Autoimmune & Inflammatory Conditions
Is Your Immune System Stuck in Overdrive?
If chronic inflammation, flare-ups, pain or fatigue are making everyday life more difficult, explore whether Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy could form part of your wider approach to symptom management and wellbeing — personally guided, in our Kildare clinic or from your own home.
Does This Sound Familiar?
It's Not "Just How You Are"
Living with an autoimmune or chronic inflammatory condition can mean symptoms that change from one day to the next. Pain, stiffness, fatigue, brain fog and unpredictable flare-ups can affect work, sleep, exercise and everyday life — even when you're doing everything you can to manage your condition.
The Science
How HBOT May Help Calm Inflammation
Inflammation is part of the body's normal immune and repair response. In chronic inflammatory and autoimmune conditions, however, inflammatory activity can persist or become dysregulated, contributing to pain, swelling, fatigue and tissue stress.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy significantly increases the amount of oxygen dissolved in the blood plasma. Under pressure, this temporarily increases oxygen availability throughout the body and can influence biological pathways involved in inflammation, oxidative stress, circulation and tissue repair. These effects are why HBOT is being explored as a supportive therapy in certain inflammatory conditions.
May Influence Inflammatory Pathways
HBOT can influence inflammatory signalling and the activity of certain inflammatory mediators, potentially helping to moderate some of the biological processes involved in persistent inflammation.
May Help Regulate Oxidative Stress
Inflammation and oxidative stress are closely linked. Repeated hyperbaric oxygen exposure can activate the body's own antioxidant and cellular defence responses, potentially influencing how tissues respond to oxidative stress.
Supports Tissue Oxygenation & Repair
HBOT substantially increases dissolved oxygen in the blood plasma, temporarily increasing oxygen availability to tissues and supporting oxygen-dependent processes involved in cellular repair and recovery.
May Influence Immune Activity
HBOT can influence aspects of immune and inflammatory activity. Rather than simply "boosting" or "suppressing" the immune system, its potential role is more accurately understood as influencing biological pathways involved in immune and inflammatory responses.
The Research
What Does the Research Say?
HBOT has been studied in a number of inflammatory and immune-mediated conditions, but the strength of evidence varies considerably according to the specific diagnosis.
2022 Systematic Review & Meta-Analysis · 2,151 IBD Patients
A systematic review and meta-analysis examined 29 studies involving 2,151 people with inflammatory bowel disease, predominantly ulcerative colitis. Among people with ulcerative colitis, adding HBOT to usual care was associated with a greater clinical response than usual care alone. The pooled analysis also reported a lower recurrence rate and reductions in the inflammatory marker TNF.
Important limitation: The quality and design of the included studies varied, and there were no randomised Crohn's disease data included. The authors concluded that further research is required to determine optimal HBOT programmes.
View the Research on PubMed →2021 Systematic Review & Meta-Analysis · 809 Patients
Researchers reviewed 19 studies involving 809 people across different forms of inflammatory bowel disease, including three randomised controlled trials and 16 case series. The analysis reported clinical remission across several IBD phenotypes, including ulcerative colitis, luminal and perianal Crohn's disease.
Important limitation: Most studies were considered low quality because of factors including missing comparator groups, inadequate reporting of other treatments and lack of objective outcome measures. The authors called for well-designed randomised trials.
View the Research on PubMed →2026 Prospective Pilot Trial · Treatment-Refractory Ulcerative Colitis
This very recent study investigated HBOT in 16 people with treatment-refractory ulcerative colitis receiving either 10 or 20 sessions. At 12 weeks, researchers observed clinical, endoscopic and intestinal-ultrasound improvements in both groups. Responders also showed changes in bowel perfusion, providing an interesting potential physiological mechanism for the clinical response. HBOT was well tolerated with no serious adverse events or treatment discontinuations.
Important limitation: This was a very small pilot study involving just 16 people. Its purpose is better understood as supporting further investigation rather than establishing HBOT as a proven treatment for ulcerative colitis.
View the Research on PubMed →What does this mean for autoimmune and inflammatory conditions? There is encouraging clinical evidence for HBOT as an adjunct in certain inflammatory conditions, particularly inflammatory bowel disease. Evidence across the much wider spectrum of autoimmune disease is considerably less established, so HBOT should not be presented as a treatment proven to benefit every autoimmune condition.
Your Guide
A More Individual Approach to Autoimmune & Inflammatory Health
Davitt Meenaghan is the Founder and Director of ReWell and an IBUM-certified Hyperbaric Safety Officer. His wider work is informed by functional medicine, biohacking and longevity, with a particular interest in how individual biology, lifestyle and emerging health technologies such as Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy can work together to support health.
That individual perspective matters with autoimmune and inflammatory conditions. Two people with the same diagnosis can experience very different patterns of inflammation, pain, fatigue, brain fog, sleep disruption and flare-ups. Davitt's approach is therefore not to treat an autoimmune diagnosis as a single problem with a standard HBOT solution, but to understand what you are experiencing, why you are exploring HBOT and how it may fit alongside the medical care and wider health strategies you already have in place.
Davitt can help you understand the HBOT technology itself, the research relevant to inflammatory and immune-mediated conditions, hyperbaric safety, chamber and pressure options, and the practicalities of using HBOT in a clinic or at home. HBOT is not presented as a cure or a replacement for specialist treatment. It is explored as one potential supportive therapy within a broader, bioindividual approach to health.
IBUM
Certified Safety Officer
100+
Verified Client Reviews
32
Counties Served
The Process
How Your ReWell Programme Works
From first call to first session — here's what to expect, whichever path you choose.
Discovery Call
Tell us about your diagnosis, the symptoms you're experiencing, your current treatment and what you're hoping to achieve. Davitt will talk through whether HBOT may be appropriate as part of your wider approach and recommend a starting point — clinic, rental or ownership.
Your Personalised HBOT Programme
Based on your circumstances, goals and intended use, ReWell guides your HBOT programme — including session frequency, pressure and pacing — rather than applying the same approach to every autoimmune or inflammatory condition.
Clinic Visit or Home Delivery
Book your first clinic session in Kildare, or — for rentals — we deliver and install your chamber, with a full safety walkthrough so you feel confident from session one.
Ongoing Support
We check in throughout your programme — questions, adjustments, progress — so you're never figuring it out alone. Available by phone and WhatsApp.
Why ReWell
Why People Choose ReWell
There are other places to access HBOT in Ireland. Here's what makes the ReWell experience different.
Personally Guided
Led by Davitt Meenaghan, IBUM-certified Hyperbaric Safety Officer. Your HBOT programme is guided around your circumstances, goals and intended use.
Nationwide Access
Clinic sessions in Kildare, home rentals delivered and installed across all 32 counties, and flexible ownership options. Wherever you're based — we come to you.
Ongoing Support
We don't just deliver a chamber and disappear. From your first conversation through to ongoing use, the ReWell team remains available for guidance and support.
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Which autoimmune or inflammatory conditions have been studied with HBOT?
HBOT has been investigated across several inflammatory and immune-mediated conditions, but the amount and quality of research varies significantly. Some of the more substantial clinical evidence relates to inflammatory bowel disease, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Evidence for other autoimmune conditions is less established, so HBOT shouldn't be assumed to have the same effect across different diagnoses.
How may HBOT influence inflammation?
HBOT significantly increases dissolved oxygen in the blood plasma and can influence biological pathways involved in inflammation, oxidative stress and cellular repair. These effects are part of the rationale for studying HBOT in inflammatory conditions, but how clinically meaningful they are depends on the individual disease and circumstances.
Is there evidence for HBOT in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis?
Yes. Several systematic reviews and meta-analyses have reported encouraging findings for HBOT used alongside usual care in inflammatory bowel disease. However, study quality has varied, evidence is stronger for some IBD presentations than others, and larger high-quality randomised trials are still needed.
How many HBOT sessions are needed for an autoimmune or inflammatory condition?
There is no universally established HBOT programme for autoimmune disease. Published research has used different pressures, frequencies and numbers of sessions depending on the condition being studied. ReWell therefore guides HBOT use around the individual's circumstances and intended use rather than promising benefits after a set number of sessions.
Is HBOT safe if I have an autoimmune condition?
HBOT is generally well tolerated, but it isn't appropriate for everyone. Suitability can depend on your diagnosis, health history, medications and other medical factors. Your existing autoimmune treatment should not be stopped or changed because you're considering HBOT, and your treating healthcare professional should remain involved in your care.
Can HBOT replace my medication or autoimmune treatment?
No. HBOT should be considered as a potential adjunct, not a replacement for medication, specialist treatment or other medical care prescribed for an autoimmune or inflammatory condition.
Conditions & Research
Explore HBOT by Area of Interest
Explore the research behind HBOT and learn how it may support different areas of health, recovery and performance.
What Clients Are Saying
Real experiences from people who have used ReWell for clinic sessions, home HBOT rental and ongoing support.
Not Sure Where to Start?
Could HBOT Have a Place in Your Wider Health Plan?
Speak directly with Davitt Meenaghan about your condition, what you're experiencing and what you're hoping to achieve. We'll help you explore whether HBOT may have a place alongside your existing care and which pathway may suit you best — clinic sessions, home rental or chamber ownership. No pressure, no obligation. Just an honest conversation.