Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Articles

Glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness for people over 60, is characterized by increasing pressure within the eye. The most common type of glaucoma (open-angle glaucoma) often has no symptoms other than slow vision loss. Over time the increased pressure in the eye damages the optic nerve, eventually resulting in blindness. Medication has limited value in treating most glaucoma, slowing vision loss but not restoring it. Mild HBOT may offer a safe alternative to address glaucoma. More research needs to be done, but studies have demonstrated both reduced intra-ocular pressure and improved visual field values following 20 sessions of HBOT. In addition, there appears to be a relationship between stress and glaucoma, and HBOT can be helpful in addressing autonomic nervous system imbalance and vascular dysregulation. The treatment pressures we use at Hyperbaric Vermont and it’s affiliates are below the threshold for retinopathy, oxygen toxicity and other risks of high pressure HBOT, and may be a good alternative for those suffering from this disease.

January is Glaucoma Awareness Month

Dr. Grace Johnstone and Dr. Seth Osgood at an affiliate training
Hyperbaric Vermont Furthers Mission to Make Life-Changing Treatment Accessible by Welcoming New Affiliate Montpelier and South Burlington, VT (June 11, 2021) Hyperbaric Vermont is pleased to welcome Grassroots Functional Medicine to its Affiliated Provider Network. This new partnership will extend access to affordable hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) to the Upper Valley.    The Hyperbaric Vermont Provider training offers physician and staff training to both Affiliated and independent providers who wish to make affordable HBOT available to their patients. Dr. Seth Osgood, Liz Mitchell, NP and staff member Christine Constantine completed the training.  Grassroots Functional Medicine joins Hyperbaric Vermont affiliates Community Hyperbaric in East Hardwick, Blue Skies Hyperbaric in Middlebury, and Gentle Hyperbaric in Brattleboro.   Located in West Lebanon, NH, Dr. Seth Osgood founded Grassroots Functional Medicine after struggling for years with chronic health problems that traditional medicine and pharmaceuticals could not resolve. He finally found relief and true healing with a functional medicine approach. Since then he has been helping patients around the world transform their health by getting to the root cause of the symptoms and restoring the body’s natural ability to heal.    Dr. Osgood commented, “I am excited to be adding a new tool to our […]

GrassRoots Functional Medicine joins as new Affiliated Provider

Not All Wounds are Visible… As Memorial Day ushers in summer, it’s also a time of remembrance for those who’ve fought to protect our country, and those who’ve fallen doing so. While the focus of Memorial day is on those that have died in the service of our country it is hard to forget that there are many veterans and service personnel living everyday with the trauma of war. June is PTSD awareness month and is a condition becoming more common amongst servicemen and women that can be debilitating as they attempt to reintegrate into life after their service. HBOT is an incredibly effective treatment for PTSD, as these studies show 30-90% of symptoms improved in participants: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22026588/ https://hbot.com/u-s-veteran-piot-trial-hbot-in-tbi-ptsd-preliminary-data-lsu-irb-7051/ The physicians and researchers showed that with 4 weeks of treatment using a low dose of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, a treatment used for nearly 100 years in divers and 50 years for wounds, they were able to treat these wounds in the brains of injured U.S. servicemen. Specifically, the veterans achieved improvements in memory, concentration, executive function, and quality of life, and a reduction in headaches, concussion symptoms, depression, and anxiety…Surprisingly, the veterans showed a 30% reduction in PTSD symptoms. While […]

Not All Wounds Are Visible

Hyperbaric VT hires Aly McHugh
Hyperbaric Vermont Hires New Staff Member and Furthers Mission to Make Life-Changing Treatment Accessible Montpelier and South Burlington, VT (June 5, 2021) – Hyperbaric Vermont is pleased to announce that Alyson Lincoln McHugh (Aly) has joined the growing nonprofit as the new Outreach and Marketing Coordinator. This is a new position created within the nonprofit as a part of it’s strategic growth plan.  Founder and president Dr. Grace Johnstone says, “Aly has a great entrepreneurial spirit, strong communication skills, and has a proven track record of successful marketing through all media platforms. We are very happy to have Aly join the Hyperbaric Vermont team. We will more easily be able to spread the word about our patient care and provider training programs and create a larger positive impact in our community.”     For over 16 years, Aly owned and operated No. 9 Boutique and The Alley Antique store in Montpelier, VT. As COVID arrived in early 2020, Aly decided it would be best to close her long standing retail stores which happened in August of 2020. Aly was offered a position as the Communications and Development Assistant at Central Vermont Council on Aging (CVCOA) which she works part time as […]

Hyperbaric Vermont Hires New Staff Member, Aly McHugh

aphasia HBOT
June recognizes Aphasia awareness, an impairment of language, affecting the production or comprehension of speech and the ability to read and write. Aphasia is often caused by a stroke, traumatic brain injury, or infections the affect the brain, like Lyme disease. 2 million people in America have aphasia. Aphasia can be treated with HBOT, just like a brain injury, by decreasing inflammation and reviving brain tissue.  Hyperbaric oxygen therapy floods blood plasma, lymph fluids and cerebrospinal fluid (the clear, watery fluid that fills the brain and spine) with pure oxygen at higher than normal atmospheric pressures and helps thus reducing brain swelling and tissue inflammation. Dormant cells become reactivated and new capillaries begin to form over successive treatments. If you are unfamiliar with this condition here is a great video “What is Aphasia” made by Aphaisa.org Hyperbaric Vermont treats many patients with the root causes of aphasia: stroke, traumatic brain injury, lyme disease. You can read some of our patient’s testimonials here. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy can safely and effectively treat these conditions. If you are interested in reading more on HBOT and these conditions visit our Research and Resources page. #TalkAboutAphasia

Aphasia Awareness and treating with HBOT

june is alzheimer's awareness month with hbot
For this blog post we are spreading Alzheimer’s and Dementia Awareness which is a national focus in the month of June because it affects 50 million people worldwide. Alzheimer’s and Dementia can cause problems with short term memory, and affect aspects of daily life like keeping track of your wallet, remembering how to get home, paying bills and planning and preparing meals. Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease, and can be life-threatening. Alzheimer’s disease and dementia still do not have a confirmed medical cause.  We do know that plaques form in the brain, and neurons become entangled, but the word is still out on why this occurs. For Alzheimer’s and dementia patients, HBOT helps to reduce brain inflammation, regrow damaged tissue, and restore blood flow to previously lacking areas.   Dementia describes a group of symptoms associated with a decline in memory, reasoning or other thinking skills. Many different types of dementia exist, and many conditions cause it.  Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia, accounting for 60-80% of dementia cases. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is used successfully as a treatment for both of these conditions. An article in Science Daily reports some interesting research findings:  “After 40 treatments, she reported increased memory and […]

Treating Alzheimer’s with HBOT

Dr. Grace Johnstone sits down with Dr. Suzy Harris of Cedar Wood Natural Health Center to talk about the many ways Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapies are being used to help people with chronic issues of inflammation, pain, Lyme and tick borne Illnesses, head injury, stroke recovery and immune system boosting. Listen to their conversation on the Next Seven Podcast here.   .

Podcast – Dr. Grace Johnstone and HBOT

In addition to being a potent virucidal, HBOT is a good treatment option for Covid patients, and here’s why: Covid-19 creates inflammation in the lung itself, preventing O2 from reaching the bloodstream and resulting in organ hypoxia and, in some cases, organ failure. Mechanical ventilation forces air/oxygen into the lungs, but it is not particularly effective at forcing O2 into the bloodstream. Mechanical ventilation is marginal at resolving the hypoxia it seeks to treat and forced ventilation causes further stress to the lungs. The mortality rate among ventilated patients is 50%. The increased pressure that a hyperbaric oxygen chamber produces oxygenates the fluid of the body directly, without relying on the blood supply. This relieves organ hypoxia much more quickly without stressing lung tissue. And, because high levels of O2 are a potent anti-inflammatory, HBOT also addresses the inflammation in the lungs themselves, which is what is preventing oxygen from reaching the bloodstream in the first place. Dr. Paul Harch notes that in addition to lowering the mortality rate, HBOT averts mechanical ventilation of patients and shortens hospital stays. https://youtu.be/V96E6O7I9Es The other issues that are of concern with Covid-19 are the ensuing cytokine storm, and issues with coagulation in the […]

Will oxygen therapy help you if you had covid-19?