Could Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Hold the Key to Long Covid and Post Vaccine Injury?

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) involves breathing pure oxygen at 100% in a pressurized environment. The goal is to infuse oxygen into oxygen-deprived tissue to promote healing, kill pathogenic bacteria, and speed recovery of tissue injury. This involves entering a chamber where pure oxygen is under pressure (1.5 to 3 times higher than average air pressure) where the patient lies or sits for a specified period. The goal is to fill the blood with enough oxygen to repair tissue caused by oxygen deprivation or kill pathogenic bacteria. Sessions last for 45 minutes to 300 minutes.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been used with military veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Some of the common uses for HBOT are

• Wound healing- especially non-healing wounds such as diabetic ulcers
• Burns
• Crush injuries (crush injuries are devastating- because of the lack of oxygen to the area of the crush injury the tissue is compromised due to the nature of the injury)
• Severe anemia
• Post radiation injuries
• Arterial gas embolism, which is bubbles of air in your blood vessels
• Carbon monoxide poisoning
• Gangrene
• Compromised skin grafts and flaps

Promising research reporting long-term results (one year) revealed HBOT’s ability to dramatically decrease symptoms of long COVID-19.

Long COVID is described as symptoms of COVID-19 that can last months or years after COVID-19 illness.

Symptoms vary widely which can make diagnosis difficult and can be mild or severe, resulting in disability. As of this writing, there is no laboratory test that can determine if long COVID is the reason for unexplained symptoms.  However, you may have an antibody test to confirm you did have COVID in the past.

Common symptoms include

• Fatigue- extreme, trouble completing tasks that used to be easy to complete. Difficulty participating in recreational activities. This includes daily life tasks.
• Brain fog- inability to recall words, do simple tasks, feeling of being overwhelmed
• Headaches
• Blurred vision
• Unstable on feet
• Abdominal pain
• Constipation
• Post-exertional malaise (PEM)- extreme fatigue after exercise or other physical activity. Even going for a walk can feel exhausting
• Altered sense of taste of smell (or no sense of taste or smell)
• Ongoing, nagging cough
• Shortness of breath, sometimes severe
• Cardiac- heart racing or skipping beats
• Chest pain
• Lightheadedness, dizziness

Complications

There is a population who have had COVID-19 that are more likely to develop Long Covid:

• Diabetes- Post-COVID infection risk for diabetes increased by 60%
• Heart conditions
• Blood clots
• Neurological conditions

HBOT shows promise in treating long-covid symptoms

According to research highlighted by Dr. Peter McCullough, Chief Science Officer at The Wellness Company, a study titled “Long-term outcomes of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in post covid condition: longitudinal follow-up of a randomized controlled trial” has shown promising results for patients suffering the debilitating effects of long covid.

Dr. McCullough goes on to state:

“Many patients with long-COVID syndrome have seen countless doctors and have taken a multitude of vitamins, supplements, and prescription drugs. Those fortunate enough to have been referred to and completed a course of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in my practice seemed to have fared better than most.

Hadanny et al, have reported the long-term results (one year) from their original small, randomized trial. The protocol comprised 40 daily sessions, five sessions per week within a 2-month period. The HBOT protocol included breathing 100% oxygen by mask at 2 atmospheres of pressure for 90 min with 5-minute air breaks every 20 min. Control patients had HBOT without additional oxygen or pressure.”

The study showed significant improvement in quality of life in regard to sleep, pain relief, and psychiatric symptoms (mental health- anxiety and depression).

If you are suffering long COVID or have suffered post-vaccination injury, we are here to help. Schedule a consultation with one of our providers who is utilizing Dr. McCulloughs’ long covid/vaccine injury protocol to bring relief and get your life back to pre-covid days.

At this time, HBOT is not approved by the FDA for the treatment of long COVID. As a result, it is not covered by insurance for this purpose. However, as studies such as this come to light, the FDA will need to reevaluate its stance. There are independent hyperbaric oxygen chambers located throughout the nation.

For more information on vaccine injury, long covid, and other health-related topics, check out the writings, podcasts, and videos of Dr.McCullough on Substack: Courageous Discourse.

References

1. Wong R, Lam E, Bramante CT, Johnson SG, Reusch J, Wilkins KJ, Yeh HC. Does COVID-19 Infection Increase the Risk of Diabetes? Current Evidence. Curr Diab Rep. 2023 Aug;23(8):207-216. doi: 10.1007/s11892-023-01515-1. Epub 2023 Jun 7. PMID: 37284921; PMCID: PMC10244847.
2. Veterans Health Library. (n.d.). Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid). U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. https://www.veteranshealthlibrary.va.gov/142,41528_VA
3. Johns Hopkins Medicine. (n.d.). Hyperbaric oxygen therapy. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/treatment-tests-and-therapies/hyperbaric-oxygen-therapy
4. Hadanny A, Zilberman-Itskovich S, Catalogna M, Elman-Shina K, Lang E, Finci S, Polak N, Shorer R, Parag Y, Efrati S. Long term outcomes of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in post covid condition: longitudinal follow-up of a randomized controlled trial. Sci Rep. 2024 Feb 15;14(1):3604. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-53091-3. PMID: 38360929; PMCID: PMC10869702.

 Written by Brooke Lounsbury