, started experiencing long-COVID. He always felt tired and sick, regardless of any help he received. Therefore, looking at the condition, his chiropractor suggested he use HBOT therapy in long-COVID.
Due to the lingering symptoms and discomfort caused to Dave, he agreed to the therapy and just two sessions helped Dave improve.
With consistent therapy, all the long-COVID symptoms subsided and Dave was able to feel like himself again.
According to scientists offering hyperbaric chamber therapy to long-COVID patients, many people experienced after-effects of the disease. They did not have any option other than living with the problem and hoping it may go away in time. These symptoms were mainly headaches, chronic fatigue, brain fog, and anxiety.
Dave, specifically experienced chronic fatigue, brain fog, and headaches. He had severe joint pain and breathlessness. These symptoms were closer to Lyme Disease. With a few hyperbaric chamber sessions, Dave recovered.
Similarly, Kerin Caban also suffered from these symptoms, such as breathlessness, brain fog, fatigue, and cough. After 2 sessions in the hyperbaric chamber, Kerin was able to recover from long-COVID. Her chest congestion cleared and her headache reduced. He was able to breathe properly after a long time.
Originally, HBOT therapy was introduced for scuba divers, which helped them fight decompression sickness. The therapy helped oxygen enter cells quickly due to high pressure.
If you don’t have inner ear problems or you are not claustrophobic, you can sit through one or multiple sessions of HBOT without experiencing discomfort. Many chambers have in-built provisions to take a nap, listen to music, or watch a series.
However, it is still suggested to talk to the doctor before considering HBOT therapy for your symptoms. Your physician may be able to guide you better on assistive therapies and quick recovery.
Other Uses of HBOT Therapy
Other than long-COVID, there are many other uses of HBOT therapy. For example, it is frequently used for patients who have suffered severe injuries and gone through surgery. To recover from surgery quickly, physicians suggest sitting in the hyperbaric chamber.
There are many other health ailments, in which hyperbaric chamber therapy is widely used across the globe. For example, severe COVID-19 patients, who are to be intubated, are offered HBOT to reduce hypoxia. This is not widely used across the globe because research is still ongoing.
Another example of HBOT is in diseases like carbon monoxide poisoning. When a person inhales CO gas, their system starts experiencing symptoms. This is to say that CO gas starts replacing oxygen in the body, which leads to severe damage. HBOT therapy helps fight the action of CO gas and allows the patient to recover in some time.
Conclusion
Hyperbaric chamber therapy is beneficial in treating long-COVID symptoms. In many examples given above, patients recovered from the disease or symptoms with just two sessions of the HBOT therapy.
If you are experiencing long-COVID, consult your physician, understand the benefits of HBOT therapy, and start treatment.
