Extivita, a top of the line Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Facility near our HBOT News studio in Raleigh, NC has made headlines once again — just in time for Veteran’s Day — involving the dedicated work the clinic is doing to help veterans heal the debilitating symptoms of TBI and PTSD.

Studies show the therapy is working. That’s why lawmakers and the Community Foundation of NC East opened the treatment to veterans in 2019, and in 2021, the state started paying for veterans to get HBOT for free. But the funding doesn’t meet the demand. With extra money, the Community Foundation of NC East hopes to expand the treatment to veterans in southeastern North Carolina because they say the results are worth the investment.

“Few things in life that are more gratifying than getting a hug from one of the soldiers family members, for changing them, bringing them back to them.”

The treatment

There are two chambers at Extivita, one holds a dozen people and the smaller chamber holds eight people. Patients are in the chamber for about 90 minutes. It takes 10-15 minutes to get under pressure, and then the chamber stays under pressure for an hour. Think of the pressure as if you were scuba diving 33 feet below the surface. When that hour is up, it takes another 10-15 minutes for the chamber to depressurize.

Experts recommend 40 sessions or treatments and said a person would start to see a change in their first 10 to 20 treatments. A person could do two treatments in one day, but medical professionals recommend waiting about 4-6 hours in between treatments so the high oxygen level in your body can deplete and get back to normal.

HBOT is FDA approved to treat more than a dozen illnesses or injuries but PTSD and TBI are not on the approved list yet.

Watch news story & read more at WECT

Veterans can apply to receive HBOT treatments under NC funding at www.hbotforvets.com

Related stories:

HBOT is helping this veteran’s struggle with PTSD

North Carolina Using Oxygen & Pressure to Treat PTSD in Veterans

Life-saving oxygen therapy planned to help NC veterans