Hyperbaric oxygen therapy as a Lyme disease treatment
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CAUSES AND SYMPTOMS OF LYME DISEASE
Lyme disease is a multi-systemic zoonotic disease, caused by gram-negative bacteria of the Borrelia type.
Human being is infected by bacteria spread by ticks of the Ixodes type. After being bitten by a tick, bacteria enter the skin, and, while spreading in tissues, they cause initial erythema migrans rash, characteristic for the infection.
After a few days or weeks, bacteria enter such organs as joints, nervous system or heart, by means of blood or lymph.
The first symptoms of disease are frequently fever, shivering and sweating. After a few months the other symptoms, such as joint aches, neck stiffness and vomiting, might occur.
Appropriate treatment, quickly initiated by doctors specializing in tropical diseases or infectious diseases, guarantees recovering in the case of a high level of medical cases. The aim of the therapy is to eliminate all the bacteria responsible for the disease. Unfortunately, in the case of even 20% infected patients Lyme disease changes into a chronic form, which is more difficult to treat. In such situations HYPERBARIC OXYGEN THERAPY might be helpful.
2. WHY IS HYPERBARIC OXYGEN THERAPY SO EFFECTIVE IN TREATMENT OF LYME DISEASE?
- Borrelia, as anaerobes, cannot function in the oxygen environment. Therefore, a high level of oxygen in the conditions of hyperbaric oxygen therapy has the lethal effect on these bacteria.
- Moreover, therapy in the hyperbaric chamber leads to reduction of inflammation, relieving of the pain and infection symptoms.
- What contributes to elimination of bacteria is also stimulation of immunological system
- Oxygen supplied under pressure has an unlimited access to all the cells, which is much better than in the case of antibiotics
- Hyperbaric oxygen therapy significantly increases transport of antibiotic, dependent on the supply of oxygen, to the target.
3. HOW DOES TREATMETS OF LYME DISEASE IN HYPERBARIC CHAMBER LOOK LIKE?
Step 1.
Consultation of hyperbaric medicine specialist – not every patient can be qualified for hyperbaric therapy!!! – Our experienced specialists, after consulting a medical practitioner specializing in therapy of Lyme disease, careful collecting of medical history, and medical examination, will decide how many and what treatments you need.
Step 2.
Individual treatment programme by means of hyperbaric oxygen treatment, dedicated for your disease. You’ll get the individual programme, which will include: a number and frequency of treatments (compressions), pressure which is adjusted to your health condition and tick-borne diseases medical specialist’s orders, if you’re not yet ready for hyperbaric chamber.
Step 3.
Before entering the chamber, the doctor will examine you once again, and the nurse will measure your blood pressure. You’ll get special clothes and your own disposable oxygen mask.
Step 4.
Compressions – in therapeutic shared hyperbaric chamber recommended by National Health Fund, besides patients there will be the Attendant (doctor, nurse, paramedic), who will supervise you. That person will answer all your questions, will support you during the whole therapy. He/She will notice even the smallest deviations from the norm and will professionally react.
Compression lasts for 1.5 hours. The pressure in the chamber increases slowly and is also slowly decreased. You’ll inhale 100% oxygen.
Outside the chamber the chamber operator and the doctor will take care of your safety, and they will observe you on the monitors and will be in phone contact with the Attendant.
PLEASE NOTE!
During the treatment patients frequently experience effects of Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction. This phenomenon occurs when the disease comes back or even gets worse. These symptoms usually disappear after a short time. The Herxheimer reaction is regarded as confirmation of positive answer to treatment, since it is caused by toxins produced by killed bacteria.
Step 5.
The end of a cycle of compressions. After you get out of the chamber and after you finish the cycle of compressions you’ll be examined by hyperbaric medicine specialist.
STEP 6.
Do not forget to sign the book of patients cured!!!
If our team comes up to your expectation – we hope you’ll write a few words of praise – We work with passion for these words and for your smile.
STEP 7.
Whenever you miss us, you can come back to our Centre in order to lift the spirits of other patients and take advantage of the benefits of oxygen, this time just improving your physical and mental condition, and strengthening the effects of treatment.
4. IS TREATMENT OF LYME DISEASE IN HYPERBARIC CHAMBER A WELL-KNOWN MEDICAL THERAPY METHOD?
The first reports about effectiveness of hyperbaric oxygen treatment in therapy of Lyme disease have been published in 1998 by Wiliam Fife, MD, who’s regarded as the author of this method of Lyme disease treatment. In the study described by him 85% of patients exposed to hyperbaric oxygen treatment experienced a significant improval, and subsiding of pain and fatigue.
Another medical practitioner who successfully used hyperbaric oxygen therapy in treatment of Lyme disease was R. A. Neubauer.
Mitchel L. Hoggard, a pharmacist, gave an account of therapy in the hyperbaric chamber used for his 14-year-old son, Ted, who recovered from Lyme disease after that treatment.
Another advocate of treating Lyme disease by means of hyperbaric oxygen therapy is L. James Johnson, chairperson and founder of Chico Hyperbaric Center
Effectiveness of Lyme disease therapy in the hyperbaric chamber has also been confirmed and described by other scientists, among others, in 2014, Chien-Yu Huang, a physician from the Chest Medicine Clinic in Taipei, Taiwan, who published his work in Journal of The Chinese Medical Association – a prestigious medical journal.
KP Stoller, MD, in his reports on the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for Lyme disease in 2016 wrote that it is the best and the most effective, noninvasive method of killing anaerobes of the Borrelia type.
Nowadays this therapy is successfully used by the leading centres of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the whole world, among others Neverly Hills Hyperbaric Center USA, Los Angeles Hyperbaric Oxygen Center, Hyperbaic Healing Institute, BaroMedical Hyperbaric Oxygen Clinic, Burnaby BC, Canada, OXYMED, Australia, OXIGENA Madrid.
Some of them are partners of
HYPERBARIC RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTRE IN LUBLIN.
Prof. Agnieszka Pedrycz-Wieczorska, PhD, MD
Małgorzata Skiba, MD