Oxygen therapy is rapidly gaining notoriety as a promising alternative therapeutic method used in the cure of some of the terrible and puzzling plagues of our times, like AIDS and cancer. This method has application in so many diseases that its proponents believe to have found a panacea, a cure that goes to the root of all illnesses, which in their belief is the lack of sufficient oxygen in the body.
Justification
Oxygen therapy involves the artificial increase of oxygen levels in our bodies. The human body is more than half water, which contains only two molecules of hydrogen and one of oxygen. Deprivation of oxygen can cause death in a matter of minutes. These arguments are sufficient to prove how important oxygen is for health and life.
Methods
There are different techniques used in oxygen therapy: ozone therapy, oxidative therapy and the hyperbaric chamber. The first two methods entail the introduction in the body of substances that can release oxygen. Ozone therapy involves the use of ozone gas (O3) that is mixed with air or liquids and introduced through the body orifices or injected into the muscle. In contact with the water in the red cells from blood it turns into hydrogen peroxide. Oxidative therapy is performed by injection or ingestion of liquid hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), a substance that occurs naturally in the human body in trace amounts.
Hyperbaric chamber use, also known as hyperbaric oxygen therapy, involves enclosing the patients in a pressurized chamber where they can breathe pure oxygen.
Validity
Although there is no scientific evidence that higher oxygen levels may hurt cancer formations, there is hope for new developments in this area because studies have demonstrated that cancer cells use oxygen differently.
While the hyperbaric chamber is an FDA-approved treatment for decompression sickness, gangrene, brain abscess and healing of tissues that needs more oxygen, it has never been proved to treat cancer. Laboratory tests have found benefits to the use of hydrogen peroxide in combination with chemotherapy, but the results are still inconclusive, according to the American Cancer Society.
Adverse Reactions
While the hyperbolic chamber is a safe treatment method, introduction of oxygen-releasing substances can be a dangerous practice and patient deaths have been reported. Ingestion of food grade hydrogen peroxide can cause vomiting and burns in the throat and stomach. In contact with skin, it also causes blistering and burns.
Injectable hydrogen peroxide can also be dangerous as high levels of the substance in the bloodstream can cause blockages, gangrene and even death. Some people may experience severe allergic reactions.
Precautions
Women who are pregnant should not use the ozone and oxidative therapeutic methods, as they might affect the fetus and infant baby in unknown ways. The hyperbaric chamber can be used in pregnancy only in extreme cases when there is no other alternative.
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