Micah - The Ozonaut
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WHY ARE SO MANY PEOPLE USING OZONE THERAPY?
At a Glance:
- Overview - Ozone is a gas (O3) with use in many industries but medical applications have distinct differences. Its medical history dates back to 1871 and saw an increase in WWI.
- Safety - Ozone as a gas is harmful to breathe but scientific data shows a higher safety record than aspirin when used correctly. Different tissues respond differently to medical ozone gas, which is why you cannot breathe it but could have an intravenous therapy.
- Benefits - The primary actions of ozone therapy include increased oxygen efficiency, immune modulation, mediated oxidative stress, and improved microcirculation. People often report increased energy, cognitive function, endurance, and decreased pain.
- How Ozone Therapy is Administered - There are two primary categories for ozone administration. The first is a systemic form of administration. They claim that this yields a stimulation of fundamental processes in the body. The second is a local form of administration which may have a positive effect for tissue damage in that localised area.
- Diseases Treated - Ozone therapy treats a lot but cures nothing. It has a fundamental action to the body which allows the body to rebalance and heal itself. There is a more in depth list attached.
- If you’re like a lot of people, you’ve gone through all the recommendations of the medical system and still don’t have results. You just want to be free from sickness and find effective methods.
- Chronic illness, non-effective medicine, and conflicting information contribute to a daunting task of recovering. Most people just want a normal life, non-toxic and effective medicine, and to really know what is best for their health.
- All the compiling issues can make you feel trapped and lost. It’s normal to feel lost in the midst of sickness, not knowing where to turn because of the overwhelming amount of information and choices. Some even get to the point where they feel no hope.
- It’s a pure shame because people shouldn’t be failed by the medical system. You deserve to get results after all the time, money, and energy you invest. Sorting through all the information shouldn’t be so difficult, there should be an answer.
- We understand what it’s like to feel trapped by illness in the medical system. We are frustrated by the lack of results and clarity.
- Although we don’t promise to alleviate all those problems, we want to provide one piece of the puzzle - informed decision about ozone therapy.
- Ozone therapy is an alternative therapy, growing in popularity, and potentially beneficial for a variety of ailments due to its proposed ability to rebalance complex systems in the body. An overview of ozone therapy, applications, safety, side effects, and benefits will allow you to make a more informed decision.
For the purposes of clarity, we will be exclusively focusing on ozone therapy in the primary medical field, which broadly applies to chronic disease, acute infections, preventative care, and general health issues.
Overview
Ozone Gas
What is ozone? Ozone is a gas composed of three oxygen atoms (O3), a close relationship to oxygen (O2). Different from oxygen, ozone is extremely unstable because that extra oxygen atom wants to break off and combine with other molecules, known as oxidation.
Most people have heard about ozone either due to pollution or the ozone layer. The ozone layer is a layer of ozone gas in the atmosphere that protects us from harmful ultraviolet rays. Ground level ozone is created during a chemical reaction from pollution and is harmful to breathe (more on that later). (1) While ozone is harmful to the lungs, scientists have been finding pure, medical grade ozone gas can be applied in many beneficial ways. (2)
INDUSTRIAL VS. MEDICAL OZONE
Ozone is commonly used in industrial applications such as:
- Air purification and mold remediation
- Water purification by cities and municipalities
- Laundry
- Wine making
- Bottled water
- Food sterilization
- And More
There are some important differences between the use of ozone in industrial and medical applications.
Industrial grade ozone utilizes an impure form of ozone. This is largely because they use ambient air which has an oxygen content of 21%. This produces a gas mixture that is not purely a mixture of oxygen and ozone. In addition, industrial ozone generators do not use materials that are 100% resistant to ozone and consequently break down to produce contaminants in the gas.
Medical grade ozone gas is exclusively an ozone-oxygen mixture. To create this, an oxygen tank of 99.9% oxygen is connected to a medical grade ozone generator, using 100% ozone resistant materials. It produces a gas mixture that is about 2 - 5% ozone gas and 95 - 98% oxygen.
BRIEF HISTORY
Ozone as a medical treatment has a history dating back to 1871. In WWI ozone was used to treat infections from wounds but in the 1960’s ozone started to be scientifically studied, namely by Dr. Velio Bocci (Italy) and Dr. Hansler (Germany).
In the past twenty years ozone therapy has started to make serious scientific leaps with an increasing amount of data and scientists involved in its study. Today, over 50,000 practitioners around the world practice ozone therapy on a daily basis.
OZONE IN DIFFERENT MEDICAL INDUSTRIES
Ozone therapy is used in four different medical industries including:
- Primary Medical - For chronic diseases, acute infections, and general wellness
- Joint and Musculoskeletal Injections - For injured or degrading joints and injuries
- Cosmetic - For improving cosmetics such as wrinkles, hair, cellulite, etc.
- Dental - For killing and preventing infections, cavitations, surgery, and faster healing
-
Safety of Ozone Therapy
Don’t Breathe Ozone
Breathing ozone is not safe because it will irritate the lungs. There are no antioxidant defenses in the lungs which make them vulnerable to oxidants like ozone. (3)
However, other parts of the body have antioxidants and may produce a beneficial effect when exposed to ozone. Scientists have gone to great lengths to explain their claims about the safety of ozone (4, 5). We have also written an in depth article explaining resources surrounding ozone safety.
Smelling small amounts of ozone is ok according to OSHA (6). OSHA outlines safe levels of ozone in the air. When you do ozone therapy, you may smell small amounts of ozone.
Ozone is detectable by smell at 0.005 parts per million, making it one of the most distinct molecules to exist. You can smell ozone far before it exceeds the OSHA standard of safety. But some people still wear a mask like this or only operate in a well ventilated room.
THE DATA
ISCO3 claims ozone therapy has a higher safety record than aspirin. They attribute most of the negative side effects to misuse by the practitioner and lacking proper protocol.
According to their data, only 6 out of 100,000 ozone therapy sessions have a negative side effect. However, they still have not publicly released the original data yet.
Nonetheless, there are still lots of case studies and reports making similar observations to ISCO3 - very few negative side effects.
A leading scientist, Dr. Velio Bocci put together a well researched paper on the safety of ozone therapy. Click to read, “Is it true that ozone is always toxic? The end of a dogma”
Overdosing and Herxheimerr
Some people want to increase the doses outlined in the protocols to get better results. More is not better with ozone therapy. Most practitioners recommend to start with a lower dose and slowly increase within the confines of the protocol.
Higher doses of ozone can cause a die off (Herxheimer) reaction which can give you flu-like symptoms. Or it may just cause irritation, discomfort, or itching. To avoid severe herxheimer reactions, it is common for doctors to start with a lower dose and work people up as they tolerate it. You can see one woman’s experience with ozone therapy here. Her first four ozone treatments left her feeling slightly sick and in need of a nap. After the fifth treatment, she felt like she had a quadruple espresso and maintained really high energy.
Only do as your practitioner recommends
Ozone therapy is not FDA approved and the funds have not yet been raised to start clinical trials in the USA, although they exist in multiple countries outside of the USA. You should consult your medical practitioner. None of the information outlined in this document is intended to treat, cure, or diagnose. It is not a substitute for medical advice.
CONTRAINDICATIONS (REASONS TO AVOID OZONE THERAPY)
- Pregnancy
- Blood clotting issues
- Anemia
- Ozone Allergy
Side Effects
Each therapy has a potentially different side effect, most of them have inconsequential effects, such as discomfort from inserting a needle into the arm or cramping from too much gas during a rectal insufflation. We don’t list all the potential side effects here but have listed the most common.
These are possible negative side effects of ozone therapy:
Herxheimer reaction - Nausea and flu like symptoms from activating the immune system and endotoxin release from a lot of pathogens being killed quickly
Coughing and chest discomfort if too much ozone is accidentally inhaled
Cramps from rectal insufflation, usually too much gas or too strong
Rash due to an ozone allergy
- Itching, dryness, and discomfort during ear insufflation
BENEFITS OF OZONE THERAPY
What is ozone therapy doing? If you want more depth on the benefits of ozone therapy, I would recommend reading this article and this article. For now, we are going to bullet point the claims made by ozone therapy scientists.
Systemic Treatment Benefits:
- May improve oxygenation (7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
- May mediate oxidative stress, a leading cause of aging and disease (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
- May modulate the immune system, improves an underperforming immune system and rebalances an autoimmune issue (20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
- Improves blood flow and microcirculation (25, 26, 27)
What people experience:
- Increased energy
- Sense of wellbeing
- Increased endurance
- Improved cognitive function/decreased brain fog
- Reduced Pain
HOW OZONE THERAPY IS ADMINISTERED
SYSTEMIC VS. LOCAL TREATMENTS
There are two basic categories to all ozone therapy treatments. Some are systemic, meaning they may benefit the entire body and bring numerous benefits by stimulating homeostasis (self-balancing). An example of a systemic treatment would be rectal insufflation.
what is ozone therapy? According to scientists, ozone therapy may stimulate the same pathway as exercise and intermittent fasting! (28)
Others are considered local, meaning that they only treat a particular area, like swishing ozone water for the mouth, ozone limb bagging for the foot, or vaginal insufflation for the vagina.
An example of a systemic treatment is rectal insufflation or blood treatments.
Systemic treatments
Commonly used for:
- Athletics
- Cancer
- Infections
- Autoimmune Diseases
- Gut Diseases like IBS
- Anti-Aging and Longevity
- Biohacking
- Mold Toxicity
- Lyme
Local treatments
Specific regions, like the mouth, hand, or vagina may be benefited by local ozone therapy treatments. Local treatments are typically used for infections and speeding the healing process. An example would be washing an infection on the skin with ozone water.
Local treatments are commonly used for:
If you read online, you may notice differing opinions on what is local and what is systemic. For example, everyone accepts that rectal and blood treatments are systemic treatments, but not everyone agrees that vaginal insufflation is a systemic treatment.
We categorized the treatments below according to the consensus made by most scientific ozone therapy organizations. However, there are many anecdotal and clinical experiences that venture beyond the scientific progress that has been made.
METHODS OF ADMINISTRATION
In order to inform you on all the applications of ozone therapy, we have included some therapies that are not recommended by the International Scientific Committee of Ozone Therapy (ISCO3), the most credible scientific organization for ozone therapy. The non-recommended therapies will be marked with an asterisk (*).
Ozone therapy is primarily administered either by mixing blood with ozone or pushing ozone into a body cavity, such as the ears, vagina, or rectum. However, there are many different protocols and nuances to how it is done, which brings a variety of administration methods to the table. Below we outline the majority of ozone therapy administration methods.
We are not making recommendations for ozone therapy or its application, merely observing the different methods of administration. You can click treatments highlighted blue to see examples.
Systemic treatments will have a bolded Systemic.
AT HOME OR THE MEDICAL CLINIC
These therapies are commonly applied either at one's residence under the direction of a medical practitioner or in a medical clinic.
- Systemic - Rectal Insufflation Ozone Therapy
- Ozone Water for Drinking*
- Ozone Water for Lavaging of Wounds and Infections
- Systemic - Ear Insufflation Ozone Therapy
- Vaginal Insufflation Ozone Therapy
- Nasal Insufflation Ozone Therapy*
- Breathing Ozonides Bubbled Through Olive Oil*
- Ozone Sauna Therapy*
- Limb Bagging and Cupping
ONLY IN THE MEDICAL CLINIC
These therapies are exclusively administered in a medical clinic by a medical practitioner.
INCLUDING INTRAVENOUS METHODS (IN THE VEIN):
- Systemic - Major Autohemotherapy Ozone Therapy (MaH)
- Systemic - Minor Autohemotherapy Ozone Therapy (mah)
- Systemic - MaH/Ultraviolet Blood Irradiation (UBI) AKA O3UV*
- Systemic - Direct Intravenous Ozone Therapy (DIV)*** Beyond non-recommended by ISCO3, this is a condemned practice. Read more in this article.
- Systemic - Extra-corporeal Blood Oxygenation and Ozonation (EBOO)*
- Systemic - Ozonated Saline Intravenous
- Systemic - 10 Pass Ozone Therapy AKA Hyperbaric Ozone Therapy*
- Systemic - HiDose Ozone Therapy AKA HiDose O3UV*
Not including blood:
- Bladder Insufflation Ozone Therapy
- Intraperitoneal Ozone Injection Therapy*
- Skin Injections Ozone Therapy (infections, non-healing wounds, ulcers)
- Ozonated Eye Drops*
DISEASES TREATED AND USES
What is ozone therapy used for? The therapeutic properties of ozone may positively impact a wide variety of diseases, conditions, and injuries. As an alternative medicine, ozone therapy is often used alongside other treatments or as a preventative practice. It is rarely administered as the sole treatment for an ailment but it is synergistic with many therapies, even invasive ones such as chemotherapy.
A popular saying for ozone therapy is, “Ozone treats many things but cures nothing.” Due to the benefits described above, it has a fundamental approach to helping the body rebalance and heal itself.
In this article we will not be covering all the diseases that are commonly treated with ozone. If you would like to see a more in depth list, you can click here.
People with these diseases are commonly treated with ozone therapy:
- Cancer
- Autoimmune Disease
- Lyme Disease
- Infections
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Chronic Fatigue
- Chronic Pain
- Ear Infections
- Heart Disease
- Allergies and Sinusitis
- Dental Cavitations and Infections
- Alzheimers
USE IN ATHLETICS
Cristiano Ronaldo, Ion Cutelaba, and Adrian Peterson have openly used ozone therapy to improve their athletic performance.
Doctors claim that ozone therapy is able to improve oxygen metabolism and reduce muscular fatigue. (https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/0ce8/3639eeffc430121d2a462f4e45c360b3f4df.pdf, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4523667/)
Ozone therapy is commonly used among professional sports including soccer, NFL, NBA, CrossFit, UFC, cycling, and more. It is said to increase stamina and endurance.
Read the full article on ozone in athletics here.
PREVENTATIVE CARE AND BIOHACKING
For those who are not interested in athletics, ozone therapy is still used as a method to improving quality of life. People often use it to help mediate oxidative stress which may be helpful in preventing disease and improving cognitive function.
You can read the full article on ozone for biohacking and preventative measures here.
IS OZONE THERAPY FOR YOU?
That’s something we cannot answer for you. We recommend speaking with a doctor. You can find a list of ozone doctors here: map.drsozone.com
Ozone therapy is an alternative therapy, growing in popularity, and potentially beneficial for a variety of ailments due to its proposed ability to rebalance complex systems in the body. This overview of ozone therapy, applications, safety, side effects, and benefits will allow you to make a more informed decision.
DISCLAIMER
This article is intended for informational purposes only and is not intended to be medical advice. Seriously.
Ask advice from your medical practitioner before trying anything like this or relating to ozone therapy. You should listen to the counsel of your medical practitioner.
The information on this website has not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration or any other medical body. We do not aim to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any illness or disease. Information is shared for educational purposes only. You must consult your doctor before acting on any content on this website, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition.
This site offers medical information about treatments and remedies which are available in other countries completely legally, but in no way should anyone consider that this site represents the “practice of medicine.” This website assumes no responsibility for how this material is used.
