As we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic with new strains and new treatment (and prevention!) options, it’s important to not overlook oxygen! In fact, hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) for COVID long haul patients has shown to be so effective that the World Health Organization has officially recognized and classified it as a drug-free, non-invasive treatment for the disease, in both active COVID and for patients with lingering symptoms caused by COVID.
For COVID long-haulers, lingering symptoms 12 weeks after the infection may include brain fog, fatigue, headaches, dizziness, elevated heart rate, and shortness of breath- so it’s crucial to help alleviate these symptoms with the help of oxygen.
What is Oxygen?
Did you know that in order to survive we need almost 6 pounds of oxygen per day? That alone equates to the combined total of what the average adult consumes in food and water each day!
Bringing us back to basics, it is oxygen that feeds the body, supports immune function, destroys toxic substances, and promotes new cell growth.
The benefits of oxygen alone include:
- Reduces swelling and pain
- Prevents Hypoxia of the traumatized tissues
- Speeds up the healing of tissues, ligaments and fractured bones
- Reduces scar tissue formation and damage
- Helps return players to the game sooner
- Peak training output
- Increases energy
- Increases endurance
- Shortens repair time
- Improves concentration
- Decreases in further injury
- Improves detoxification
- Decreases in lactic acid
- Increase in ATP
- Maximizes organ function
As you can see, without oxygen our entire body suffers! COVID long-haulers especially need the additional oxygen support to fight the virus long after it has left their body.
How Does Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Work?
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy helps increase oxygen absorption by increasing the atmospheric pressure from inside the chamber. The pressure inside the chamber is normally two to three times greater than outside air pressure, which means you’re inhaling 100% oxygen vs. the 21% that is found in the air. For that reason, it increases the amount of available oxygen to the tissues, it allows oxygen to reach areas of the body that would normally be difficult to reach by being dissolved in the blood, body fluids, cerebral spinal fluid, bone tissue, and lymph nodes.
As HBOT provides high levels of oxygen to cells that really need it — such as the brain and nervous system, it also enables immune cells to kill bacteria, reduces inflammation, and allows for the growth of new blood vessels to provide extra oxygen to affected areas of the body.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and COVID-19
As mentioned, hyperbaric oxygen therapy is recognized by the World Health Organization and is also FDA-approved for a variety of tissue ailments and respiratory disorders commonly associated with COVID-19.
One of the most common long haul COVID symptoms people are experiencing is brain fog, which includes difficulty remembering and focusing. Harvard Medical School reports that over 40% of COVID patients have experienced neurologic issues almost immediately, and more than 30 percent of ‘recovered’ COVID patients suffer impaired cognition or brain damage. HBOT has proven to be an extremely valuable therapy in the recovery and healing of related brain injuries by reducing hypoxia and neuroinflammation, while increasing circulation in the brain. As HBOT increases oxygen levels in the body 5-7 times what is normally available, breathing at normal atmospheric pressure- it can help to repair damaged cells and improve patients memory.
HBOT can also help to increase energy and endurance, relieve joint pain, and aid in shortness of breath which are all other common signs of COVD long haul. At Restore, most clients have only needed 2 HBOT sessions to recover from the lingering effects!
Check out a recent testimonial from our client, Dave. S:
Post Covid, I was suffering from a daily headache at 11 a.m. and heavy brain fog and fatigue. I did 2 sessions of the Hyperbaric Chamber and Infrared Sauna and all symptoms were gone! I’m so glad that I took Dr. Gray’s advice. I have felt like my old self ever since.
Whatever your symptoms might be post-COVID infection, the hyperbaric chamber is an excellent option for relieving a wide range of aches, pains, and other unwanted conditions. If you have any questions you can learn more about hyperbaric oxygen therapy here or please feel free to give our team a call at: (610) 341-9300. We are here to help you feel your best!