Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT): General information and discussion of Home Units

[Thor]

The question then is whether or not breathing pure oxygen is necessary for optimal effects from the HBOT, or if a mix, of maybe 70-80% oxygen (concentrator plus the oxygen in the ambient air combined) is sufficient.

I think it depends (among other things on your breathing pattern and breathing depth. One thing to be aware of is that the reservoir bag should deflate while breathing but not become completely empty. If it doesn't really deflate it can be a sign that the silicone flaps that should be a one-way valve aren't really that tight fitting so a lot of outside air enters the mask. If the bag empties completely on each breath you're not getting enough oxygen and could consider using a half-closed mask where one side has a one-way valve and one side isn't covered.

Dr. Efrati does mention that it's the hypoxic/hyperoxic paradox that is the driver of many of the benefits related to HBOT, specifically he mentions the creation of new stem cells and neurogenesis. However, he just says that he works with 100% pure oxygen but doesn't comment on whether you'd get a similar (possible slower) effect if you have a smaller delta.

 

[Pierre]

The question then is whether or not breathing pure oxygen is necessary for optimal effects from the HBOT, or if a mix, of maybe 70-80% oxygen (concentrator plus the oxygen in the ambient air combined) is sufficient.

Hyperbaric treatment with no extra O2 already is effective as suggested by this video because the pressure helps the lungs absorb more O2 into the blood (partial pressure).

Now about re-breather masks. First we had re-breather masks with no vents and it was not working. Then we bought re-breather masks with 3 anti-return vents and it works.

For the forumites who are visual like me, I shot a picture of one of the new masks. the blue arrows indicate the direction of the gazes when you inhale, the red ones indicate the direction of the gazes when you exhale:



Here is Joe's explanation to which I linked with the symbols added to the picture (my comment are in blue):

Joe wrote:

new mask does not allow rebreathing of exhaled air because no air is exhaled back into the bag, in fact, it's designed to specifically prevent this. It's a pretty simple concept: the pure oxygen is pumped only into the bag, the valve at the top of the bag is anti-return (vent 2) , i.e. you can only pull the oxygen out (ascending blue arrow next to the number 2), not breathe your breath air in.

In addition, the two valves on the mask itself are also anti-return (the 2 valves labelled number 1), but in the opposite direction, i.e. you can only breathe your inhaled air out through the vents (2 horizontal red arrows), NOT pull ambient air in to the mask. Basically, these masks, if worn properly and secured around the face, mean you will only breathe the oxygen from the concentrator.

During the inhalation phase you breathe O2 from the concentrator (number 3) AND O2 from the bag (90° blue arrow) that had been filled by the concentrator during the exhaling phase (90° red arrow).

Sorry if I stated the obvious, in the beginning it was not obvious to me!

 

[LQB]

I paid close attention to it and it seems I emptied the bag with each inhale and when I exhaled, it filled the bag! That means, my used air was filling the bag and I was breathing that over and over again with some added oxygen (perhaps?).

That's what I thought too - but wrong perception on my part. I was perceiving my exhale as partially filling the bag. I just did a session and tested by emptying the bag on inhale, then exhaling rapidly (and hard) - the bag had no response to that exhale burst. But a slow exhale looks just like your breath is filling the bag.

 

[Thor]

Now about re-breather masks. First we had re-breather masks with no vents and it was not working. Then we bought re-breather masks with 3 anti-return vents and it works.

What brand of non-rebreather mask are you using?

 

[Laurentien2]

That's what I thought too - but wrong perception on my part. I was perceiving my exhale as partially filling the bag. I just did a session and tested by emptying the bag on inhale, then exhaling rapidly (and hard) - the bag had no response to that exhale burst. But a slow exhale looks just like your breath is filling the bag.

Just try exhaling in the mask as hard as you can when the unit is off and you won´t fill the bag. No air can enter the bag on mine, the exhaling air goes out by the side exit. On my mask one as the plastic diaphragn the other as none.

 

[LQB]

Just try exhaling in the mask as hard as you can when the unit is off and you won´t fill the bag. No air can enter the bag on mine, the exhaling air goes out by the side exit. On my mask one as the plastic diaphragn the other as none.

Yes, I did that too before I got in the chamber - but I wanted to break the illusion that I was filling the bag with my own breath in the chamber.

On a side note: if you happen to cough hard into the mask, you can blow the plastic valve off the exhaust port on the side of the mask - it's easy to put back on.

 

[NewEngland Seeker]

Sometimes good enough is enough and more is not necessarily better

Boy, is this so true in so many aspects of life. So many times I had to learn the hard way that more is less. Spending so much time cleaning up the messes that is caused by thinking that I can achieve success faster by doing too much. The body is a very complex biosphere and does not respond well to big changes. There is always blowback from rapid imbalance the current homeostasis. The tortoie does win in the game of life. Just a side comment FWIW.

 

[Pierre]

What brand of non-rebreather mask are you using?

It is this mask:

Masque haute concentration adulte - Oxygenotherapie - Direct Médical

Le masque haute concentration est un masque à usage unique. Elle dispose d'une poche pour une meilleure inhalation et l'augmentation de la concentration en oxygène.

www.directmedical.fr

 

[Z...]

Do you guys go for relative hypoxia?
Is there a consensus what is the best time ratio with oxygen mask over breathing chamber air without a mask?

 

[Thor]

Do you guys go for relative hypoxia?
Is there a consensus what is the best time ratio with oxygen mask over breathing chamber air without a mask?

The Efrati protocol is 20 minutes with the mask and five minutes without. That's the one I use.

 

[Z...]

The Efrati protocol is 20 minutes with the mask and five minutes without. That's the one I use.

Thanks, how long is your entire session, 60 min or 90 or more?

 

[Thor]

Thanks, how long is your entire session, 60 min or 90 or more?

I do 83 minutes. I have a larger chamber so it takes about 12 minutes to pressurise. Then 20 + 5 + 20 + 5 + 20. The last minute is for taking the mask on and off .

Dr. Efrati does 90 minutes at 2.0 ATA which would be the equivalent of 180 minutes at 1.5 ATA and that's too long to be practical for me. With 82 minutes per session, I get 70 minutes under pressure which translates into 155 sessions to get the same number of pressure-hours as Efrati's protocol.

I don't think it's an exact science, however, so I might very well carry on if I continue to see improvements.

 

[anartist]

The Efrati protocol is 20 minutes with the mask and five minutes without. That's the one I use.

Looking at the ratio of 20 minutes to 5 minutes, it is 4:1.
If you look at the total time spent under the oxygen mask versus the time spent breathing the chamber air it is 50 minutes oxygen to 10 minutes breathing chamber air, so 50:10=5:1 ratio. The same ratio for 90 minutes as well; 75 min oxygen:15 minutes air=5:1
So for an hour session it could be 25 minutes oxygen to 5 minutes air, repeated once.
Not an exact science. Perhaps the 4:1 ratio is important, despite that over the hour, or hour and a half, it ends up being 5:1 in total.

 

[Stoneboss]

Looking at the ratio of 20 minutes to 5 minutes, it is 4:1.
If you look at the total time spent under the oxygen mask versus the time spent breathing the chamber air it is 50 minutes oxygen to 10 minutes breathing chamber air, so 50:10=5:1 ratio. The same ratio for 90 minutes as well; 75 min oxygen:15 minutes air=5:1
So for an hour session it could be 25 minutes oxygen to 5 minutes air, repeated once.
Not an exact science. Perhaps the 4:1 ratio is important, despite that over the hour, or hour and a half, it ends up being 5:1 in total.

25 minutes oxygen to 5 minutes air, repeated once, is what I've been doing almost since the beginning and it seems to work well for me...

 

[Z...]

I do 83 minutes. I have a larger chamber so it takes about 12 minutes to pressurise. Then 20 + 5 + 20 + 5 + 20. The last minute is for taking the mask on and off .

Dr. Efrati does 90 minutes at 2.0 ATA which would be the equivalent of 180 minutes at 1.5 ATA and that's too long to be practical for me. With 82 minutes per session, I get 70 minutes under pressure which translates into 155 sessions to get the same number of pressure-hours as Efrati's protocol.

I don't think it's an exact science, however, so I might very well carry on if I continue to see improvements.

Agreed- 180 minutes is too much 5 days a week. 90 is okay especially if the time is spent wisely - reading or guided meditation.
I was somewhat flabbergasted seeing people in the spa going into seating chamber with their lap tops and mobile phones and doing work related stuff in there.

I think there will still be benefits with the time frame you suggest and perhaps follow intuition when determining what is the best time frame for your individual constitution. I intend to do dowsing session to determine this.
My main concern is that i am severely myopic and wouldn’t really like to push my prescription even more into minus.
Are there any myopic people here who did over 90h in the chamber?