Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Useful in specific medical indications. Hard to justify as a general longevity tool.
What it does
Clear clinical indications — decompression sickness, non-healing wounds, CO poisoning, radiation injury — but the longevity application is much harder to defend. Multi-session protocols are expensive and time-intensive, and the outcome data outside clinical indications is thin.
Pressurized oxygen raises plasma oxygen beyond what hemoglobin carries, potentially supporting tissue oxygenation in hypoxic regions and triggering hormetic stress responses. The longevity-relevant downstream effects are speculative.
What the evidence shows
Overall evidence strength: Low certainty
Who it's for, who should skip
Established medical indications only have strong evidence. Longevity use is experimental — a small Israeli study showed telomere effects, but replication and outcomes haven't convincingly followed. Requires physician supervision.
Running it
Safety
- barotrauma (ear, sinus), oxygen toxicity at high pressures, chamber fire risk — low at standard protocols, real at the margins
Access & cost
Prescription or clinician order — typically via hyperbaric medicine provider.
Last reviewed 27 August 2026.