You learn something new every day. I, for one, have just found out about the existence of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Melbourne readers, have you ever heard of such a thing? My encounter came about while I was randomly googling and stumbled upon some pictures of people in strange, tubular chambers wearing hospital gowns and masks. I got a little freaked out.
To allay my concerns, I started reading about these chambers. Turns out that they’re designed around a well-established therapeutic treatment for decompression sickness, a side effect of scuba diving. The treatment involves spending time in a chamber in which the air pressure is three times that of normal air. Apparently, this enables the lungs to take in more oxygen, and this can have benefits for a whole bunch of different conditions, from diabetic wounds and infections to chronic fatigue and migraines.
I’m fortunate to have not had to deal with any of these conditions myself, but have a strong awareness of how much they must suck. I know plenty of people who live with severe and recurring health problems, and can see how some of these could potentially be linked to oxygen intake. I wonder if it’s even possible to have hyperbaric treatment in Melbourne? From what I can tell, there are portable versions starting to enter the market for home use. These look like an accessible way of getting the treatment in an ongoing capacity – and way less expensive.
Now I’m wondering whether I should share this information with people I know who might benefit from it. On one hand, I imagine that it would be pretty exciting to learn about a treatment like this, especially if you thought you’d tried everything and were at the end of your tether. On the other, I can just as easily imagine that you’d pretty quickly get over friends telling you about the latest cure-all remedy they’ve heard about. I think I’ll keep reading up for now, and pass it on when I’ve gotten my head on top of it.