HBOT & COVID-19 (Part 2 of 2)
LONG HAULERS FIND RELIEF WITH HYPERBARIC MEDICINE
BY GUEST BLOGGER LORALIE FROMAN
As the world braces for its second pandemic winter, the medical establishment is waking up to the next public health crisis. After multiple waves of COVID-19, vast numbers of people are now living with chronic post-viral symptoms, a condition referred to as Long COVID or Long Haul Syndrome.(1)
At Holistic Hyperbarics, we’re on top of the latest scientific studies and clinical applications of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) in ameliorating Long Haul symptoms. And we’ve successfully helped numerous patients with lingering post-COVID complaints to regain their health and vitality.
Holistic Hyperbarics Success Story: “HBOT Works!”
Jeannette, a 33-year-old wife, mother, and behavioral therapist, had a moderate case of COVID-19 in early 2020. But unlike her family members, who all rapidly recovered, Jeannette’s condition continued to worsen.
Six months out from her initial infection, doctors were still dismissing Jeannette’s long list of health problems—fatigue, stomach upset, muscle weakness, heart palpitations, mood issues, loss of mental clarity, shortness of breath, joint and back pain—as mere “anxiety attacks.” And, after each medical appointment, they sent her home without treatment or hope.
While the exact cause of Long Haul Syndrome is unknown, a February 2021 review in the open-access journal Physiological Reports suggests that blood vessel damage and impaired oxygen delivery related to COVID-19 are key in causing ongoing chronic symptoms.(2) And currently, treatment options for this new condition are nearly impossible to find.
Desperate for answers, Jeannette turned to online forums where self-described “long-haulers” in the tens of thousands shared stories of complex health issues and frustrating battles with doctors. And in these forums, Jeannette learned of a promising modality from fellow post-COVID sufferers as they touted the benefits of HBOT.
“The idea of it made sense to me,” Jeannette told us. “I knew in my bones that what I desperately needed was oxygen!” HBOT is FDA-approved to treat 14 medical conditions and is now being widely prescribed off-label to address many other health issues that, like COVID-19, involve inflammation and a lack of tissue oxygenation (known as “hypoxia”). Hyperbaric medicine is gaining international recognition as clinical studies continue to demonstrate that breathing 100% oxygen in a pressurized chamber promotes healing for numerous conditions.
Jeannette was nervous as she entered our hyperbaric chamber but found her treatments relaxing and comfortable. “I felt the difference after the third session,” she said. “I thought, Wow, I forgot how it felt to be normal!”
The Pandemic’s Walking Wounded
The medical community is finally substantiating what Jeannette and many other COVID-19 patients have trumpeted from the outset: that they’ve continued to suffer from chronic, often debilitating symptoms for weeks or even months after contracting the virus.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now recognizes “post-COVID conditions,” which it defines as “a wide range of new, returning, or ongoing health problems people can experience four or more weeks after first being infected.”(3)
Doctors are finally taking Long Haul Syndrome seriously, and, as of July 2021, the condition may qualify as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).(4) As with the acute virus itself, post-COVID symptoms can range from mild to severe. According to the CDC, anyone who’s had COVID-19 can experience ongoing symptoms—even people with asymptomatic illness—but severe cases are more likely to result in multisystem inflammatory or autoimmune conditions that affect the heart, lungs, brain, and other organs.(3) By most estimates, one-quarter to one-third of all people infected with COVID will go on to experience at least one chronic symptom that falls under the new definition.(5,6) According to The American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, these figures translate into a staggering 11 million Long COVID cases nationally, and 1.2 million in California alone.(7)
Following the Science
In Part 1 of this blog series, we explored the ongoing research into the use of HBOT for infectious COVID-19.(8) Now, let’s have a look at the science and clinical applications of hyperbaric technology in alleviating Long Haul Syndrome.
In response to mounting empirical evidence of HBOT’s efficacy in addressing post-COVID conditions, the international hyperbarics community has initiated clinical trials—in Sweden, the U.S., and Israel—to demonstrate that HBOT alleviates Long Haul symptoms by reducing inflammation, rejuvenating hypoxic organs, restoring lung function, and/or addressing impaired cognitive function.(9,10,11)
All three trials expect preliminary results in late 2022. “These clinical trials provide tremendous hope for long-haulers,” says Dr. Stella Park, consulting medical advisor to Holistic Hyperbarics. “Studies are typically only funded when a there’s strong data to suggest a treatment will work.”
As awareness of HBOT’s effectiveness grows, clinics around the country are employing hyperbaric medicine to address Long COVID, including the prestigious Amen Clinic.
“COVID brain is real,” says world-renowned specialist Dr. Daniel Amen.(12) He uses SPECT scans to diagnose Long Haul Syndrome, noting that the scans of post-COVID-infected brains appear similar to those that have undergone toxic exposures.
HBOT to the Rescue
It’s no surprise that hyperbaric medicine is helping long-haulers. HBOT has been proven to reduce inflammation and oxygenate blood tissues and plasma, and, as a result, can improve post-COVID symptoms by:
Reducing virus-related inflammation in the gut and brain
Decreasing fatigue
Relieving depression caused by lack of oxygen to the brain
Improving sleep quality
Enhancing memory and mental performance
Diminishing headaches
Minimizing pain and discomfort
Significantly improving physical, cognitive, and mental health functioning
Alex Williams, Founder and CEO of Holistic Hyperbarics, is optimistic about the future of HBOT for Long Haul Syndrome, as this tried-and-true treatment modality finds a new application. “Word is spreading rapidly about the benefits of HBOT for Long COVID,” she says. “Doctors are learning about hyperbaric medicine from their patients, and Holistic Hyperbarics is here—ready to give long-haulers the best shot available for regaining their health.”
And Jeannette, just one of many long-haul patients under our care, hopes for a day when doctors immediately prescribe HBOT for people whose symptoms persist after infection. “Insurance should cover this treatment,” she says. “Everyone with Long COVID should be able to get into a chamber and breathe again!”
If you or a loved one has lingering symptoms following a COVID-19 infection, please contact our administrator for individualized recommendations at (510) 648-9496.
SOURCES:
1. National Institutes of Health, NIH Director’s Blog. “Trying to make sense of Long COVID Syndrome.” January 19, 2021. https://directorsblog.nih.gov/2021/01/19/trying-to-make-sense-of-long-covid-syndrome/
2. Physiological Reports, a journal of The Physiological Society. Leif Ostergaard. “SARS CoV-2 related microvascular damage and symptoms during and after COVID-19: Consequences of capillary transit-time changes, tissue hypoxia and inflammation.” February 2021. https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.14814/phy2.14726/
3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Post-COVID Conditions, webpage. Accessed November 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/long-term-effects/index.html/
4. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Guidance on “Long COVID” as a Disability Under the ADA, Section 504, and Section 1557, webpage. Accessed October 2021. https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-providers/civil-rights-covid19/guidance-long-covid-disability/index.html#footnote10_0ac8mdc/
5. FAIR Health, Inc. “A Detailed Study of Patients with Long-Haul COVID: An Analysis of Private Healthcare Claims – A FAIR Health White Paper.” June 15, 2021. https://www.fairhealth.org/publications/whitepapers/
7. Becker’s Hospital Review. “Estimates of Americans with long COVID-19, per state.” Web article by Gabrielle Masson. August 2021.
8. John J. Feldmeier et al. “Physiologic and biochemical rationale for treating COVID-19 patients with hyperbaric oxygen.” Undersea & Hyperbaric Medicine: Journal of the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society, Inc. Vol. 48,1 (2021): 1-12. First Quarter 2021. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33648028/
9. Anders Kjellberg. “Hyperbaric oxygen for treatment of Long COVID syndrome.” Randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, Phase II clinical trial. Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden. Study start date, September 2021; primary completion date, December 2022. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04842448/
10. Peter Lindholm. “Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for long COVID patients with pulmonary sequel.” Pilot study. University of California, San Diego. Study start date, August 2021; primary completion date, December 2022. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04905888/
11. Shani Zilberman-Itskovich. “Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for post-COVID-19 syndrome.” Prospective, randomized, double-blind study. Assaf-Harofeh Medical Center. Zerifin, Israel. Study start date, January 2021; primary completion date, January 2022. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/study/NCT04647656/
12. Amen Clinics. 11 Ways to Benefit from the Healing Power of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, webpage. Accessed October 2021. https://www.amenclinics.com/blog/11-ways-to-benefit-from-the-healing-power-of-hyperbaric-oxygen-therapy/
13. Ani Nalbandian et al. “Post-acute COVID-19 syndrome.” Nature Medicine 27, 601–615 (2021). March 2021. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-021-01283-z/