In-Home Hyperbarics: FAQ’s

Yes, you will need a clearance from a doctor for hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). We can assist you if you do not have a clinician familiar with HBOT by sending you what the prescription needs to say or having you complete our Safety Prescreening Questionnaire.

During the compression stage you may feel a fullness in your ears and a slight warmth in temperature. It is similar to what you experience when traveling in an airplane. Yawning or swallowing can help alleviate the fullness sensation in your ears and the temperature should stabilize once the desired pressurization is reached.

The treatment stage is intended to be entirely painless. You will breathe in oxygen in a pressurized environment. You should feel comfortable enough to relax, sleep, read, or listen to music.

During the decompression stage you may notice a slight cooling in the chamber. You may experience a popping sensation in your ears – again, similar to what you might experience during airline travel.

In most cases, the compression and decompression stages last about 8-13 minutes each.

There is no downtime after HBOT. You will be able to immediately resume your regular activities after your in-home HBOT session.

In most cases, a person will need to undergo mild hyperbaric oxygen sessions repeatedly before noticing a difference. How often you use your HBOT chamber will depend on the doctors recommendations and the reason you are undergoing therapy. In the majority of cases, we’ve found the most effective frequency is a 60 to 90 minute session, once or twice a day for an initial 4 to 8 weeks for its more immediate benefits. For those who decide to buy their rental unit, 3 to 5 days a week for maintenance is the norm.

In-Home Hyperbaric oxygen is very safe with proper use and training. This includes clearing the ears during decompression and administering the correct amount of oxygen. Be sure to follow the guidelines as well as instructions from your prescribing physician. When pressure precautions are followed, and pain is avoided with pressure increases and decreases, mild hyperbaric oxygen has virtually no adverse effects.

Breathing in extra oxygen using an oxygen mask will increase the amount of oxygen carried by your blood’s hemoglobin. However, your red blood cells can only carry so much oxygen at normal atmospheric pressure. By using an oxygen mask without increasing pressure, you miss the opportunity to significantly increase the amount of oxygen carried in your blood plasma, which typically only contains 3% oxygen.

Hyperbaric oxygen administration, however,  allows significantly more oxygen to dissolve into blood plasma with an ingenious solution: by increasing the atmospheric (barometric) pressure while breathing in concentrated oxygen. This not only increases the amount of oxygen that binds to your blood hemoglobin – but also pushed oxygen into the blood plasma so it can be delivered in far greater amounts to the tissues than is possible at normal atmospheric air pressure levels.

It’s best to delay being in a pressure environment until your cold or flu symptoms subside and all residual fluid is your sinuses have resolved. The rule of thumb is pressure is ok, pain is not! If you feel pain you must abort your session or risk injury to your ears, lungs, or sinus spaces.

No. Modifying a portable hyperbaric chamber – even if you purchase it outright from us – is illegal and potentially harmful. The chambers are approved by the FDA for a specific amount of pressure. A modified chamber is considered adulterated by the FDA and it automatically loses its safety compliance approval. For your own health’s sake, it is important that you do not modify any HBOT chamber.