The Benefits of Ozone Therapy

Ozone therapy has long been used as a tool to promote healing, and the benefits of ozone therapy are profound. It is a way to supply the body with more oxygen, which can accelerate cellular healing and repair, reduce infectious load in the body, increase circulation and enhance mitochondrial function. There are many ways to get ozone, including ozonated water, rectal ozone, ear insufflations and more. For the purposes of this article I’m talking about intravenous (IV) ozone. IV ozone is great because it exposes a percentage of one’s blood supply to the extra oxygen; now 10-pass ozone therapy (aka high-dose ozone) is even better because it exposes a much greater proportion of the blood supply to oxygen, which gives an even more profoundly beneficial response.

Ozone is composed of 3 oxygen atoms instead of 2 like oxygen. It is the addition of the third oxygen molecule that makes ozone “supercharged” and gives it all its incredible healing powers. It has been used in Germany since 1950 and is considered the main treatment for many diseases with excellent outcomes.

Some of the benefits of ozone therapy include:

1. Ozone is a potent regulator of the immune system

• If the immune system is overactive as in autoimmune diseases it will calm it down.
• If the immune system is depressed like in cancer or a chronic infection it will stimulate the immune system.
• Ozone stimulates the white cells to produce immune related messenger molecules called cytokines. There is scientific evidence to show that there are a rise in gamma interferon, T helper cells and killer cells just to name a few.

2. Ozone increases oxygenation to the tissues

• Ozone increases an enzyme calleddiphosphoglyceride (DPG). DPG enables the release of oxygen from the hemoglobin molecule so that the cell can take up more oxygen. All chronic diseases have inadequate cellular oxygenation, therefore, ozone can help and prevent many diseases. For example, diabetics are known to have inadequate DPG. Ozone helps by increasing DPG along with increasing microcirculation- another benefit for the diabetic patient.

3. Ozone improves circulation

• Many diseases cause the red cells to clump together. Ozone separates each red cell thus exposing a greater surface area for more oxygen to be delivered into the tissues.
• It has been found that N2O (Nitric Oxide, NO) increases in blood after ozone. This improves circulation because NO is a potent vasodilator. This is beneficial for patients with cardiovascular disease and improves circulation and delivery of oxygenation to help in the treatment and prevention of dementia.

4. Ozone increases antioxidant production

• Everyone can benefit from increasing their antioxidant stores.
• Glutathione is the most potent antioxidant in our body. After ozone treatment glutathione has been found to be increased.

5. Ozone is anti-microbial

• It kills viruses, bacteria and fungus. It has been found to help patients suffering from hepatitis, herpes, Lyme Disease and may other chronic infections.

6. Ozone is a powerful stimulant to the mitochondria

• The mitochondria are the powerhouse of all cells. This organelle increases ATP production, which helps all individuals with chronic disease especially those experiencing chronic fatigue.

7. Ozone is helpful for those detoxing from alcohol

• It decreases MDA, which protects the enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase, which is needed to lower the levels of acetaldehyde levels. High acetaldehyde levels are what are responsible for symptoms of withdrawal.

8. Ozone improves microcirculation

• Macular degeneration is the number one cause of blindness and can be prevented by early ozone intervention. The retina is highly vascularized and ozone can help maintain the essential blood supply.

9. Ozone is very helpful in diabetes and pre-diabetes

• It normalizes blood sugar.
• It improves microcirculation which is impaired in many diabetics.
• Improvement in circulation aids in healing from diabetic ulcers or peripheral neuropathy, which originates from poor circulation.

10. Cosmetic skin effects of ozone

• Ozone causes a new formation and proliferation of elastin and collagen helping the skin to tighten.
• The detoxifying effects of ozone help lighten age spots or even have them disappear in some cases.
  That’s quite a range of uses and benefits.

We have started doing 10-pass ozone treatments in my clinic, and are seeing really good results with it. Of course, no one therapy is a miracle therapy, and our patients are usually adopting integrative approaches to their health including nutrition, supplements, herbs, etc. But the ozone is packing a powerful punch in helping people overcome chronic infections such as Lyme, and other chronic health issues.

10-pass ozone does necessitate the use of a small amount of heparin to prevent clotting throughout the procedure. Therefore the risk of post-treatment bleeding is a little higher than with other types of ozone. We always check certain labs first, including prothrombin time (PTT), iron and ferritin, complete blood count to check platelets, G6PD enzyme and metabolic panel.

The procedure itself is fairly straightforward from a patient standpoint. They can be lying down on seated, an IV catheter is inserted into the vein, so it’s only 1 poke for the whole treatment. 150-200mL of blood is then removed, ozonated, and returned to the body hyperbarically (under pressure); and this cycle repeated up to 10 times.

We’ve definitely seen some Herxing after treatments. More sensitive people we only do 1-2 “passes” their first treatment to see how they tolerate it.

Overall, I believe ozone therapy, and 10-pass ozone in particular, is a great therapy for chronic infections and other chronic health conditions.