A portable hyperbaric chamber is a vital tool for any medical professional who works with patients who are critically injured, suffering from hypoxic conditions, or recovering from serious surgery. These chambers are used to infuse air into damaged body tissue, speeding up internal processes and allowing faster healing. Whether you are working with someone in these circumstances, or you are a first-time user of one, understanding the cost of a hyperbaric chamber can help to make the decision to buy one more well-informed.
While it may be tempting to think that using a portable hyperbaric chamber will lead to an increase in long-term comfort and health, the fact of the matter is that this is not the case. While they do improve the quality of life for their users, there is no real boost in overall healing. These chambers provide short-term, immediate increases in tissue healing, as well as increasing the oxygenation of the air surrounding the individual. There is no boost in healing beyond that which is provided by normal, fresh air.
While some professionals in certain sports can see both the advantages of these chambers and the costs of their use, many athletes cannot. Many athletes find that they have to quit their current practice in order to pursue an Olympic gold medal, because they cannot compete while using these therapy products. Of course, the competition involved in such sports means that the athletes are doing this in order to beat their opponents, not simply to increase their chances of winning. But if the athlete were not getting the high levels of healing provided by these chambers, then the athlete would not be able to train as much as he or she could. Therefore, while it can be argued that athletes can benefit from this type of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, it should also be noted that there are many who object strongly to the use of this type of therapy for various reasons.
One major reason why many athletes object to the idea of buying a portable hyperbaric chamber is safety. Some people fear that these chambers could cause an increase in cancerous growths and other life-threatening ailments. Indeed, the FDA has received reports of tumors being growth-hatched in medical test subjects exposed to oxygen at very high levels. So, while there may be some correlation between the use of these chambers and increased risk of tumors, the evidence is very unclear.
Another worry is the fear that these chambers could cause the body's temperature to rise rather than the cold temperature that is felt during strenuous exercise. The chambers can reach temperatures of up to 400 degrees, but this is still below the boiling point of water, so most people feel no change in temperature at all. The chambers can also be used to reduce pain and discomfort, but the pressure of the pressurized air itself can cause aches and pains similar to those that would be felt if you were in an extremely high altitude. These concerns are largely unfounded, and if there is any discomfort at all associated with the use of a portable hyperbaric chamber, it is probably because of the conditions in which it was used - a situation which could be remedied by using a slightly higher altitude chamber.
Concerns about the environmental impact of these chambers have also been raised. While most portable hyperbaric chambers come with special black acrylic covers to protect the user from the effects of exposure to barium dioxide, they are made out of plastic and thus lose this protection when not in use. As the plastic can absorb moisture, mold, and bacteria, portable hyperbaric chambers that come with plastic covers should not be taken out of the water for prolonged periods of time. Also, the pressure of the air within the chambers themselves can cause some changes in the structure of the soil surrounding the chambers. This can greatly affect the growth of various microorganisms and can result in contamination of drinking water supplies.
Concerns about the cost of implementing the use of these chambers as opposed to other, more traditional forms of hyperbaric oxygen therapy have also been raised. Portable hyperbaric chambers are generally between two hundred and three hundred dollars. Even though they are much less expensive than the kind of full-body unit that would be used for extended periods of time, they still represent a significant expense relative to other alternative forms of treatment. For people who are planning on making several daily trips to the gym or who already spend a lot of money on commercial gym equipment and memberships, the investment in portable hyperbaric chambers is not such a big one.
Even so, the relative ease with which portable hyperbaric chambers can be used makes them very well worth the cost. Compared to various kinds of medical equipment and other forms of therapies, portable hyperbaric chambers provide a high level of overall healing that is simply not possible with many other types of treatments. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is also more gentle on the body, leaving less to do than just removing the dust and dirt from a patient's eyes. This means that the recovery time for a person who has undergone this treatment is significantly shorter than those who have opted for other forms of therapy, even though the treatment takes longer.
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