A Breath For Life - Hyperbaric Oxygen Unit

A Breath for Life commenced life in 1997, initially to provide hyperbaric oxygen therapy for children suffering from brain injuries including cerebral palsy. As a charity we aimed to make the therapy affordable and to this day, children access for free and adults at a reduced price of £25 per session.

What is hyperbaric oxygen therapy? (HBOT) simply is a method of delivering natural oxygen at greater than atmospheric pressure. As the name implies, HYPER = Greater BARIC = Pressure.

Without oxygen healing cannot take place. Every cell in our body requires oxygen to survive. It makes perfect sense by giving extra oxygen, it allows the body to access its own healing. Breathing oxygen from inside a pressure chamber allows the whole of the blood volume to become oxygenated. We all remember from our school days that it is the red blood cell that carries oxygen throughout the circulatory system. The beauty of breathing oxygen in a pressure chamber, allows all the fluid in our body to become oxygenated delivering life giving refreshment to all cells. The liquid plasma in the blood can carry oxygen to reach damaged tissue where the larger sticky red blood cell is denied access. The cerebrospinal fluid is oxygenated delivering more oxygen to the brain. Lymph is equally oxygenated carrying essential oxygen to weary cells, and activated to clear unwanted cells, the dustbin system.
The bone marrow is stimulated to produce more stem cells required to promote new cell growth. Oxygen works at a metabolic level stimulating chemical reactions which result in energy production. Capillary growth is encouraged to by pass damaged blood capillaries. All the internal organs receive the boost that have been clamouring for. What is even more spectacular, oxygen is an antimicrobial, in other words natures ant-biotic. Unwanted bacteria will not flourish in an oxygen rich environment in the same way cancer cells are anaerobic. Over the years I have witnessed many serious infections including hospital acquired Methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Clostridioides difficile (Cdiff) be vanquished after a number of HBOT sessions. This is quite remarkable as antibiotic resistant infections are incredibly difficult to treat and the use of a combination of antibiotics including sulphonamides seriously compromise an already weakened gut killing off natural bacteria resulting in a downward cascade into further problems. Oxygen has been described as the forgotten ant-biotic. HBOT encourages increased production of white blood calls which are natural fighters and essential to our own innate immune response. The white cells can engulf and devour unwanted bacteria transporting them to elimination channels, lymph, urine, faeces, sweat and outward breath. Our body is a remarkable and complex system that is constantly striving to be well and perform as nature intended. Most importantly HBOT reduces inflammation. Where there is inflammation there is pain, so pain can be reduced considerably.

Oxygen is our life giving molecule. We can live without food up to starvation point, we can survive without water until dehydration takes over but we cannot live without oxygen for more than a very few minutes. A diminished supply of oxygen leads to multiple unwanted symptoms and a marked reduction in bodily functions. This condition is known as hypoxia and is very serious.

Given the safe and effective nature of HBOT one wonders why it is not more widely available. There are a number of reasons for this, not least that the medical profession has been inured into the belief that HBOT is the treatment for decompression sickness and air embolism and carbon monoxide poisoning, which is true. However, to think "outside the box" is no longer encouraged within medical / nursing training which is protocol driven and financed by pharmaceutical propagandists in my opinion. How can they "market" oxygen, it is free and the very air we breathe, no money there. It has taken a few brave souls, our medical advisor, Prof Philip James, being one of them to fly the flag for HBOT. Prof James was the only consultant hyperbaric specialist in the whole of the UK, his hyperbaric unit at the Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, a centre of excellence. I am proud to call Philip a friend and his support of A Breath for Life over many years has been unfailing.

A further problem, HBOT, until recently, was not recognised by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) for the wide variety of medical conditions which would benefit from oxygen treatment. Since the COVID debacle, oxygen therapies and in particular HBOT have been recognised for their therapeutic value. No GMC doctor would refer a patient for HBOT if their condition did not fall within NICE guidelines.

HBOT as a treatment modality is not a quick fix and requires commitment to fit into daily routine. The time in the chamber is one and a half hours, 15mins to compress, one hour on oxygen and 15 minutes to decompress. One must also factor in travel time to reach the centre. Depending on the condition, as a general rule, we advise to book the first 20 sessions daily or as close together as possible. After which you can go maybe 3 times a week. This is not cast in stone as individual needs dictate the time. The chamber will take five people, is comfortable and not claustrophobic which is often an initial concern. You can read, take in your phone or iPad, sit back and relax for an undisturbed hour. Our protocol is to compress to the equivalent of 24ft @1.75 atmospheres, which is nothing in diving terms but sufficient to initiate healing.

The charity asks for a £25 fee per session. Children – no charge. 

The charity will never turn away anyone in need so if finance is a problem, speak with the Centre Manager or one of the 3 Trustees.

Open 7 days a week.

Session times are 09.30am, 11.15am, 1pm, 16.30pm, and 18.15pm.

Book on line www.abreathforlife.co.uk
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Telephone:- 01524 855422
Address: - A Breath for Life, Borrans Lane, Middleton, Morecambe LA3 3QP

Charity No :- 1069697 (England and Wales)

Jane Dean (Founder)
MA Health Research

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