Oxygen and Ozone Therapies
Oxygen and ozone therapy is a term for a number of closely related therapies that promote healing by introducing oxygen into the body in a variety of ways. Ozone is an activated form of oxygen. Oxygen is O2 whereas ozone is O3. Over a period of 20-30 minutes, depending on temperature, ozone breaks down into two atoms of regular oxygen - by giving up one atom of singlet oxygen, leaving a single, reactive oxygen atom. Medical ozone is made when medical grade oxygen is electrically activated (using an ozone generator) to form ozone. Ozone is germicidal, bactericidal, and fungicidal. Pure oxygen has these properties too, but less strongly.
Oxygen is the single most important nutrient for the body. We can survive weeks without food, days without water, but only minutes without oxygen. Every cell requires a continuous supply to generate energy and maintain cell component fnctions.
Ozone and its properties were first discovered by Friedreich Schonbein in 1826. Ozone has been used in medical and naturopathic medicine since the 1870’s. First ozone was used to purify water, in Europe, over one hundred years ago. It is being used, today, to purify drinking water in over two thousand cities around the world, including Paris, Montreal, Moscow and Los Angeles. Oxygen and Ozone are bubbled through the water, killing bacteria and viruses, reducing odor and taste, and leaving the water purified and safe to drink. In Europe ozone has become an often used and inexpensive staple in alternative healing.
A lack of sufficient cellular oxygen is a major cause of poor health, leading to many degenerative conditions such as arthritis, low immunity, constant tiredness, regular colds and flus, hayfever, low vitality and so on. When we analyze the available sincere and serious medical literature, we conclude that Ozone is shown to be most beneficial in fighting AIDS, but also showing benefits to fighting cancer, hepatitis and most bacterial, fungal and viral conditions. When one’s body is flooded with an activated form of oxygen, such as ozone, people consistently report that negative conditions, as well as one’s general health and energy levels, dramatically improve.
From a technical point of view, cells infected with a virus already have weakened cell walls or "lipid envelopes." This possibly substandard protein and lipid coating is unbalanced and incomplete, and it is the perfect attractor for the extra oxygen. Once the ozone attaches itself to the infected cell, it is destroyed and flushed from the system. Healthy cells are unaffected and there is no residual toxicity.
Ozone is used in both lay and professional, orthodox and complimentary treatments in several ways. In a mainstream setting hyperbaric treatment exists but not for the general public, no matter how necessary, as the odd system that each central hospital has, needs to be kept available for divers and firemen. In a naturopathic setting ozone/oxygen is used through insufflation, autohemotherapy, hyperbaric and IV’s.
With IV’s Ozone is introduced directly into the blood and spreads quickly throughout the entire body. These treatments are invasive and require a high degree of expertise. In Europe this is practiced by both medical physicians and naturopaths who are especially trained for these procedures. In BC the medical profession is forbidden to use ozone but naturopaths have license to do so.
In a holistic setting, sauna and oxygen/ozone “infusion” is combined to form a gentle and effective therapy that is not invasive yet effective. It can be employed by lay people and at home. This is were you have a comfy sit in a steam cabinet, where heat and ozone is created and introduced for absorption through the opened pores of the skin and toxins easily exit. No breathing of ozone occurs, as a towel around the neck acts as a seal.
Saunas and steam baths have been used for centuries by cultures around the world to bring about detoxification, including detoxing heavy metals. The sweat route is the most efficient and natural! Towels that you sit on while in the sauna cabinet show the evidence! Often, at the bottom of the steam cabinet, a puddle of murky, sticky water collects with eliminated lymphatics.
Heat causes toxins to be released from the cells. Toxic metals, including mercury, as well as organic toxins, PCB’s and pesticide residues, are excreted in visible quantities. First the toxic molecules pass into the lymphatic system. Sweat is manufactured from lymphatic fluid and toxins present in this fluid exit the body via the sebaceous glands. Because the liver and kidneys are not required in this process, these organs remain largely unburdened. This may be a distinct advantage for people whose livers and kidneys may already be under stress.
During about 30 minutes of this pleasant exposure, the blood vessels of the skin dilate to allow more blood to flow to the surface to support the cooling process. As sweat production increases, the heart works harder and pumps blood at a greater rate to boost circulation. Heart rate, cardiac output and metabolic rate increase, while diastolic blood pressure drops, for improved overall cardiovascular tone. Increased blood circulation carries off metabolic waste products and delivers oxygen rich blood to oxygen depleted cells.
Some weight loss authorities believe that our bodies use fat to keep toxins out of harm’s way. When the weight and fat come off, the toxins are released and need to exit. And as heart rate, cardiac output and metabolic rate increases, it improves overall cardiovascular fitness and causes calories to burn.
Skin tone and elasticity are improved, too. Acne, eczema, psoriasis, burns and also roughness are reduced. Even cellulite, trapped in pockets beneath the skin, can be reduced.
Oxygen therapies are intended to enhance, not replace any treatment program prescribed or recommended by a physician or healthcare professional. And more applications remain to be discovered.
Why aren’t we using it more often?
