Anti-aging - Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

[brad hays]

Although pressurized oxygen chambers have been around for decades apparently the first anti-aging study using them has just been published and the results are amazing to say the least. What's now known is that this kind of oxygen therapy elongates what are known as your cell's telomeres, the shortening of which are directly related to, and may possibly be the cause of aging. To make a long story short, influencing telomere length is THE holy grail of anti-aging research.

So what's involved in a treatment session is getting yourself into a pressurized vessel not unlike a large propane tank. 100% oxygen is pumped in until 2.5 - 3 atmospheres is reached. Depending on what condition the therapy is prescribed for these sessions can last anywhere from 20 min to 2 hours. The benefits of pressurized oxygen have been long established and are far too long to list, from wounds that won't heal to stroke and pre-stroke victims.

The problem is that, although this therapy is technically fairly simple, it remains extremely expensive and can only be had through a doctor's prescription. Until this research was published a few months ago it wasn't known just how beneficial this therapy could be to the average person and has been reserved for patients with debilitating conditions. So my question is, how do I make one of these things happen?

Here's an example of a homemade version I think is very doable...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKz72FJ2NH
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKz72FJ2NHI)
So what are your all's ideas on making one of these? Where would you go to find a chamber like that for starting material?

[Bill Dufour]

I think Michael Jackson had one. Didn't it catch him on fire? His voice sounded more like Helium to me. Pure oxygen is an ozidizer, duh. so nothing organic like wood, cloth oil, lotion etc. Every oxygen pressure gauge says "use no oil". Ever asked yourself why?
Bill D.

[Rob Damon]

Old enough to remember the Apollo 1 astronauts in the 100% oxygen capsule on the launch pad with highly professional people running the operation. Don't think so for me.

[Joe Bradshaw]

Do not try this at home. I spent 13 years as a navy diver and we used 100% oxygen in some decompression tables. The use was carefully monitored.
Joe

[Ed Aumiller]

How about a link to the report ???

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I would want to know (a) who conducted the study, (b) under what conditions and/or restrictions was the study conducted, (c) who paid for the study, and (d) for what length of time was the study performed?

There are new "studies" released regularly with fantastic results only to be shown to have some false claims a short time later.

[Tony Zona]

Now there's an example of a completely irresponsible YouTube video.

There is more than one pressure release on the tank, but, in essence, the door locks from the outside, and when you're in there on your own I would say you're hosed if something goes wrong.

How would emergency responders even get you out if they have to push the door in and you're unconscious body is blocking it?

In an emergency how would anybody near you know how to handle the bends from rapid decompression. That is all beyond me. Most everything I know about the bends is contained in this paragraph. I recognize my ignorance and decline to use a home built chamber run by dangerous amateur operators.

Just because we can build something doesn't mean we should, or that we should use it.

Those kind of videos seem to attract those of us who are less than discerning. I rolled though the comments pretty quickly just to take a look, and I found one from a person who wants to use it for his or her plants. Now there's an example of a genius attracted to this sort of irresponsible video. Think about it. Plants. They live on carbon dioxide, and would suffocate in oxygen.

I've wasted too much time with this silliness.

Listen right here to Joe Bradshaw, a couple posts up. He has quite a bit of experience along these lines. And he said it with far fewer words than I did.

In fact, I would not be displeased if this entire thread were deleted. It would protect us from the complete ignorance advanced in an extremely dangerous operation.

Wow, is all I can say. Just wow.

[Mike Soaper]

I've known several hyperbaric nurses and docs at a multiplace chamber. During a "dive" there were typically 1-2 hyperbaric trained nurses in the camber, a hyperbaric trained physician on site, and a trained hyperbaric chamber operator.

You just don't open a valve to depressurize/get out, you need to do it according to a "decompression table"/schedule like Joe said

Way too many places to screw up big time on the diy learning curve, This is not a diy project.

[Zachary Hoyt]

It seems that sudden death might be the outcome of trying this at home, but death is the best way to prevent aging, though it has other undesirable concomitants.

[Kev Williams]

home-made hyperbaric chamber...sounds kinda like filling balloons with acetylene-- it'll make them float, but probably not a great idea...

[brad hays]

Yes I agree with everyone this kind of project probably crosses the limit of what should be done in a non-professional environment. If this study's results are repeatable though, the payoff would be extraordinary. Here's the original...

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33206062/

[Tony Joyce]

https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/hyperbaric-oxygen-therapy/about/pac-20394380

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/treatment-tests-and-therapies/hyperbaric-oxygen-therapy

[Malcolm Schweizer]

This is a great idea. Totally safe. Nothing really bad is going to happen.

sarcasm
sarcasm
sarcasm

One failed hose or valve and you have rapid decompression. Also one spark and “boom”. Up in smoke. The guy is using the cheapest air hose Home Depot sells. I don’t even trust my spray gun with that hose. I’m certainly not going to trust my life.

[Malcolm McLeod]

This is a great idea. Totally safe. Nothing really bad is going to happen.

sarcasm
sarcasm
sarcasm

One failed hose or valve and you have rapid decompression. Also one spark and “boom”. Up in smoke. The guy is using the cheapest air hose Home Depot sells. I don’t even trust my spray gun with that hose. I’m certainly not going to trust my life.

WHAT?! No tolerance for risk?! Come ON! This could add 3 to 5 minutes to 1 person's lifespan. Who cares if 20 lives end 3 to 5 yrs prematurely. Stretching the frontiers of DIY science is worth it. Right?:confused:

(There's a Darwin Award lurking in this thread.)

[Frank Pratt]

Yes I agree with everyone this kind of project probably crosses the limit of what should be done in a non-professional environment. If this study's results are repeatable though, the payoff would be extraordinary. Here's the original...

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33206062/

That's a huge stretch from what this report says to the hyperbole in your opening post.

[Bill Dufour]

I have to wonder what happens if you stop the treatment. Are you like a fast growing hothouse flower. Take it out of the hothouse and watch it bloom and die fast.
Do those increases last or do the wither and die from lack of increased O2 levels if the treatment is stopped. I would think other tissues would age more rapidly like maybe brain cells or the fingers used to extract the wallet.
Bill D.

[Frederick Skelly]

... regardless of the "benefits". This is not something you want Billy Bob to cobble together in his garage. If you do this at home you are asking for a Darwin Award. As others have already stated, there are too many dangers lurking in what you are suggesting.

(I find myself wondering if the OP already knows that and posted it just to get a rise out of us.)

[Ken Fitzgerald]

https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/hyperbaric-oxygen-therapy/about/pac-20394380

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/treatment-tests-and-therapies/hyperbaric-oxygen-therapy

Regarding the Mayo Clinic link, check out the Risks section. Regarding the John Hopkins link, check out the Precautions sections. I'd suggest while there may be some benefits after reading both sources, this isn't a recommended DIY project!

[Jim Matthews]

This is snake oil, wrapped in wax paper, next to an open box of matches in a sandpaper factory.

Take a walk, watch your salt intake, yadda-yadda.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

A little video to watch before ever trying this:

https://youtu.be/vP01rZDQaB4

[Frank Pratt]

This is snake oil, wrapped in wax paper, next to an open box of matches in a sandpaper factory.

Take a walk, watch your salt intake, yadda-yadda.

Actually, the report on the study doesn't indicate any snake oil-ishness. It states that there MAY be effects on certain cells, but make no claims at all about anti-aging. It's when people who don't know any better latch onto something like this & make unfounded, extravagant claims about it that it becomes snake oil.

[Jim Matthews]

Actually, the report on the study doesn't indicate any snake oil-ishness. It states that there MAY be effects on certain cells, but make no claims at all about anti-aging. It's when people who don't know any better latch onto something like this & make unfounded, extravagant claims about it that it becomes snake oil.

The OP makes precisely this leap.

Don't give the innumerate an inch, they'll try to drive through in a Cadillac.

[Robert Engel]

Oxygen is an oxidant, isn't it?

Free radical scavenging using anti oxidants are beneficial.

Goji & acai berries are very high down to blueberries and strawberries.

[Frank Pratt]

The OP makes precisely this leap.

Don't give the innumerate an inch, they'll try to drive through in a Cadillac.

He certainly does, and with gusto.

[Bill Dufour]

Gas welders out there know that acetylene is only used to keep a flame alive. Once the metal is hot pure oxygen is all that is needed to cut through steel.
Bill D.

[Curt Harms]

Some professional athletes use hyperbaric chambers to supposedly speed healing. Terrell Owens in 2004 was an example. Does it work? I have no idea.

[Doug Garson]

Some professional athletes use hyperbaric chambers to supposedly speed healing. Terrell Owens in 2004 was an example. Does it work? I have no idea.
My guess is it wasn't a home made chamber in their uncle's garage. :cool:

[Alex Zeller]

Just like too little oxygen too much is dangerous too. Unless you know what you are doing and can monitor your O2 level in your blood you risk doing more damage than good. There's a reason why a specialist who examines your body determines the level of O2 that is needed. Get it wrong and you either will not accomplish anything or worse you'll kill yourself.

[Paul Brinkmeyer]

Now I know I am going to get beat up by this,.
What the video says and what is there are not the same. He is pressurizing with air compressor, and oxygen is going to the mask.
I have a chamber at home, bought under Dr. orders. It is the low pressure system. They have found for many medical issues the low pressure works almost as good as the high pressure systems. Most systems now pressurize with air and only have oxygen thru a mask. Even the ones at large facilities. They are fed fresh air while venting air at the same time, so no buildup of oxygen or carbon monoxide. They are so safe you can take your phone, medical equipment, some even have TV’s in them. The Dr we worked with is on the list approved for divers and the bends. Holds 8 people. Mostly treats injuries and military coming home with injuries. Talking to some of them...Yes it works.
Does it work for us, My SO was injured and left in pain and confined to the bed. We visited many Dr’s., Specialists, and the Mayo Clinic & Hospital, without any relief. The only thing is she was left bedridden in so much pain, pain meds could not control.
My SO found anther person online, but local, with a similar story who was just going back to work!!
We contacted her and went to meet her and see what she did. There is also a very low pressure hyperbaric oxygen therapy referred to as mild hyperbarics or mHBOT. Well my SO went from 100% in bed with severe pain to having her life back in a little over a year and no pain meds. I know many more success stories and some failures. Not for everyone, but most things are not for everyone.

[Bill Dufour]

A sure cure for aging is to die. Maybe if your O2 chamber catches on fire?
Bill D.

[Frederick Skelly]

Now I know I am going to get beat up by this,.
What the video says and what is there are not the same. He is pressurizing with air compressor, and oxygen is going to the mask.
I have a chamber at home, bought under Dr. orders. It is the low pressure system. They have found for many medical issues the low pressure works almost as good as the high pressure systems. Most systems now pressurize with air and only have oxygen thru a mask. Even the ones at large facilities. They are fed fresh air while venting air at the same time, so no buildup of oxygen or carbon monoxide. They are so safe you can take your phone, medical equipment, some even have TV’s in them. The Dr we worked with is on the list approved for divers and the bends. Holds 8 people. Mostly treats injuries and military coming home with injuries. Talking to some of them...Yes it works.
Does it work for us, My SO was injured and left in pain and confined to the bed. We visited many Dr’s., Specialists, and the Mayo Clinic & Hospital, without any relief. The only thing is she was left bedridden in so much pain, pain meds could not control.
My SO found anther person online, but local, with a similar story who was just going back to work!!
We contacted her and went to meet her and see what she did. There is also a very low pressure hyperbaric oxygen therapy referred to as mild hyperbarics or mHBOT. Well my SO went from 100% in bed with severe pain to having her life back in a little over a year and no pain meds. I know many more success stories and some failures. Not for everyone, but most things are not for everyone.

What a great success story! Glad to hear it!

The OP's post suggests that he might want to home-build a high pressure system. That's a different beast than yours. I sure hope he changes his mind.

[Frank Pratt]

I don't think anyone here is arguing that hyperbaric oxygen treatments have no value. It's long been established that it works for a number of things. It just has to be done right.

[Curt Harms]

My guess is it wasn't a home made chamber in their uncle's garage. :cool:

:D Probably not.

[brad hays]

Thanks again for the continued advice everyone. I joined some welding boards and asked around there and I've learned how specifically doing something like this is out of anyone's league who isn't specifically trained for these things. One guy did a calculation of the force that would be exerted on the door and came up with 177,000 lbs. So yeah my conclusion is although the therapy can be great for certain injuries it's out of the realm of what a normal mortal can accomplish. Appreciate the good guidance.