Hydrogen Gas Helps COVID Recovery in New Study
Molecular Hydrogen Positively Affects Physical and Respiratory Function in Acute Post-COVID-19 Patients: A New Perspective in Rehabilitation
Research hubs: Respiratory System · Cardiovascular System
- Evidence type
- Randomized controlled trial · Human study
- Authors
- Michal Botek, Jakub Krejčí, Michal Valenta, Andrew McKune, Barbora Sládečková, Petr Konečný, Iva Klimešová, Dalibor Pastucha
- Journal
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
- Year
- 2022
- PMID
- 35206179
- Study Type
- Human
- Participants
- 50
- Delivery
- Gas
- Dose
- 2 × 60 min/day for 14 days
- H₂ concentration
- 99.99% purity
- Duration
- 2 weeks
- Funding
- Palacký University Olomouc (IGA_FTK_2021_009); BALUO Application Centre of Faculty of Physical Culture, Palacký University Olomouc
- Conflicts of interest
- None declared
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Cited by
- 56 (OpenAlex, as of November 2026)
- Country
- Czech Republic
TL;DR
Breathing in hydrogen gas for two weeks helped improve lung function and physical ability in patients who had recently recovered from COVID-19.
Key Finding
People recovering from acute COVID-19 who inhaled molecular hydrogen for 14 days walked significantly farther in a 6-minute walking test and showed improved lung function measurements compared to those who received placebo.
Summary
This study tested whether breathing molecular hydrogen gas could help people recovering from COVID-19. Fifty people who were 3-5 weeks into their recovery breathed either hydrogen gas or a placebo (fake treatment) for 2 hours each day over 14 days. Researchers measured how far participants could walk in 6 minutes and tested their lung function. People who breathed hydrogen gas walked farther and showed improvements in lung function compared to those who received the placebo.
Practical Takeaway
This small, short-term study suggests hydrogen gas inhalation may support recovery of physical and respiratory function in early post-COVID-19 recovery. However, the study involved only 50 people and lasted just 2 weeks, so larger and longer studies would be needed to confirm these results and determine if benefits persist. More research is also needed to understand how hydrogen might work and whether it helps people with long-term COVID symptoms.
Abstract (excerpt)
Molecular hydrogen (H2) is potentially a novel therapeutic gas for acute post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients because it has antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptosis, and antifatigue properties. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of 14 days of H2 inhalation…