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Ozone therapy is a claim that injection of ozone into the body can heal some medical conditions. It was historically considered to be alternative medicine because of its use “without rational basis or appropriate controls”. A 1999 article published in the British Journal of Biomedical Science concluded that “In the age of molecular medicine it is a real ‘act of faith’ to believe that ozone therapy might be a valid therapeutic option.” The principal historic method of intravenous injection into the blood was banned in 1984 because it caused lung embolism and other side effects. The current principal means of injection into the body is via the immediate intramuscular or subcutaneous reinjection of freshly drawn donated blood (autohemotherapy), in a belief that this might treat some conditions.

The use of ozone therapy is advocated as a form of alternative medicine but there is no scientific evidence supporting its use in treatment of specific diseases.

Historical origins

In 1856, just 16 years after its discovery, ozone was first used in a health care setting to disinfect operating rooms and sterilize surgical instruments. By the end of the 19th century the use of ozone to disinfect drinking water of bacteria and viruses was well established in mainland Europe. In 1892 The Lancet published an article describing the administration of ozone for treatment of tuberculosis. In 1902 another article was published claiming success in treating chronic middle ear deafness with ozone. Ozone was used during the First World War to disinfect wounds.

Uses

Some alternative medicine practitioners use ozone for a variety of conditions including dental conditions, cancer treatments, and AIDS. Its use is controversial in the United States but more accepted in Germany, Cuba, and Russia.

Ozone can disinfect surfaces and water if it is administered for at least two hours at a concentration of 1200 parts per million. It has been proposed as a treatment for AIDS and though it does deactivate the viral particles outside the body, there is no evidence of benefits to living patients.

Summarizing the substantial and growing body of study results showing deleterious health effects of breathing ozone, in 1976, and reiterated in 2006, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reflects the scientific consensus that ozone is a toxic gas which has, as yet, no demonstrated safe medical application in specific, adjunctive, or preventive therapy. One possible reason, noted by the FDA, is that in order for ozone to be effective as a germicide, it must be present in a concentration far greater than can be safely tolerated by man or other animals.

It is also noted that cinema projectionists who were exposed to excessive levels of ozone as a byproduct of the carbon arc lamps used in the projectors developed what was known as "Projectionists Lung". Ozone caused a deteriation of the lower lung membranes.

Though used as a treatment for cancer by some physicians, the American Cancer Society has advised cancer patients against using ozone therapy. Other industry opinion leaders in the UK and Australia as recently as 2001 also suggest that knowledge regarding the potential benefit and harm of ozone in cancer patients is insufficient. Therefore they do not recommend it as an alternative form of treatment for cancer patients.

Ozone has been suggested for use in dentistry, but the existing evidence does not support its use.

Safety

Much of the concern related to ozone therapy revolves around the safety of blood ozonation. It is well established that when inhaled by mammals, ozone reacts with compounds in tissues lining the lungs and triggers a cascade of pathological effects. Saul Green has argued that since ozone has the capacity to oxidize organic compounds in an atmospheric environment, it should also logically oxidize blood components and endogenous human tissues. When infused into human blood, ozone produces reactive oxygen species (ROS) or free radicals, an over-abundance of which is known to cause oxidative stress and cell damage, and is implicated in the progression of some degenerative diseases. High levels of inhaled ozone is known to be toxic, though single-dose inhalation of lower levels is not.

See also

• Air ioniser
• Ozone health effects

References

1. ^ Biological and clinical effects of ozone. Has ozone therapy a future in medicine?, British Journal of Biomedical Science, V. Bocci, 1999:56, 270-79
2. "Oxygenation Therapy: Unproven Treatments for Cancer and AIDS". Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine, 1997.
3. "CHAPTER TWENTY QUACKERY" (PDF). prostate-help.org.
4. "Quackbusters Inc.: Hot On The Heels Of Medical Hucksters". The Scientist magazine for the life sciences.
5. Goldacre, Ben (June 26, 2003). "So what has ozone ever done for us?". London: The Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
6. Dianzani F (1996). "The dilemma of exposing or burying a complementary medical approach". J. Biol. Regul. Homeost. Agents. 10 (2–3): 29. PMID 9250884.
7. ^ Chemical Technology Encyclopedia; Barnes & Noble 1968 vol 1 pp 82-3
8. Suchkov BP (1964). "". Gig Sanit (in Russian). 29: 22–9. PMID 14235449. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
9. "The Internal Administration of Ozone in the Treatment of Phthisis". Lancet II: 1180–1181. 1892.
10. Stoker, G (1902). "Ozone in Chronic Middle Ear Deafness". Lancet II: 1187–1188.
11. Stoker, George (1916). "The Surgical Uses of Ozone". Lancet II: 712.
12. Green, S (1997). "Oxygenation Therapy: Unproven Treatments for Cancer and AIDS". Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine.
13. "Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21 Vol 8 section 801.415". United States Food & Drug Administration. 2011-04-01. Retrieved 2011-10-04.
14. "Health Effects of Ozone in the General Population". US Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved 2012-11-17.
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17. Ernst E (2001). "A primer of complementary and alternative medicine commonly used by cancer patients". Med. J. Aust. 174 (2): 88–92. PMID 11245510. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
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19. "Oxygenation therapy: Unproven treatments for Cancer and AIDS". Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine 1997.
20. Bocci V; Valacchi G; Corradeschi F; et al. (1998). "Studies on the biological effects of ozone: 7. Generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) after exposure of human blood to ozone". J. Biol. Regul. Homeost. Agents. 12 (3): 67–75. PMID 9795834. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |author-separator= ignored (help)
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External links

• Template:Dmoz
• US EPA report questioning effectiveness or safety of ozone generators sold as air cleaners

• Misplaced Pages neutral point of view disputes from December 2011
• Ozone therapy