What are the benefits of diving with 100% oxygen and is it worth it?
First and foremost: YES - the benefits of diving at 100% oxygen are absolutely worth it! Breathing 100% oxygen allows you greater “partial pressure” of oxygen and this increases the dosage of your treatment - allow us to explain further:
We can often think about hyperbaric treatments in terms of the strength of a dose of treatment.
The variables that affect the dosage of a single treatment are the following:
Duration of treatment
Concentration of Oxygen
Pressure of the chamber
1. Duration of Treatment
Patients typically spend 60 minutes in our chambers, though 90 minute sessions are also an option. A longer duration results in a higher dosage of treatment, perhaps also resulting in a more effective treatment. Research and clinical experiences guides us when recommending 60 or 90 minute sessions, depending upon the patient and/or condition.
2. Concentration of Oxygen
In both the soft and hard-sided chambers, patients have the option of breathing ONLY atmospheric (approx. 21% oxygen) air. This is the air that you normally breathe when in a standard environment.
In our soft sided chamber - patients may utilize a mask to breathe in concentrated oxygen from our O2 concentrator - estimated to be about 87-92% O2
In our hard sided chamber - patient’s may utilize a mask to breathe in 100% medical grade oxygen
In some treatments, depending on the protocol, patients will switch back and forth between breathing 100% oxygen, and atmospheric air.
A higher concentration of oxygen results in a higher dosage of treatment, perhaps resulting in a more effective treatment.
3. Pressure of the Chamber
For our chambers, patients have a few options as it relates to pressure:
Our soft sided chamber pressurizes to 1.3 ATA
Our hard sided chamber can pressurize up to 3.0 ATA, though most treatments take place between 1.5-2.4 ATA
What are the benefits of receiving treatment with 100% oxygen?
Most of what we know about hyperbaric chambers comes from research that utilizes 100% oxygen for treatment. And because of that, we know that the benefits of treatment with 100% oxygen are significant and wide ranging.
Although we would like to make a note that a higher dosage of treatment doesn’t always mean better. As stated previously, each case is individual, and dosage is dependent on the patient/conditions and how they respond to treatment.
When determining which treatment protocol to utilize, please discuss this with your prescribing clinician and investigate the research.
Please reach out with any questions you have - we’re here to help!