Oxygen therapy

Oxygen therapy is a form of treatment that uses oxygen to heal various disease conditions and strengthen the immune system. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) is a mainstream treatment that involves placing the patient in a pressurized chamber with pure oxygen (O₂). Bio-oxidative therapies are alternative treatment approaches that emphasize increasing the oxygen content of the blood through proper breathing and diet, together with the use of ozone and/or hydrogen peroxide in the treatment of specific diseases or weakened immune systems. Ozone therapy is considered a mainstream form of medical treatment in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, and Russia.

HBO therapy is used to reverse conditions or processes caused by inadequate oxygen in the body (e. g., asthma, carbon monoxide poisoning, smoke inhalation, decompression sickness, and mountain sickness) or to speed up the healing of injuries or infections by increasing the amount of oxygen in body tissues.

For this type of treatment, the patient is placed in a pressurized chamber and breathes pure oxygen either circulating within the chamber itself or through a mask or tube. Patients being treated for carbon monoxide or smoke inhalation poisoning receive oxygen through a tight-fitting aviator or anesthesia mask. The length of time in the oxygen chamber, the degree of pressurization, and the number of treatments depend on the condition being treated. For example, decompression sickness from diving accidents may require up to two weeks of oxygen treatment. Patients with osteomyelitis may require as many as 40-60treatments. Treatment sessions for most conditions are 90 minutes, with one or two five-minute "air breaks" at 20-minute or half-hour intervals.

Risks associated with hyperbaric oxygen treatment include seizures, irritation of the inner ear, numbness in the fingers, and temporary changes in the lens of the eye. In rare cases, HBO causes inflammation of the optic nerve thatmay lead to blindness.

Bio-oxidative therapies are used to treat conditions ranging from AIDS, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases to acne, dental surgery, allergies, arthritis,and herpes infections. Ozone therapy and hydrogen peroxide therapy are usedto treat a variety of diseases. Ozone and hydrogen peroxide are thought to inhibit tumor growth, kill viruses, stimulate the production of disease-fighting white blood cells, and improve the efficiency of oxygen transfer from the blood to body tissues.

Ozone can be administered in various ways. Mixtures of ozone and oxygen may be injected into muscle or introduced into the rectum. Doctors in Germany andRussia inject ozonated water into patients' joints to treat arthritis, rheumatism, and other joint diseases. Ozonated water is also used to cleanse or disinfect wounds, burns and skin infections and to treat the mouth after dentalsurgery. Ozone-treated oils are used to treat fungal infections, insect bitesand stings, acne, and similar skin problems. Slow-healing wounds are sometimes treated by pumping a mixture of ozone and oxygen into an airtight bag surrounding the area to be treated. The mixture is absorbed into body tissues through the skin. A method called autohemotherapy is used in Cuba to treat HIV infection, herpes, arthritis, and cancer. It involves removing 10-50 mL of a patient's blood, treating it with a mixture of ozone and oxygen, and then reinjecting or reinfusing it into the patient.

Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is a colorless liquid that mixes easily with water. Weak solutions of hydrogen peroxide are given intravenously for treatment of pneumonia, or influenza, and certain chronic diseases.Intravenous infusions of hydrogen peroxide also appear to help the immune system by stimulating production of white blood cells. Hydrogen peroxide solutions can also be injected directly into joints and soft-tissue to treat arthritis and other inflammatory conditions.

Patients should always check with a physician before trying any of these treatments.

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