The man behind OxyGeneration is a tonic in himself. Brian Lynch abounds with energy and enthusiasm from the moment we met. The day job is as a skilled solicitor, but his obvious passion is OxyGeneration, with his mission being to tell the world just how beneficial this hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatment is for an increasing variety of conditions.
For those who are not familiar with HBOT, a quick guide — we have about 20 per cent of oxygen in our blood — but a session in a hyperbaric chamber like OxyGeneration has at Merchants Road can see this rise to a level of almost 100 per cent oxygen at an increased air pressure.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT ) was a much vaunted treatment that gained prominence over a century ago. At first, it was used for decompression illness caused by the then new pursuit of deep sea diving (the bends ) and later to enhance wound healing during wartime. But once antibiotics were introduced, hyperbaric oxygen therapy was pushed aside as a valued tool in the treatment of infectious diseases.
However, in the past few decades, there has been a renewed interest in hyperbaric oxygen therapy - increasingly to speed up the healing of deep tissue wounds, but also for such conditions as diabetic ulcers, multiple sclerosis and brain injuries.
For the last four years, OxyGeneration has been operating in Galway and is frequented by people from all walks of life — from those needing healing from radiation treatments or long Covid to the fittest of elite sportsmen and sportswomen, eager to get themselves back in peak condition.
The man behind it all, Brian Lynch, has always had a sense of adventure about him in life and in business — once sailing with his family across the globe and living a life of excitement, and it was after a serious riding accident that he experienced at first hand the possibilities of the use of HBOT.
“After my accident, I left St James Hospital in a wheelchair ambulance every day and did a session in the hyperbaric chamber in Dublin. When I started off, I was so bad with my chest in hospital, that physiotherapists had to come twice to help me to just cough.
“I noticed improvements straightaway. At the sessions, I met people who avoided having to have their bowels removed; a lot of people who had diabetic foot ulcers who did the sessions to save themselves from having an amputation and a variety of other ailments. It impressed me and inspired me.
“I had come across hyperbaric oxygenation before that while working on an injury case when a client had hyperbaric oxygenation sessions at University Hospital Galway on referral from his Consultant Plastic Surgeon.
“I saw the great results and understood how it improved this person’s quality of life. The next experience was another case, this time for the ‘hospital superbug’ MRSA. He learned more about hyperbaric oxygenation and how it is used globally as an adjunct therapy for serious infections.
“One man who suffered from diabetic ulcers told me how a chance meeting with an American informed him about the extensive use of HBOT Stateside for ulcer treatment, and he went and had it with great success.
“When the man went to the GP to ask why he hadn’t mentioned the existence of this treatment, the doctor told him that it wasn’t recommended in Ireland, despite the fact that Medicare and other top healthcare systems across the globe were paying for it for years.
"It seems that in Ireland, some aspects of the medical profession are reluctant to endorse HBOT, because it is seen as alternative, but members of the medical profession make up a large percentage of its clients.
Despite this, after being discharged from hospital and back home in Galway, Brian found himself in that familiar routine of driving up to Dublin and he completed a cycle of over 60 sessions at the then chamber in Dublin.
“Galwegians are very fortunate in that University Hospital Galway is home to the National Hyperbaric Medicine Unit, with its own hyperbaric chamber, which is fantastic for both patients and Health Services Executive public hospital consultants across every field of medicine," he said.
World-class
Brian wanted to provide a private, world-class hyperbaric oxygenation service in Galway, that was more accessible and less expensive. This led to the opening of OxyGeneration at Merchant’s Road — a high tech chamber with a welcoming staff and a great sense of positivity. While I was there for the purposes of writing this article, I met a selection of clients who were attending for sessions for relief from a variety of conditions.
The team at OxyGeneration also enjoy the success stories and share in the joy of clients who ring in with news of how their specific ailments have improved.
Brian showed me around the impressive facility and the chamber which has the same dimensions as a Lear Fan jet, with facing seats like you would have on a Tube carriage. Sessions last around 80 minutes and in that time, you wear your own dedicated oxygen mask which you purchase and bring with you to every session. Boredom is never a factor as the Chamber has TVs to help you pass the time. You can also read or even use your laptop as you feel the the invigorating effects of the pure oxygen.
OxyGeneration has the capacity and plant at this location to create its own oxygen, and the benefit of this was seen during lockdown when oxygen and its availability became a concern for hospitals throughout the world.
Under the EU Cross Border Directive, citizens of other EU countries have the right to access healthcare in Ireland, including OxyGeneration, and to be reimbursed for this care by their home country. This has already seen European clients visit Galway for their OxyGeneration and HBOT treatments and they work with clients to help them plan their stay in Galway for the duration of their treatment.
Irish Life Health insurance members are also able to claim on their health insurance policy for sessions of Hyperbaric Oxygenation for conditions such as arterial insufficiency; to prevent amputation; compromised skin grafts and flaps; radiation necrosis, myoradionecrosis, osteoradionecrosis and other soft tissue radiation necrosis; chronic refractory osteomyelitis; and thermal burns including second-and third-degree burns.
The GAA Injury Benefit Fund and the Schools Accident Insurance also cover certain conditions in OxyGeneration subject to policy coverage.
Brian Lynch is a vocal advocate for its use, but he preferred that the the test of its benefit come from those who have felt the rewards of the treatment
First hand experience
While I was there, I meet Keith Cunningham, a front line medical worker from the Midlands who contracted Covid during the initial lockdown. He made his way through but suffered from the effects of long Covid which left him unable to return to work or have a quality of life nearing anything he had previous to his illness.
It was Keith's mother who heard about OxyGeneration and prompted him to research HBOT.
“My mother told me about this. I did my research and asked the medical professional friends of mine. It turned out that there is a lot more to this than most people thought. I had read about HBOT, its older uses, and now its modern uses. I discovered that it is used quite a bit in modern medicine.
"I read about a young female boxer in the UK who was hoping to be a professional fighter and a lot of her Covid symptoms matched mine. She was 15 years my junior and she was bedridden with it. She had great success out of using the Midlands Hyperbaric Chamber through the NHS and I said I have to try this, and I am so glad I did.
"Every day I came down and went through it. After about my fifth session, I noticed little changes and from there with every session, the long-lasting effects became longer until they have now become permanent. I haven’t taken a step backwards. I was afraid that long Covid was going to shape me forever, but it didn’t. I didn’t have any expectations when I came first. I came with an open mind. I had done a lot of research but it has made such a change to me. I was going to have to retire and leave my job and now I am getting ready to go back to work,” he said.
“I have no hesitation in recommending it. It is worth every penny of it because if I hadn’t done it, I would not be as well as I am today. I would encourage medical professionals to be more open-minded towards it," he said.
One prominent GP told me that he has recommended it for patients suffering for long Covid and chronic fatigue, with good results.
Others who have suffered long Covid reported better quality sleep, more energy, relief from pain, improved sense of smell and/or taste, and improved concentration after a series of Hyperbaric sessions. There have been improvements too for those who suffer the impact of fibromyalgia,
Up to fourteen people can be comfortably accommodated in the chamber at any one time, and communication with the staff is continuous. On the whole, the treatment is a relaxing experience and it might just be what you need to combat the medical condition that you have.
"We will always be very clear and respectful with clients when managing expectations," says Brian Lynch. "HBOT ultimately works because of physics and with some conditions this is not the solution. Like with every medical intervention, how each person responds varies," he added.
For many so far, this experience has been positive.
See www.OxyGeneration.com or contact 091 394444 for information.
Would you like unlimited FREE access to all that the Galway Advertiser has to offer? Find out more here!
