Ozone Therapy

Overview

Ozone therapy refers to the process of administering ozone gas into your body to treat a disease or wound.

Ozone is a colorless gas made up of three atoms of oxygen (O₃). It can be used to treat medical conditions by stimulating the immune system. It can also be used to disinfect and treat disease.

In the hospital, ozone therapy gas is made from medical-grade oxygen sources.

How it works

Ozone therapy works by disrupting unhealthy processes in the body. It can help stop the growth of bacteria that are harmful.

Medical ozone has been used to disinfect medical supplies and treat different conditions for more than 150 years. For example, if you have an infection in your body, ozone therapy can stop it from spreading.

Research has shown ozone therapy to be effective at treating infections caused by:

• bacteria

• viruses

• fungi

• yeast

• protozoa

Ozone therapy also helps flush out infected cells. Once the body rids itself of these infected cells, it produces new, healthy ones.

What it helps treat

Ozone therapy is used for a variety of conditions.

Breathing disorders

People with any type of breathing disorder may be good candidates for ozone therapy.

By providing more oxygen to your blood, ozone therapy can help reduce the stress on your lungs. Your lungs are responsible for supplying oxygen to your blood.

Clinical trials for people with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are currently in progress. The Mayo Clinic doesn’t recommend ozone therapy for people with asthma.

Diabetes

Ozone therapy also shows promise in reducing the risk of complications from diabetes.

Complications are usually caused by oxidative stress in the body. If ozone therapy can bring new, fresh oxygen to the blood and tissues, people with diabetes could have much better outcomes.

People with diabetes also experience poor wound healing. According to a 2015 study, ozone therapy could be helpful for repairing skin and tissue.

Immune disorders

Ozone therapy may have benefits for people with immune disorders because it can help stimulate the immune system.

An in-vitro study from 1991 found evidence that ozone therapy could completely inactivate the HIV virus. A follow-up study published in 2008 didn’t find ozone therapy to offer any therapeutic value to people with HIV, however.

More research is needed on the use of ozone therapy for the treatment of HIV.

Effectiveness

Research for ozone therapy shows mixed results, though many results are promising. Several ozone therapy clinical trials are in progress for everything from HIV to arthritis.

A 2017 clinical trial found a new ozone therapy drug to be effective at helping people with COPD and cystic fibrosis.

Ozone therapy is also currently being studied in people with arthritis of the knee and other inflammatory diseases, but results aren’t yet available. People with back pain from herniated discs may also benefit from ozone therapy.

The use of ozone in dentistry is becoming more popular to help clean teeth and for disinfection of equipment. Many products are available to purchase that purport ozone therapy, but none have been proved effective.

Ozone therapy should be conducted by a trained physician or naturopathic practitioner.

There are some studies that show effectiveness in the lab, but there isn’t enough evidence for the FDA to recognize and support its use. More large-scale human studies are needed before approval by the FDA and acceptance of use by the medical community and insurance companies.