FAQ
What Are The Benefits Of Hyperbaric Oxygen?
Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment has been used in healthcare for over 100 years. Normal air contains 21% oxygen, but in a hyperbaric chamber you can breathe 100% oxygen at increased pressure which allows much more oxygen to enter your body than normal. This increased oxygen can help the body heal certain infections, and improve oxygen going to parts of the body which are not getting enough due to disease.
This area of medicine continues to be investigated to find out what conditions are best treated with hyperbaric oxygen and what conditions don’t benefit. To read more about indications for Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy see here: https://www.uhms.org/resources/hbo-indications.html
Is Hyperbaric Oxygen Safe?
Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment is very safe providing appropriate chambers are being used, they are maintained and serviced properly, and the clinic follow strict safety guidelines.
All the chambers used at Restore are approved by Health Canada and carefully maintained. The oxygen used is 100% pure medical grade oxygen.
The most common complication of Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment is problems with your ears if you have difficulty equalizing the pressure when starting the treatment. We will teach you how to equalize your ears, and if you are having any problems, we can slow down or stop the treatment at any time.
Absolutely no electronic devices are allowed inside the chamber to avoid even the smallest risk of a spark causing a fire. We will provide you with all the safety information you need and answer any questions you have to make sure the treatments are safe and comfortable for you.
Each time you come for a treatment we will go through a safety checklist to make sure that everything is in perfect order for your treatment in the chamber.
What Is It Like Being Inside the Chamber?
The chamber is a big acrylic (plastic) tube with a door at one end as you can see in the pictures on this website. You will lie on a stretcher which enters the machine.
Before entering the machine you will need to change into special cotton clothes that we will provide for you. Once inside you can lie anyway you want and the back of the stretcher goes up a bit so you don’t have to lie totally flat.
You may feel a bit warm or cold at times during the treatment and we will give you a blanket for your comfort. There is a TV mounted outside the acrylic tube and you can watch a variety of shows or movies. There is a special speaker inside the chamber so you can hear the TV and there is a 2 way communication device so you can talk to the technician who will be right next to you and monitoring you throughout the treatment.
How Many Treatments Will I Need?
The number of treatments needed depend on the condition being treated. It is usually between 10 and 40 treatments. Each treatment visit will take approximately 2 hours from start to finish including changing your clothes and going through the safety procedures each time. The time inside the chamber will also depend on the condition being treated and is usually between 75 to 105 minutes (1h 15 min to 1h 45 min).
What If I Have Claustrophobia?
Because the chambers are mostly clear acrylic (plastic), most people don’t have problems with claustrophobia (fear of being in closed or small spaces). If you have severe claustrophobia, please discuss this with us and we can always test you by putting you inside the chamber for a few minutes without having any treatment to see how you feel.
Can The Treatment Be Stopped In The Middle?
Throughout the treatment the technician, nurse or physician will be within a few feet of you and watching you carefully. If you feel unwell, or if you have to go the bathroom suddenly, the treatment can be stopped at any time. It usually takes about 3 to 4 minutes to reduce the pressure in the chamber and open the door, but it can be done faster in the case of an emergency.
