Multiple Sclerosis and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Googling “Multiple Sclerosis and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy”, will bring up this search result: Be Wary of Multiple Sclerosis “Cures” – Quackwatch. The link leads to a website owned by self-styled quackbuster and former psychiatrist, Stephen Barrett. On his webpage, Mr. Barrett pronounces,
“We found no consistent evidence to confirm a beneficial effect of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for the treatment of multiple sclerosis and do not believe routine use is justified.”
But before you take his opinion too seriously, you should know that Mr. Barrett has not practiced psychiatry since 1993, when authorities forced him to give up his medical license. In a 2003 lawsuit against him by consumer advocate Tim Bolen, Mr. Barret admitted the following startling fact about his opinion of HBOT and other healing therapies.
Here’s what Mr. Barret of Quackwatch confessed to the court:
“The sole purpose of the activities of Barrett & Baratz are to discredit and cause damage and harm to health care practitioners, businesses that make alternative health therapies or products available, and advocates of non-allopathic therapies and health freedom.”
A Mouth for the Drug Companies
In truth, drug companies and various medical associations generously pay Mr. Barrett to make sure patients will more likely opt for pharmaceuticals over other effective treatments like HBOT. But you might be surprised to learn that some European countries now consider Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy to be the first course of treatment for conditions like Multiple Sclerosis, (MS).
As I discussed earlier in my website under the section Multiple Sclerosis and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, there have been many promising studies that have shown that Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy can, indeed, help successfully reduce or end some of MS’disabling effects. Is the treatment a magic bullet? I freely admit that it’s not. But does it permit MS patients to function better, reduce inflammation and flare-ups, and ease symptoms such as incontinence, pain, and fatigue? You bet it does. As a result, we see amazing results every day at our Palm Harbor, Florida Center.
With this in mind, if you or someone you love has Multiple Sclerosis, please give our office a call. We will provide an assessment to determine if your MS symptoms could benefit from hyperbaric oxygen treatment. In cases where HBOT is not covered by insurance, we will go over ways to make treatments more affordable. To schedule your appointment online, simply click here or call 727-787-7077.