Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Lyme Disease

5 min read · 25 September 2026

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Treatment of Lyme Disease with Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is a 1998 meeting abstract by Fife and Freeman, published in Undersea & Hyperbaric Medicine. It addresses the use of elevated-pressure oxygen as a possible treatment approach for Lyme disease, a subject relevant to understanding both hyperbaric medicine and the limits of applying diving technology to clinical illness.

What connects Lyme disease and hyperbaric oxygen?

Lyme disease is an infection caused by bacteria transmitted through the bite of infected ticks. Its clinical course can involve different body systems, and appropriate diagnosis and treatment depend on medical assessment. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is a medical treatment in which a patient breathes oxygen in a pressurised chamber.

Pressure changes how gases behave and increases the amount of oxygen dissolved in blood plasma while a person breathes oxygen in the chamber. This is distinct from ordinary breathing at surface pressure and from simply giving supplemental oxygen. The biological effects of oxygen under pressure provide the rationale for investigating HBOT in particular conditions, but a plausible mechanism by itself does not establish that a treatment is effective or appropriate.

How does pressure change oxygen delivery?

At elevated ambient pressure, more oxygen can dissolve directly in the liquid portion of blood. Oxygen still reaches tissues through circulation, and its delivery depends on factors such as blood flow, tissue demand, and the condition being treated. A hyperbaric chamber therefore changes the environment in which oxygen is breathed; it does not make every tissue problem an oxygen-deficiency problem.

Hyperbaric treatment also requires attention to pressure exposure and oxygen exposure. Clinicians consider chamber protocols, patient condition, treatment goals, and possible adverse effects. This careful framing matters when a proposed use concerns infection: the question is not simply whether oxygen affects biology, but whether a specific treatment produces meaningful benefit without unacceptable risk.

Pressure: the chamber raises ambient pressure above the usual surface environment.
Oxygen exposure: breathing oxygen under pressure can increase oxygen dissolved in plasma.
Clinical evidence: mechanism, safety, and patient outcomes are separate questions that require appropriate evaluation.
Diagnosis and standard care: an investigational treatment should not displace established medical assessment and care.

Why would researchers examine this treatment?

Hyperbaric medicine has developed around the use of pressure and oxygen in defined clinical settings. Researchers may examine whether the same physiological effects have relevance to other diseases, including infections. Such work sits within a broader effort to distinguish a biologically interesting idea from a treatment supported for a particular indication.

A meeting abstract is a form of scientific communication associated with a meeting. Its bibliographic record places Fife and Freeman’s subject within the hyperbaric medicine literature of 1998, a period in the continuing exploration of possible clinical applications. For readers, the topic raises useful questions about how treatment hypotheses are formed, tested, and weighed against established approaches.

What should divers and clinicians take from the subject?

Divers encounter pressure as part of their environment, but diving exposure and chamber-based medical treatment are not interchangeable. Diving involves changing pressure during immersion and ascent, with risks such as barotrauma and decompression stress. HBOT is delivered in a controlled clinical setting for medical purposes, with its own indications, protocols, and safeguards.

For diving physicians and hyperbaric clinicians, this subject underscores the need to assess the condition being treated and the quality of evidence for each proposed use. For divers, it is a reminder that a therapy involving pressure is not automatically a diving treatment, nor does a connection to oxygen make it suitable for self-treatment. Anyone considering hyperbaric care for an illness should consult a physician experienced in diving or hyperbaric medicine.

Frequently asked questions

What is hyperbaric oxygen therapy?

It is a medical treatment in which a patient breathes oxygen in a chamber at pressure above the usual surface environment. Its use depends on the clinical condition and medical assessment.

Is chamber treatment the same as scuba diving?

No. Both involve pressure, but chamber treatment is a controlled medical intervention, while scuba diving is an underwater activity with distinct exposure patterns and risks.

Does the title establish that HBOT treats Lyme disease?

No. A publication title identifies its subject, not whether a treatment is effective or recommended. Treatment decisions for Lyme disease require qualified medical care.

Citation details

Title: Treatment of Lyme Disease with Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Authors: Fife, WP; Freeman, DM
Year: 1998
Published in: Undersea & Hyperbaric Medicine 1998
Record type: Meeting abstract
Repository record: Rubicon Research Repository, handle 123456789/654

This page is an original summary written by the Rubicon editors from the publication’s bibliographic record. It does not reproduce the paper, its abstract or its data; consult the publication itself for its methods and findings.