Justin Bieber shared his story about Lyme Disease experience and doing hyperbaric oxygen treatment. The video shows Bieber receiving Oxygen and laying inside a futuristic-looking chamber.
The HBOT stands for hyperbaric oxygen therapy, a therapeutic device that’s often used to treat certain medical conditions, like Alzheimer’s, Chronic Lyme, TBI, PTSD, Stokes, Autism, Parkinson’s, MS, and many others according to Dr. Paul Harch a leading proponent of HBOT. Essentially, the way it works is oxygen is pumped into a tube or chamber so that the air pressure rises three times higher than normal air. In this atmosphere, the amount of oxygen in your blood increases, which can help heal injured tissue, reduce inflammation, increase stem cell growth or fight infections.
Bieber has said the chamber helps him sleep, but he isn’t exactly a trend-setter in this case. Lots of high-profile people have adopted this strange treatment for various “wellness” reasons: Michael Jackson supposedly slept inside of an HBOT to improve longevity, and Tim Tebow used one as part of his recovery routine. In addition, some people claim that HBOT can be helpful in treating a whole range of medical conditions and diseases, such as migraines, autism, multiple sclerosis, and cerebral palsy. But the only HBOT use that’s actually been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is treating decompression sickness, and 12 other, which some divers get due to a change in barometric pressure. And although Bieber shared that he was sleeping inside of his chamber, the devices should really only be used for one hour at a time each day for an average of forty days.
Justin Bieber shared images of himself on Instagram inside a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, a type of therapy normally used for issues like wound healing and carbon monoxide poisoning.
Fans are now wondering if the pop star is using the chamber to improve his mental health. Bieber, 25, has been very public in recent Instagram posts about his current state. Bieber explained to his fans in a recent post that he is not touring or releasing new music because he is “very focused on repairing some of the deep-rooted issues that I have as most of us have so that I don’t fall apart so that I can sustain my marriage and be the father I want to be.”
Hyperbaric chambers have not been scientifically proven to improve mental health. The chambers are used off-label as a treatment for various conditions, including depression and anxiety, according to Eileen Comia, an integrated medicine specialist at Advance Biomedical Treatment Center in Connecticut. “There is a good feeling and uplifting of the mood because it also increases serotonin and you feel energized,” she said. “Pain is decreased. You feel good afterward.”
A hyperbaric chamber allows the patient to breathe in oxygen at air pressure levels 1.5 to 3 times higher than average, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine, a health system headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. The treatment is typically performed as an outpatient procedure and doesn’t require hospitalization. At-home chambers, like the one seen in Bieber’s video, are now being offered on Ebay for purchase. There are risks associated with the treatment, including eye damage, middle ear injury, lung injuries, and fire, according to Dr. Jennifer Ashton, ABC News chief medical correspondent.
“Certain complementary therapies, even if they haven’t been fully borne out in the medical literature, as long as they’re low risk, if they offer some benefit, like yoga or acupuncture, things like that, then it’s OK,” she said. “But anytime you’re talking about a major risk with something that is not FDA cleared or approved, you really need to proceed with caution.”
