A Typical Day with Hayden Part 2 : Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

Hayden has been receiving hyperbaric oxygen therapy (hbot) for a little over a year now.  We started off by driving to Carmel twice a week for treatment.  We did 2 hours of hbot while we were there.  The drive was 5 hours round trip.  When we were about 20 hours into treatment we started to some significant improvement in Hayden.  He was gaining new words every day, he was not as hyper, and he was sleeping better.  At that point my parents gave us the money to purchase a chamber to have in our home :)

I had been look at chambers and talking to different people and companies to purchase one.  The average price specific model I was looking for (Vitaeris 320) was $20,000.00.  They are around $32,000.00 brand new and the does NOT include the oxygen concentrator.

I started watching for a Vitaeris 320 on ebay.  I found one that the people were located 3 hours away and were willing to deliver, set it up, and instruct us on how to use it.  There was also another person that wanted that specific chamber and my plan was to bid at the last minute.  Well at the last minute Ebay pulled the listing.  I was CRUSHED!!  Come to find out it is illegal to sell medication on ebay (oxygen is a medication) and you have to go through the proper channels and have a prescription....yada....yada....yade.

Well if you know me I am not one to let a little red tape stop me ;)  I could have gotten a prescription and I could have went through the proper channels to get Hayden's hbot.  All that takes time and additional $$$$ and I didn't have a penny or a second to spare.

I contacted the lady immediately and worked out a deal with her.  We paid (well my parents) $9100.00 for Hayden's hbot.......what a DEAL!!  They delivered it, set it up, and gave us instructions on how to use it.   B-I-N-G-O!!!

We have tried a few different protocols on hbot with Hayden, but what works best for him is 1-1.5 hours daily.  Hayden is seriously a hot mess with hbot.  Brandon or myself get in the chamber with him.  Hayden can take snacks, drinks, toys, or whatever else he may want in.  The majority of the time we let him have his iPad in the chamber.  This is kind of a nice chill out time for all of us.  I feel guilty about letting him have his iPad in there, but Brandon and I need down time too.

We have the chamber set up in our master bedroom.  Hayden loves his time in the "rocket ship."  We have never had an issue with him not wanting to get in or stay in.

The large tan box is the oxygen concentrator.  We use a flow of 8 lpm.  The two silver boxes are the air compressors.  The air compressors are what inflates and keeps the chamber inflated

A picture of the chamber partially inflated with Brandon and Hayden inside.

Hayden inside playing his iPad and holding onto a car.  If you look in the left upper hand corner of the clear window you can see the oxygen tubing.  Ideally Hayden should wear a mask to provide a high concentration of oxygen to him, but he won't wear it.

This is what the chamber looks like fully pressurized.  It only takes about five minutes to pressurize and depressurize.

How does hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) work? Hyperbaria - Increased atmospheric pressure as a means of increasing oxygen uptake without an enriched oxygen source Hyperoxia - Increased total oxygen content Hyperbaria is based on the concept of the relationship of gas pressure and uptake in liquids (blood, plasma and tissues).  Henry’s Law states that “a gas is dissolved by a liquid in direct proportion to its partial pressure.”  For example, at sea level, atmospheric pressure is 760 mm Hg, the oxygen concentration is 21% and the body’s oxygen content or partial pressure, pO2, in blood and plasma is ~ 40 mm Hg. Red blood cells have a limitation as to how much oxygen can bind with hemoglobin.  The plasma portion of the blood typically has about a 3% oxygen concentration. By placing someone in a 3 psi pressure hyperbaric environment, the increase in atmospheric pressure at sea level goes from 760 mm Hg to 915 mm Hg.  This increase in gas pressure, increases the partial pressure of the oxygen gas and thus forces more oxygen to be dissolved in the plasma.  This saturation of oxygen in the blood, due to the Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy or HBOT, allows the extra oxygen to be diffused or transported to the surrounding body tissues.  Thus, oxygen transport by plasma is significantly increased under hyperbaric therapy (HBOT).  At three atmospheres pressure, enough oxygen can be dissolved in the plasma to support the oxygen demands of the body at rest in the absence of hemoglobin! Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) is designed to boost the supply of oxygen to ischemic tissue or to diseased tissues that respond to increased oxygen levels.  Increasing the volume of oxygen dissolved in the blood plasma, that is brought about by hyperbaric therapy (HBOT), produces five basic effects: Reduction of volume of gas bubbles in the blood Vasoconstriction, which reduces edema and secondary hypoxia  Restoration of aerobic metabolism to ischemic tissue  Detoxification of poisoned tissues  Enhanced phagocytosis Henry’s Law- Henry’s law states that for a gas-liquid interface the amount of the gas that dissolves in the liquid is proportional to its partial pressure.  So Henry’s law helps to predict how much gas will be dissolved in the liquid.  The actual amount also depends on the solubility of the gas as well as its partial pressure. Dalton’s Law-John Dalton observed that the total pressure of a gas mixture was the sum of the pressures of each of the gases if they were to exist on their own.

How does hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) work?

Hyperbaria - Increased atmospheric pressure as a means of increasing
oxygen uptake without an enriched oxygen source
Hyperoxia - Increased total oxygen content

Hyperbaria is based on the concept of the relationship of gas pressure and uptake in liquids (blood, plasma and tissues).  Henry’s Law states that “a gas is dissolved by a liquid in direct proportion to its partial pressure.”  For example, at sea level, atmospheric pressure is 760 mm Hg, the oxygen concentration is 21% and the body’s oxygen content or partial pressure, pO2, in blood and plasma is ~ 40 mm Hg.

Red blood cells have a limitation as to how much oxygen can bind with hemoglobin.  The plasma portion of the blood typically has about a 3% oxygen concentration.

By placing someone in a 3 psi pressure hyperbaric environment, the increase in atmospheric pressure at sea level goes from 760 mm Hg to 915 mm Hg.  This increase in gas pressure, increases the partial pressure of the oxygen gas and thus forces more oxygen to be dissolved in the plasma.  This saturation of oxygen in the blood, due to the Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy or HBOT, allows the extra oxygen to be diffused or transported to the surrounding body tissues.  Thus, oxygen transport by plasma is significantly increased under hyperbaric therapy (HBOT).  At three atmospheres pressure, enough oxygen can be dissolved in the plasma to support the oxygen demands of the body at rest in the absence of hemoglobin!

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) is designed to boost the supply of oxygen to ischemic tissue or to diseased tissues that respond to increased oxygen levels.  Increasing the volume of oxygen dissolved in the blood plasma, that is brought about by hyperbaric therapy (HBOT), produces five basic effects:

• Reduction of volume of gas bubbles in the blood
• Vasoconstriction, which reduces edema and secondary hypoxia 
• Restoration of aerobic metabolism to ischemic tissue 
• Detoxification of poisoned tissues 
• Enhanced phagocytosis

Henry’s Law- Henry’s law states that for a gas-liquid interface the amount of the gas that dissolves in the liquid is proportional to its partial pressure.  So Henry’s law helps to predict how much gas will be dissolved in the liquid.  The actual amount also depends on the solubility of the gas as well as its partial pressure.

Dalton’s Law-John Dalton observed that the total pressure of a gas mixture was the sum of the pressures of each of the gases if they were to exist on their own.