A group of ambassadors from Ottawa recently visited a Richmond business that offers oxygen therapy.
The ambassadors of Algeria, Latvia and Mongolia visited the International Hyperbaric Health Centers (IHHC) on Horseshoe Way to learn about hyperbaric oxygen therapy as part of a business tour in Metro Vancouver.
“They came to do some networking as well as get to know some businesses in B.C.” said the centre’s director Alice Tang.
“We were selected because of our cutting-edgy technology that they never heard of.”
Hyperbaric oxygen is a non-invasive treatment that helps speed up the healing and recovery process of people using the power of oxygen, Tang explained.
Normally, the air we breathe in is comprised of 21 per cent oxygen, but in the hyperbaric chambers at the centre, people can breathe pure oxygen and the pressure in the chamber pushes the oxygen into their bloodstream, disseminating it throughout the body.
The Richmond clinic is one of only a handful of hyperbaric clinics in the province, Tang said.
The therapy promotes healing in 14 conditions including crush injury, enhancement of healing for wounds, exceptional blood loss, thermal burns and carbon monoxide poisoning, according to Health Canada.
Although hyperbaric oxygen therapy is generally safe when used to treat recognized medical conditions, Health Canada also warns about potential risks and has suggested ways to minimize them on their website.
The Richmond clinic was started eight years ago when the owners saw a need for private hyperbaric clinics in Metro Vancouver. One of its co-partners is former Richmond MP Kenny Chiu.
“Vancouver General Hospital has a big chamber that can treat 10 people at a time… because they only have one chamber, they have a lot of people on the waiting list,” said Tang.
People who want to get treatment sooner have the option to do it at IHHC, but the treatment isn’t covered by public health insurance and costs $130 for a 60-minute session.
“Our mission here is to promote the health and healing of our clients through oxygen,” said Tang.
“Because not everybody wants to take drugs, so this is a good way to help people in conjunction to getting, let’s say, acupuncture or other treatments.”
