One of the most helpful and relatively fast-acting treatments for patients affected by mold and mycotoxins and those suffering from Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) is the use of oxygen therapy at home, or hyperbaric oxygen therapy in a center providing this service. One might question the benefit of this if a patient’s heart and lungs are all healthy and in good working order, but the reasons and rationale for both forms of oxygen therapy are explained below.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
What is this exactly? In a nutshell, this is the use of 100% oxygen in a pressurized setting, or chamber. This chamber works on the physical principal of Boyle’s Law. “Boyle’s Law” states that at constant temperature, the volume and the pressure of a gas are inversely proportional. This means a gas will compress proportionately to the amount of pressure exerted on it. Using these laws, hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) allows more life-sustaining oxygen to be delivered to the tissues and organs than would be possible outside of the pressurized setting. The increase of the partial pressure of oxygen at the cellular level accelerates healing processes and assists in cellular recovery from numerous symptoms. The most common uses of hyperbaric oxygen in hospital settings are to treat the following conditions:
Scuba diving decompression incidents (the bends) from staying down too long or from re-surfacing too quickly;
Non-healing diabetic ulcers and other non-healing wounds;
Brain trauma including strokes;
Osteomyelitis (bone infections);
Chronic systemic infections, such as Lyme disease in its chronic form;
Mold-related brain injury.
HBOT is SAFE. The side effects are minimal. Hyperbaric Oxygen is not a cure but has been clearly demonstrated to dramatically increase immune capabilities, assisting patients with problems ranging from chronic wounds to complex disabilities and neurological impairment.
Downsides to Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment
The first is availability. Obviously, if one is in the hospital recovering from one of the abovementioned issues, then the chamber may be part of the treatment available in that setting. If not, and especially if being used for less medically-recognized syndromes, then accessiability to a hyperbaric chamber requires going to a facility that offers and assists with this therapy. The travel to and from the centers as well as the time involved for treatment can be significant. True high-dose hyperbaric chambers are hard-shell containers, looking much like submersibles. Hyperbaric chambers may be shaped for patients to be able to sit inside, or to lie down on a stretcher that can then be rolled into an elongated tube. Typically, the treatment time is one hour, after which the pressure is gradually reduced as the session ends, before the patient exits the chamber. Frequency of treatments may be once or twice a week initially, and adjusted as to patient response or healing.
There are other hyperbaric chambers which are considered portable. These are soft sided, inflatable, zip up tubes. A patient will get into the tube and lie down for the duration of the treatment. These chambers do not get to the same therapeutic oxygen-delivery level of the hard-shell devices, and the effects are generally much milder.
If a patient has chronic sinusitis and fluid pressure on the middle ear, then tolerance to hyperbaric is not ideal, as the ear cannot equalize pressure, causing discomfort. The other drawback is that patients who are severely claustrophobic may not tolerate enclosed spaces from which they cannot be extracted quickly. Soothing music and even mild sedation can be used to help mitigate this.
While HBOT is an incredibly useful treatment, especially for those with acute infections and those recovering from strokes, for the more chronic illnesses such as mold-related illness and Lyme disease, I have found that the use of high-dose oxygen at home with a mask, without the pressure component, is very helpful, less expensive, and more readily available in general.
Home Oxygen Therapy
This was first described by Dr. William Rea, of the Environmental Health Center in Dallas, Texas. Dr. Rea was a pioneer in the treatment of multiple chemical sensitivity. As a surgeon, he himself became quite ill after years of passive exposure to inhaled anesthetic agents in the operating room. His tireless research into the mechanisms of MCS and treatment modalities of it have given us many tools to treat this confounding illness, and oxygen therapy was one of these treatments. He found that in chemically-injured patients, the amount of oxygen remaining in the venous blood was too high. This indicated that the arterial capillaries were not delivering the oxygen into the tissues as should happen. The result of this caused subtle but continual metabolic breakdown. Individuals could not detoxify as well, repair injured tissues, or maintain normal function at the cellular level for energy. This is where the neurologic system also becomes involved, as there becomes progressive impairment of the autonomic nervous system, which is the body’s control center of all bodily functions that we don’t’ have to think about, such as breathing, heart rate, sweating, blood pressure, hormonal and neurochemical releases. As you can see this impacts every function of the body! As tissue becomes more oxygen deprived, more inflammation develops, and thus continues the vicious cycle.
The use of oxygen at home with a mask at 8 liters per minute for 2 hours a day is quite extraordinary in its impact on the sequence of events described above. While it does not take the place of the requirements for “clean air, clean water, clean food,” it can make a huge difference, and relatively quickly, for chronically ill patients especially those with mold- and mycotoxin-related injury. Additionally, Dr. Don Dennis has found that oxygen may decrease the ability for opportunistic molds to grow in the sinuses, another benefit!
Home Oxygen Therapy to Treat Mold and Chronic Illness
Demonstrating the indication for oxygen therapy can be accomplished by certain blood tests, such as the inflammatory marker, TGF beta1, or by getting a venous blood gas done in a hospital respiratory lab. I have found the latter progressively harder to do, as the insurance and hospital regulations still do not understand the need for this in a patient who is not obviously respiratory compromised. I have come to rely more on the TGF beta 1 blood test as both a marker of need and improvement in these cases.
Oxygen companies, likewise, often do not understand the need for oxygen if not for a lung or heart problem. Many times, I recommend to patients that they purchase their own oxygen generator so that they are not faced with the ongoing struggle to get the treatment that they need. Insurance does not usually cover this treatment, unfortunately, but in the great scheme of things the benefits of it are well worth the cost, which is generally not excessive. (Note: For reference, home oxygen generators can range in price from $400 to about $2,500).
Therapy can be continued for an indefinite period of time, but many patients find that after two months they feel so much better, that treatments can be reduced to just once or twice a week, or as an emergency therapy in the event of inadvertent exposure to mold or chemicals.
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Susan Tanner has practiced medicine for over 33 years, concentrating primarily on chronic illness and the impacts on the individual, the family and the community. Her driving curiosity into why people are made ill caused her to pursue education in Environmental Medicine, completing coursework, exams, and necessary practice years to earn board certification in this area in 2009. Her own struggles with mold-related illness drove her desire to teach those similarly affected. While in clinical practice, Dr. Tanner wrote and contributed to a number of publications on environmental health, prepared narratives for understanding in legal matters, and researched new techniques for modulating the body’s ability to clear toxins and infections. She now has a fitness and health website www.thebodynexus.com, where she writes articles and shares education on utilizing the various body systems into improve overall health.
I want to let you know that I tried just 8.5 minutes of this at-home oxygen therapy to start. It caused a major mast cell reaction causing me to go to the ER. It was not a “die-off” reaction like I have experienced with other therapies. Instead it appeared to be a reaction to the therapy itself.
This therapy should only be used under a doctor’s care and with an Rx for the therapy with the correct tanks and face masks. Usually a doctor starts the patient at one minute under supervision and slowly works up from there. It should never be used if you are still living in a moldy environment because the influx of pure o2 causes the body to immediately come out of a cell danger response and to release toxins from the tissues incredibly efficiently. It is not for everyone and should only be used when indicated by your doctor. None of the articles on this website should be used as medical advice. We just offer as much free information as we possibly can to help people discuss with their trusted medical authorities to find the best possible healing for them.
Can people with mold toxicity that also are asthmatic use this therapy
Donald Dennis
October 16, 2023 at 11:16 pm - Reply
Yes, you would want to do it under a doctor’s care, though. If you find a place that does HBOT, that would be a good place to start to see how you do with O2 therapy before making a larger investment on a personal unit.
Pamela McDougle
December 8, 2021 at 5:18 pm - Reply
If a patient has Mast Cell Activation and mold, is it contraindicated to use hyperbaric oxygen or EWOT? Would you recommend Limbic retraining?
If out of the moldy environment and contents, I see no contraindication to either modality with mast cell activation. As with many things, starting low and slow is recommended.
Chemical Sensitivity Vol. 4 by Dr. William Rea is a comprehensive diagnosis and medical treatment approach for MCS. He treated over 100,000 patients from around the world and was a huge user and proponent of O2 therapy.
From Dr. Dennis:
yes at 8 liters/ min unless there is a negative symptom then stop–negative symptoms indicate that you have reached your time, and it means that you are removing more toxins than you can tolerate. This only applies to people who have no lung disease that has lowered their PO2 out of the normal range. Using 100% O2 for lung disease patients is forbidden & dangerous.
A nebulizer is helpful, but it is not the same as O2. A nebulizer brings medication directly into the lungs. Nasal Nebulization of antifungals, such as Amphotericin B and/or Voriconizole is helpful for mold patients. Nebulizing silver sol in saline is also helpful. 2ml saline to 1 of silver.
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I want to let you know that I tried just 8.5 minutes of this at-home oxygen therapy to start. It caused a major mast cell reaction causing me to go to the ER. It was not a “die-off” reaction like I have experienced with other therapies. Instead it appeared to be a reaction to the therapy itself.
This therapy should only be used under a doctor’s care and with an Rx for the therapy with the correct tanks and face masks. Usually a doctor starts the patient at one minute under supervision and slowly works up from there. It should never be used if you are still living in a moldy environment because the influx of pure o2 causes the body to immediately come out of a cell danger response and to release toxins from the tissues incredibly efficiently. It is not for everyone and should only be used when indicated by your doctor. None of the articles on this website should be used as medical advice. We just offer as much free information as we possibly can to help people discuss with their trusted medical authorities to find the best possible healing for them.
Can people with mold toxicity that also are asthmatic use this therapy
Yes, you would want to do it under a doctor’s care, though. If you find a place that does HBOT, that would be a good place to start to see how you do with O2 therapy before making a larger investment on a personal unit.
If a patient has Mast Cell Activation and mold, is it contraindicated to use hyperbaric oxygen or EWOT? Would you recommend Limbic retraining?
If out of the moldy environment and contents, I see no contraindication to either modality with mast cell activation. As with many things, starting low and slow is recommended.
Do we need a prescription to get the oxygen concentrator? Thank you
Yes. You will need a doctor’s prescription.
Is there any paper out there I can show my physician about the benefits of oxygen therapy for MCS people?
Chemical Sensitivity Vol. 4 by Dr. William Rea is a comprehensive diagnosis and medical treatment approach for MCS. He treated over 100,000 patients from around the world and was a huge user and proponent of O2 therapy.
As I understand it the 2 hour-per-day protocol is predicated on using 100% oxygen from a tank or concentrator, is this accurate?
The article mentions concentrators that start at the $400 mark, which I believe are only capable if providing oxygen in a more diluted state.
So then is the therapeutic effect for MCS lessened with a lower cost concentrator? Should the patient go longer than 2 hours per day to compensate?
Thanks
From Dr. Dennis:
yes at 8 liters/ min unless there is a negative symptom then stop–negative symptoms indicate that you have reached your time, and it means that you are removing more toxins than you can tolerate. This only applies to people who have no lung disease that has lowered their PO2 out of the normal range. Using 100% O2 for lung disease patients is forbidden & dangerous.
can you use a nebulizer and if so what liquid would you use?
A nebulizer is helpful, but it is not the same as O2. A nebulizer brings medication directly into the lungs. Nasal Nebulization of antifungals, such as Amphotericin B and/or Voriconizole is helpful for mold patients. Nebulizing silver sol in saline is also helpful. 2ml saline to 1 of silver.
What type of oxygen generator do you recommend ?
Drive Medical DeVilbiss 10L Compact 10 Liter Oxygen Concentrator, but there are many about the same size and capacity that would be sufficient.