Oxygen - of all the things we put in our bodies, it is by far the most important. If it weren't for oxygen, we'd cease to exist. It's definitely a good thing, then, that we can find oxygen all around us. Oxygen fuels our cells and gives our bodies the basic building blocks we need to survive. It helps us heal, and when we're stressed, taking a few deep breaths can help us calm down. But did you know the oxygen you're breathing right now is only about 21% pure?
That begs the question: What if we could breathe air that has 100% pure oxygen? As it turns out, Better Life Carolinas provides exactly that with our hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). And while the name sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, the technology and benefits are real.
A wise person once said that oxygen under pressure equates to pure health. In some ways, that explains hyperbaric oxygen therapy in a nutshell. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) or hyperbaric chamber therapy is a revolutionary treatment where a patient relaxes in a comfortable chamber filled with 100% pure oxygen.
HBOT was initially used early in the 1900s and was later used in the U.S. to treat decompression sickness, which affects scuba divers. Today, hyperbaric chamber therapy is used by people from all walks of life, from businesspeople and athletes to blue-collar workers and stay-at-home moms.
During HBOT, the air pressure in the hyperbaric chamber is ramped up two or three times higher than typical air pressure. This increased pressure allows your body and lungs to absorb and gather higher amounts of pure oxygen - much more than you would be able to inhale, even if you were breathing pure oxygen.
If you're looking for an effective, efficient alternative to invasive procedures or heavy pharmaceutical medications, using a hyperbaric chamber in Seabrook Island, SC is worth considering. Over the last few years, HBOT has exploded in popularity. More and more people are choosing to use hyperbaric chambers for certain conditions and ailments because they don't require surgery and have no serious side effects.
During hyperbaric therapy treatment, air pressure in the chamber is ramped up so that it is many times higher than ambient air. This increased pressure compresses the breathable oxygen inside the hyperbaric chamber, which you breathe into your body by way of your lungs and skin. The air is then circulated throughout your body via your own bloodstream.
When this pure oxygen is distributed in your body, it saturates your organs, tissues, blood, and spinal cord fluid. It even settles into areas of your body where circulation may be poor or blocked. Like powerful jumper cables, this potent oxygen jump-starts your body's cellular regeneration processes, significantly decreasing harmful inflammation.
This increase in pure oxygen and decrease in inflammation is used to treat many different types of conditions and illnesses, including:
When it comes to common uses for hyperbaric chambers, treatment for sports-related injuries is near the top of the list. Trusted by athletes of all persuasions across multiple sports, hyperbaric chamber therapy has helped countless men and women recover from common issues like fractures, sprains, and compartment syndrome. In fact, studies show that hyperbaric therapy for athletes may work just as effectively as traditional therapy when used as part of a recovery program to achieve the highest healing potential.
That's because competition, training, and recovery go hand in hand. To help with the rigors of high-level sports, HBOT oxygenates muscles, boosts immune systems, and speeds up recovery time for injuries. HBOT cuts down on recovery time by boosting your body's self-healing processes. That, in turn, promotes cell regeneration, which helps encourage tissues and muscles to mend organically, lessening scarring.
When a person has a stroke, blood flow to their brain is disrupted, most often by a major artery blockage. This causes a lack of blood flow, which manifests very quickly, and results in dead brain tissue or hypoxia. When untreated, the blocked artery causes a litany of damage which usually gets worse over time.
While it's impossible to say how much salvageable tissue is lost in the time after a stroke, hyperbaric chamber therapy may help boost cell reproduction and provide oxygen to tissue that died due to lack of blood flow. The non-functioning cells around the damaged tissue area cause much of a person's post-stroke issues. If HBOT can help bring life back to dead cells, the stroke victim could regain lost functionality.
Over the years, many studies have shown promising results when patients use hyperbaric chambers for stroke recovery. In fact, a study conducted in 2013 by Tel Aviv University's Dr. Shai Efrati showed without a doubt that high oxygen levels can awaken dormant neurons. After a two-month period of HBOT for two hours a day, five times a week, brain imaging showed a significant increase in neuronal activity in patients compared to periods of non-treatment.
Patients in this study reported better sensation, less paralysis, and more ability to speak.
Hyperbaric chamber therapy has been used for years by skincare clinicians to supplement common procedures. The results are often stunning and have been shown to help patients with the following:
But how does a hyperbaric chamber in Seabrook Island, SC kick-start skin rejuvenation? When oxygen levels in your body drop as you age, your body's healing ability slowly declines, resulting in less tissue function, damaged tissue, cracked skin, slow-healing wounds, and wrinkles.
The pressurized oxygen used in HBOT sessions can reach tissue at the cellular level to improve stem-cell growth, immune system defenses, and circulation while reducing inflammation. This process can have a powerful detoxification effect on your body. When toxins are removed, skin blemishes and discolorations are often removed, too, leaving your skin healthy and rejuvenated.
They say that without pain, there is no gain, and that's typically true with plastic surgery and other cosmetic procedures. However, studies show that HBOT can help alleviate pain and boost recovery after plastic surgeries.
With normal levels of oxygen in the body, plastic surgery healing times can be lengthy and painful. Because hyperbaric chamber treatments expose your body to pure oxygen, recovery time is often reduced, and the healing process is accelerated - by as much as 75% in some instances.
The benefits of hyperbaric chamber therapy, when used for plastic surgery recovery, are numerous and include:
A few plastic surgery procedures that HBOT can help with include facelifts, liposuction, mommy makeovers, breast augmentations, and even rhinoplasties.
It's hard to fathom how much pain and PTSD a person goes through when they suffer from a traumatic brain injury. Serious head injuries don't just affect the recipient of the injury - they impact the patient's family, friends, and co-workers. Being able to treat people with serious concussions, TBIs, and other life-changing conditions like strokes is one of the main reasons we do what we do at Better Life Carolinas.
Mild TBIs usually require emergency care, medication, and extensive rest. But severe brain injuries require comprehensive medical interventions and post-care initiatives like speech therapy and physical therapy. The good news is that using a hyperbaric chamber in Seabrook Island, SC as part of a comprehensive medical strategy may provide natural brain healing in TBI patients.
Hyperbaric chamber treatment's primary use in these cases is to hyper-oxygenate tissues, which helps dissolve oxygen in the plasma. This action triggers several healing processes without overwhelming the patient's antioxidant system. The working mechanism of oxygen under pressure can help improve cerebral blood flow through micro-vessels and target injured areas in order to decrease inflammation.
This promising anti-inflammatory effect is the primary advantage of HBOT for traumatic brain injury patients and clears the way for natural, non-invasive healing.
Hyperbaric chamber therapy has also been documented to help TBI sufferers in many other ways, including:
As it turns out, using a hyperbaric chamber in Seabrook Island, SC may have benefits in the bedroom, too. Studies show that men suffering from ED may now have an additional treatment option to reclaim their sex lives. The International Journal of Impotence Research published a study in 2018 to determine if HBOT was a viable, non-surgical treatment for erectile dysfunction.
The results were very positive and showed that erectile function improved by as much as 88% in patients. Subsequent MRI scans analyzing blood flow of the penis also showed dramatic improvement. The study concluded that, even after years of ED, men could experience benefits from using hyperbaric chambers in lieu of risky surgeries and ineffective ED meds.
The documented improvements were due to more angiogenesis or growth of blood vessels in the penis. When new blood vessels grow in the penis, they can carry more blood to the organ, which helps achieve more frequent, stronger erections.
Though hyperbaric chambers are getting more popular with everyone from athletes to office workers, some folks are still out of the loop. If you're interested in learning more about this exciting, non-invasive, natural treatment, we encourage you to contact Better Life Carolinas today. Until we hear from you, here are answers to some of the most common questions we get regarding hyperbaric chamber therapy.
AWhen your session begins, oxygen will immediately circulate throughout the chamber, and pressure will gradually increase. At this point, most patients start feeling a fullness sensation in their ears, like they're ascending or descending in a plane. This feeling only lasts for 10-15 minutes. An experienced Better Life Carolinas hyperbaric technician will guide you on how to relieve any ear pressure, if necessary. Once the optimal pressure is reached, all you have to do is relax and breathe normally. As the session ends, your hyperbaric technician will gradually lower chamber pressure, which lasts about 10 minutes. During this stage, you may experience a light popping sensation in your ears. Once pressure is back to normal, you can exit the chamber and go about your day.
AIn general, you don't have to worry about serious side effects from HBOT. That's because it's an all-natural treatment - there are no incisions or addictive medications involved. However, some patients experience mild ear drum irritation. During your session, a Better Life Carolinas hyperbaric chamber expert will be by your side to help prevent this from happening.
AWithout a proper evaluation of your unique needs, it's hard to say with certainty. At Better Life Carolinas, we know that every patient is different. As such, every recommended therapy will be different, including the number of hyperbaric therapy sessions you need. Generally speaking, patients usually require 30 to 40 sessions. HBOT has a cumulative effect on your body and, as such, provides the best results with regularly occurring sessions.
AIf you have a form of air-trapping emphysema like COPD or have an untreated pneumothorax, HBOT isn't for you. At Better Life Carolinas, every one of our patients undergoes a full evaluation to ensure that hyperbaric oxygen therapy is safe for you and your body.
If you're looking for a hyperbaric chamber in Seabrook Island, SC look no further than Better Life Carolinas. Whether you're a professional athlete looking to maximize recovery time or need a natural way to look and feel younger, our experts are here to help. Unlike some clinics that rely on major invasive procedures and addictive medications, our team focuses on natural, holistic ways to heal your body. If you're ready to optimize your health and reclaim your youth, contact us today to learn more about HBOT and our other natural therapies.
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Tropical Storm Debby has slowed its movement, and that's bad news for eastern South Carolina, which is already seeing heavy rainfall.
In a news release, AccuWeather said: "Debby has slowed to a crawl along the southeast U.S. and is expected to produce up to 2 feet or more of rainfall in parts of Georgia and South Carolina. The AccuWeather Local StormMax is 32 inches near the South Carolina shoreline, where there is the potential for the storm to slow down or stall. Should this occur, flooding could be significant, life-threatening, and historic."
The National Hurricane Center says, "Potentially historic heavy rainfall across eastern South Carolina through Friday will likely result in areas of catastrophic flooding."
Here are two-day rainfall totals in South Carolina and Georgia from Debby, as reported by the National Weather Service out of Charleston at 2:36 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6.
The NWS notes that observations are collected from a variety of sources with varying equipment and exposures. Not all data listed is considered official. Also note that reporting times vary.
More:South Carolina's Red Cross seeks volunteers to assist with Tropical Storm Debby response
More:Upstate emergency services prepare to help South Carolina coastal areas affected by Debby
More:Debby landed as a hurricane and became a tropical storm; here's what makes the difference
Reidsville 6.08 inches 2 p.m.
Reidsville Airport 4.37 inches 2:15 p.m.
Todd Runkle, Carolinas Connect editor, contributed.
Nina Tran covers trending topics for The Greenville News. Reach her via email at ntran@gannett.com.
SEABROOK ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - What many thought could be the final chapter in a long saga of debating and creating Seabrook Island’s short-term rental ordinance, was instead a discussion that led to a few changes that will now be reviewed by town planners.At a special meeting called Wednesday, the town council decided to strike a few things from the wording, but their changes leave the main numbers of the cap unchanged. The overall proposal is still to create two zones with caps. In one area including townhomes, cluster homes, ...
SEABROOK ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - What many thought could be the final chapter in a long saga of debating and creating Seabrook Island’s short-term rental ordinance, was instead a discussion that led to a few changes that will now be reviewed by town planners.
At a special meeting called Wednesday, the town council decided to strike a few things from the wording, but their changes leave the main numbers of the cap unchanged. The overall proposal is still to create two zones with caps. In one area including townhomes, cluster homes, condos and single-family homes closest to the beach, the cap would be 540 short-term rentals. In all the other single-family areas, the cap would be 105.
The council’s main change is getting rid of the Class B or limited short-term rental clause. It would have allowed a temporary exception for legal residents of the island to short-term rent for 72 days or less per year, outside the cap number, with a different application. The thought was to create an option in case a person had financial hardship or had to be away for some time, but leaders thought it might be taken advantage of and scrapped the entire limited short-term rental section. The mayor noted there are about 50 properties where this could have applied.
Other changes the council made include removing some regulations in the short-term ordinance about trash, since it is covered in other town rules, and adjusting the point system for violations to short-term rentals, making some violations carry a larger potential risk for losing the license.
Leaders acknowledged there is likely no way to make everyone happy with the ordinance, but are doing their best to create a balanced and logical system.
While the special meeting was much more scarcely attended than prior public hearings, those there remained passionate about the topic.
“I guess the fear is now we are in competition with other communities that have large numbers of rentals and that wasn’t why most of us came to build or buy here and live here and I think that the future is pretty damned if the current bill stands and if it’s not substantially changed to improve and limit the number of rentals,” resident Paul McLaughlin said.
“I do feel like this is provoking fear with buyers and has very much slowed our market. We are putting too much pressure on our market with mandatory club membership at $25,000. A $6,000 amenity fee to allow your renters to have club access. Higher insurance, and higher regime fees due to insurance and taxes will be higher in 2025 as well. So this is one of the highest carrying cost communities in Charleton so we do need to give our buyers the opportunity to rent and make up for some of those costs,” resident and realtor Emery McPherson said.
Despite the divide that may persist in people’s thoughts on the ordinance, the work to iron out the details and pass something continues. The planning committee will review the changes at its Dec. 11th meeting and the ordinance will come back before the town council for a vote at its regular Dec. 17th meeting.
Read more about the study here.
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