An Overview of Ozone IV Therapy

What is Ozone IV Therapy?
Ozone IV therapy (also known as ozone intravenous therapy) is a type of alternative medicine that uses controlled doses of medical grade ozone (O3) to heal and regulate how the body functions by sending the ozone directly into the bloodstream via intravenous (IV) injection. The most common way that ozone IV therapy is used in medicine today is through major autohemotherapy (MAH), which is where the doctor will draw a specific amount of blood from one of the veins of the patient, mix the blood with an ozone-oxygen gas mixture that conforms to health standards under sterile conditions, and then reinfuse the mixture back into the patient’s vein.
The mechanism by which this therapy works is through mild and controlled oxidative preconditioning of the blood followed by utilising the reaction of ozone with the components of the blood to produce ozonides (organic compounds containing a combination of oxygen and ozonides) and reactive oxygen species (ROS). The ozonides and ROS can provide improved flexibility to red blood cells, increase efficient oxygen delivery through the tissues, increase the amount of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) produced inside cells, and optimise the metabolism of the cells. Additionally, through the production of ozonides and ROS, ozone can modulate the activity of the cells of the immune system and the release of cytokines by the immune cells, have broad-spectrum antimicrobial effects against bacteria, viruses, and fungi, and reduce chronic inflammation within the body.
Ozone IV therapy is primarily and most commonly used as an adjunctive therapy for the treatment of chronic infections, autoimmune disorders, cardiovascular microcirculation disorders, and low immune function or ‘sub/health states.’ The duration of a particular ozone IV therapy session is 30–60 minutes. Each ozone IV therapy session is tailored to each patient’s tolerance level and their specific condition, which means that the ozone dose administered may be different from patient to patient and from condition to condition.
The most critical aspects of ensuring patient safety during and after receiving ozone IV therapy is to ensure that ozone is administered under sterile conditions using precise dosages of ozone. If ozone is not administered under sterile conditions, it may lead to irritation of the veins in which the ozone IV therapy is administered as well as oxidatively injured cells within the patient from the use of ozone. Ozone IV therapy has not yet been granted medical approval for use throughout many regions and is deemed as ‘experimental’ because of the relative lack of large-scale clinical evidence proving that ozone IV therapy is useful. Therefore, the use of ozone IV therapy should be limited to standardised procedures under the supervision of a physician.