Hyperbaric chamber to get rid of long COVID?
Yes, hyperbaric oxygen therapy improves neurocognitive functions and symptoms related to long COVID. The news came out recently and finally gives hope to the many people still suffering from long Covid.
In the article below, I explain why using a hyperbaric chamber can help you, all accompanied (as usual) by scientific sources. And at the very end of the page, you will find the testimony of a patient who was rescued.
Symptoms of long Covid
First of all, what is long Covid?
From May 2020, following the first wave of Covid, we saw the persistence of symptoms in some patients, several weeks or months after the first manifestations.
The High Authority of Health announces that this would concern approximately 20% of people after 5 weeks, and 10% after 3 months.
Among patients with persistent symptoms following SARS-CoV-2
- 80% of them would still encounter problems with pain, fatigue and skin rashes.
- 14.2% depression, anxiety, insomnia and brain fog.
- 5.8% cough, shortness of breath and phlegm.
Despite the large number of victims of long Covid, there is currently no treatment to cure the cause of this pathology.
Hyperbaric chamber: new ray of hope for treating long COVID
The good news comes from an Israeli team, very active in research into hyperbaric oxygen therapy .
Led by Professor Shai Efrati (whom I told you about in a previous article ), the group of scientists studied the use of the hyperbaric chamber on people with long Covid.
This is not the first time that research has been conducted to find out whether this therapy is effective. For example, the medical school of the University of Warwick (England) conducted a study at the end of 2021
But today, the new study
- 73 patients participated in the study.
- Using a control group (receiving a fake treatment) to check if there is a placebo effect.
- Double-blind study: neither patients nor caregivers know who is receiving the real or fake treatment.
- Brain imaging was performed before and after treatment.
Hyperbaric chamber and long Covid: the results
The results show that there is clearly an effect. Compared to those in the placebo group, those treated reported improvements in their energy levels, sleep and cognitive function, as well as a decrease in depression. The same is true for pain.
Here is one of my patients in the middle of a hyperbaric dive (broadcast with his kind permission).
Video taken from my Instagram account .
Rafi Akav, a 44-year-old marketing manager who volunteered for the study, recalled to WIRED:
I felt like I was suffocating. This treatment saved me.
Rafi Akav, a patient who participated in the study.
He claims
Why would hyperbaric oxygen therapy be an effective treatment for long Covid?
So far, the pathogenesis of the post-COVID-19 state is not yet determined. And some suggested mechanisms include direct brain invasion of the virus
This would be why hyperbaric oxygen therapy is effective in treating long Covid. Because this therapy would trigger neuroplasticity .
Regeneration triggered by the hyperbaric chamber
A hyperbaric chamber dive provides the body with much more oxygen than it can normally obtain. But the beneficial effects obtained are not limited to this. After several dives, repair mechanisms at the cellular level would be triggered.
Indeed, in recent years, evidence has been accumulating that hyperbaric oxygen therapy:
- would help stimulate neuroplasticity
- would have an anti-inflammatory effect
- would restore mitochondrial function
- would increase perfusion via angiogenesis
- would induce the proliferation and migration of stem cells
This is what is put forward, once again, by Professor Shai Efrati. Thanks to brain imaging, before and after therapy, it is possible to demonstrate the positive effect of the hyperbaric chamber on the brain.
Highlighted brain areas indicate significant changes following hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatment compared to the control group.
To conclude this article, here is a short report on the subject, produced by the American channel WESH2:
Video Transcript:
Presenter : "Fatigue, anxiety, confusion, even after recovering from the virus, the symptoms of long Covid are not only difficult to manage, they are difficult to understand. Senait Gebregiorgis tells us about a groundbreaking new study that shows how treatment is helping some carriers recover."
Danielle Gillen : "We feel incredibly alone and people don't realize how much it affects us."
Senait Gebregiorgis : "Danielle Gillen was one of the first victims of the virus. She caught covid in September 2020, but even after recovering, her pain did not completely disappear."
Danielle Gillen : "I couldn't run, I couldn't walk, I couldn't cook. I struggled for so long and so often, I had nowhere to turn to find answers to my problems."
Senait Gebregiorgis : "She faced memory loss, confusion and blurred vision. It was only recently that she finally found hope after meeting Dr. Mohammed ELAMIR of AVIV Clinics.
Dr. Mohammed ELAMIR : "What can we do to treat the brain and the body, how can we regenerate new tissues?"
Senait Gebregiorgis : "On Monday, he presented an innovative study that aims to help people with long Covid feel like themselves again. It uses hyperbaric oxygen therapy. The treatment allows your lungs to collect much more oxygen than normal. Then your body or brain can create new cells and grow new blood vessels.
Dr Mohammed ELAMIR : “This way, as the treatment goes on, you should see this brain fog improving, your memory and concentration improving, your physical fitness improving and this is something that we measure all along.
Senait Gebregiorgis : "Just under 100 patients participated in the Covid study. The doctor says all of them showed improvements. The treatments last between 8 to 12 weeks, and are personalized to the patient. Gillen feels like a new person after undergoing 10 treatments.
Danielle Gillen : "I can walk, I can do cardio, I can do the kids' homework."
Dr. Mohammed ELAMIR : "As people recognize the definition of long Covid, we will be able to identify specific things that we can treat, but it doesn't stop there."
Presenter : "The clinic also uses the treatment to help cure other conditions such as head trauma and Lyme disease."