BIO-OXIDATIVE THERAPIES

Bio-Oxidative Medicine recognizes the energy and life-giving properties of oxygen as being the foundation for human existence. Unfortunately, we are living in a world with ever diminishing levels of oxygen, which leads to a chronic state of oxygen deprivation. The subtle shift in the levels of oxygen in the atmosphere and the dramatic rise of toxic chemicals which the human body cannot tolerate can lead to a weakening of the immune system, which in turn affects the entire body. Bio-Oxidative Medicine utilizes one of the Earth's oldest and most vital elements, oxygen, as one of today’s greatest healing tools. By implementing techniques designed to remove harmful toxins and create oxidative balance, proper cellular metabolism can be restored and health and vitality returned to the individual.

What is Bio-Oxidative Therapy?

Bio-Oxidative Therapy is simply treating the body with extra oxygen. Treatment methods include forcing extra oxygen gas (O2) into the lungs under pressure (hyperbaric oxygen), mixing blood with ozone gas (O3) and the intravenous infusion of liquid hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). Currently the only Bio-Oxidative Therapy available at CEIM is hydrogen peroxide.  We are planning to have a hyperbaric oxygen chamber available soon.  The addition of extra oxygen has many benefits for both prevention and treatment of disease. Oxidation is an extremely important energy producing chemical reaction in the body using various forms of oxygen. Like nuclear energy, this powerful oxidative energy must be tightly controlled to prevent damage to surrounding normal tissue. Most biochemical reactions in the body are 'Balanced' through 'Redox' mechanisms. Redox means (red)uction - (ox)idation. Anytime a substance is reduced (chemically changed), something else must be oxidized (chemically changed the other way) for the reactions to stay in balance. As an example, oxidation is the process which causes rust on metals (slow oxidation) or fire (rapid oxidation). In the body, some types of oxidation are thought to be harmful by producing Free Radicals. (We also suggest people take Vitamin E, an antioxidant to help reduce Free Radical formation.) We know there can be no life if oxidation does not occur. Oxidation is the process through which the body converts sugar into energy. The body also uses oxidation as the first line of defense against bacteria, virus, yeast and parasites. Even breathing oxygen is an oxidative process. Without oxygen for more than a few seconds, serious consequences follow. Without oxidation, we die very quickly. When we use the principals of oxidation to bring about improvements in the body, it is called a therapy, herein referred to Bio-oxidative Therapy.

Anti-oxidants in the form of vitamins and enzymes protect the body from oxidative damage. The immune system however uses oxidative energy as a weapon to directly kill infectious agents such as bacteria, virus, yeast and parasites.

According to Frank Shallenberger, M.D. author of The Principles and Applications of Ozone Therapy, oxygen therapies affect the human body in the following ways:

1.  They stimulate the production of white blood cells, which are necessary to fight infection.

2.     Ozone and hydrogen peroxide are virucidal.

3.     They increase oxygen and hemoglobin disassociation, thus increasing the delivery of oxygen from the blood to the cells.

4.     Ozone and hydrogen peroxide are anti-neoplastic, which means that they inhibit the growth of new tissues such as tumors.

5.     They oxidize and degrade petrochemicals.

6.      They increase red blood cell membrane flexibility and effectiveness.

7.     Oxygen therapies increase the production of interferon and Tumor Necrosis Factor, which the body uses to fight infections and cancers.

8.     They increase the efficiency of the anti-oxidant enzyme system, which scavenges excess free radicals in the body.

9.     They accelerate the citric acid cycle, which is the main cycle for the liberation of energy from sugars. This then stimulates basic metabolism.

10.  Oxygen therapies increase tissue oxygenation, thus bringing about patient improvement.

 The ultimate effects of Bio-Oxidative therapies at the cellular level are:

·       Increase metabolic efficiency of all cells

·       Stimulate cellular immunity (protects against infections) and suppress humoral immunity (allergic reactions)

·        Regulate cytokines, which control the action of all immune system cells

·        Regulate hormone production

·        Increase energy production

·        Direct killing effect of bacteria, viruses, and yeast cells

·        Stimulate the production of more natural antioxidant enzymes

·        Detoxification of chemicals, pesticides, and other volatile toxins

There are several disease categories that can be very amenable to treatment with bio-oxidative therapies. However, for some patients with significant toxicity issues and severe deficiencies in intracellular vitamins and minerals, oxidative treatments may not be recommended until the body has been adequately cleansed of toxins, especially any heavy metals that may be present. These toxic substances are constant sources of free radicals, and therefore additional oxidizing energy can be counter-productive at this stage. Once toxins are removed and there is a reduction in this ongoing free radical damage, the cells begin to recover and generate natural anti-oxidant enzymes to better protect them in the future from additional free radicals. Some individuals may be recommended to begin oxidative therapies at an earlier stage in their program.

Some of the conditions that bio-oxidative therapies have been reported in the scientific literature and by physicians to be of benefit in the following conditions:

Remember how hydrogen peroxide foams up when applied to an open wound? Those foaming bubbles are pure oxygen produced by hydrogen peroxide reacting with a blood enzyme catalase. A small amount of hydrogen peroxide can produce a very large amount of oxygen. Areas of the body suffering oxygen deficiency due to poor circulation benefit greatly from the addition of this extra oxygen.

 History

The claims of oxygenation promoters are based on the concepts of William F. Koch (1885-1962) and Otto Warburg (1883-1970). William F. Koch, a Detroit physician, theorized in 1919 that cancer was caused by a metabolic defect brought on by a single toxin produced by an injury or irritation. He proposed that toxins produced during metabolism and by bacteria were normally burned off during oxidation of carbohydrates. If the toxins persisted, they damaged the toxin-burning system and converted a normally present 'harmless germ' into a virulent cancer-causing one. The first reported medical use of H2O2 was in the March 3, 1888 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. In this article a Dr. I. N. Love described his successes in treating with hydrogen peroxide a wide variety of diseases such as scarlet fever, diphtheria, cancer of the uterus, and pneumonia. In 1920, Dr. T.H. Oliver reported in The Lancet treating patients with influenzal pneumonia with Hydrogen Peroxide infusions with excellent results. "A major theoretical foundation for oxygen therapy is the work of Otto Warburg, M.D., winner of the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1931 (for elucidating the chemistry of cell respiration). Warburg observed that cancer cells have lower respiration rates than normal cells. He postulated that cancer cells therefore grow better in a low-oxygen environment, and that introducing higher oxygen levels could retard their growth or kill them." (Cassileth BR. Alternative Medicine Handbook: a complete reference guide to alternative and complementary therapies. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1998:194-96.) Oxygen therapy has been used extensively in Europe for over 50 years. In Germany, it has been commonly used as an adjunct to conventional cancer treatments.

The use of Hydrogen Peroxide injections to generate Oxygen in the body has been studied at many major medical research centers throughout the world. Research reports have come from Baylor, Yale, Harvard, UCLA, Boston, England, Japan, Germany, Sweden, Russia, Canada, Nova Scotia and other countries. Today, between 20 and 100 scientific articles are published each month about the chemical and biological effects of Hydrogen Peroxide. More recently, the "Therapeutic Use of Intravenous Hydrogen Peroxide" was reported by the late Dr. Charles H. Farr, M.D., Ph.D., at an International Medical Symposium in Czechoslovakia attended by representatives from 26 different countries. Bio-oxidative Therapy, introduced by Dr.Farr, is the rediscovery of an old treatment first reported almost 70 years ago.

What Drugs are used in Bio-oxidative Therapy?

A number of substances are known to cause oxidation in the body but the most important of these is hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). Although a natural substance made in the body, it is still considered a drug when used in bio-oxidative therapy. Hydrogen peroxide, when exposed to your blood or other body fluids, containing the enzyme catalase, is chemically split into oxygen and water. Remember how hydrogen peroxide foams when you put it on a wound? The foam is oxygen being produced by the action of catalase on the hydrogen peroxide. A small amount of hydrogen peroxide can supply large amounts of oxygen to the tissue.

The use of hydrogen peroxide and ozone in medicine is based on the belief that the accumulation of toxins in the body is normally burnt up by the process of oxidation, a process wherein a substance is changed chemically because of the effect of oxygen on it. Oxidation breaks the toxins down and eliminates them from the body.

Bio-oxygen therapies are used to provide the body with active forms of oxygen intravenously or through the skin. Once in the body, the hydrogen peroxide or ozone breaks down into various oxygen subspecies, which contact anaerobic viruses and microbes (viruses and microbes that have the ability to live without air), as well as diseased or deficient tissue cells. It oxidizes these cells while leaving the healthy cells alone. When the body becomes saturated with these special forms of oxygen, it reaches a state of purity wherein disease microorganisms are killed, while the underlying toxicity is oxidized and eliminated.

HYDROGEN  PEROXIDE – Hydrogen Peroxide (H₂O₂) is made up of two hydrogen atoms and two oxygen atoms. A powerful oxidizer, hydrogen peroxide kills bacteria, viruses and fungi. A 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide is commonly used to externally disinfect wounds. Higher concentrations of hydrogen peroxide are used extensively in the agricultural, food and chemical industries as a disinfectant, water purifier and bleaching agent. It is also a common ingredient in contact lens cleaners, eye drops and mouthwashes.

Hydrogen peroxide is involved in all of life's vital processes, and must be present for the immune system to function properly. The cells in the body that fight infection (known as granulocytes) produce hydrogen peroxide as a first line of defense against invading organisms like parasites, viruses, bacteria and yeast. Hydrogen peroxide has long been used medically as a disinfectant, antiseptic and oxidizer, but has only recently been found to successfully treat a wide variety of human diseases with a minimum of harmful side effects.

The most common form of hydrogen peroxide therapy used by doctors is as an intravenous drip.  Weak, very pure Hydrogen Peroxide (0.0375% or lower concentration) is added to a sugar or salt water solution, the same as used for intravenous feeding in hospitals. This is injected in doses from 50 to 500 ml. into a large vein, usually in the arm, slowly over a period of 1 to 3 hours depending on the amount given and the condition of the patient. It is painless, excluding the very small needle stick. Treatments are usually given about once a week in chronic illness, but can be given daily in patients with acute illness such as pneumonia or flu. Physicians may recommend 1 to 20 or more treatments depending on the condition of the patient and the illness being treated. The patient is rechecked in 1 to 3 months to evaluate the benefit and determine if additional treatments may be necessary. Some patients, especially with chronic illness, may need to take follow up treatments in series of 5 to 10 treatments, or may need maintenance indefinitely on a regular monthly schedule. As many as 50 treatments have been administered to several patients, without complications. An experienced physician must decide how many treatments are necessary on a case by case basis.  As with any therapy, hydrogen peroxide IV therapy has risks and side effects which may include, but are not limited to, discomfort at the injection site, phlebitis, or, on rare occassions, permanent destruction of a vein.

HYPERBARIC  OXYGEN - Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) has a long history. The first chamber used to treat patients was constructed in 1662 by Henshaw, which makes hyperbaric therapy almost 350 years old. There have been a large number of studies done, and its effectiveness has been well established. HBOT treatments involve placing you in a chamber, and then increasing the atmospheric pressure. During the treatment you breathe pure oxygen. This saturates the tissues with oxygen, and reverses any areas of hypoxia (low oxygen levels). As a comparison, the average person breathes in about 6 pounds of oxygen a day, which is about the same amount by weight of food and water intake. During a single hour of HBOT, a person will take in about 2.4 pounds of oxygen. This increases the oxygen content of the tissues by a factor of 10-15. Some of the effects this has are to promote the growth of new blood vessels, decreases swelling and inflammation, deactivates toxins, increase the body's ability to fight infections, clears out toxins and metabolic waste products, and improve the rate of healing.

Accepted problems for which HBOT is used include the following: Air or gas embolism, carbon monoxide poisoning, Acute traumatic ischemia, Exceptional blood loss, cyanide poisoning, decompression sickness, Some non-healing wounds, gas gangrene, necrotizing infections, some cases of osteomyelitis, radiation effects, compromised skin flaps, burns. These conditions are the only ones that can be treated by a hospital-based center. However, a freestanding center is not restricted to treating only these problems. HBOT is beneficial in any condition that would improve with increased oxygen levels. Specifically, it has been found to be helpful in a vast number of conditions, including the following: Cerebral palsy, Stroke, Multiple Sclerosis, Head injuries and concussion, Infections of all types, including Lyme's, Heart attacks, Chronic fatigue, ADD/ADHD, Sports injuries, Autism, Migraine headaches, Cancer, HIV, Trigeminal neuralgia, Raynaud's phenomenon, Vascular disease, Crohn's disease, Fibromyalgia and CFIDS, Decreased immune function,Venomous bites, Before and after surgery, General wellness and Prevention

OZONE - Ozone (O3) is an energized form of oxygen with extra electrons. It forms the protective ozone layer around the planet, yet becomes a pollutant when mixed with hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxide from automobile and factory emissions. Because ozone is an effective bactericide and fungicide, over 2000 municipalities around the world purify their drinking water with ozone. The five primary ways to administer medical ozone, sometimes in combination, include:

1. Autohemotherapy (remove blood from the body, ozonate it, return it by injection into muscle or vein)
2. Rectal insufflation (like an enema, but with ozonated oxygen)
3. Ozone "bagging" body, except for head, or body part placed in a bag, then filled with ozonated air)
4. Ozonated oil (used externally, and sometimes internally)
5. Injection into/near painful joints.

Safety

Although ozone and hydrogen peroxide are highly toxic in their purified state, they have been found to be both safe and effective when diluted to therapeutic levels for medical use in widely accepted procedures. When administered in prescribed amounts by a qualified practitioner, the chances of experiencing adverse reactions to oxygen therapies are extremely small. For example, a German study on 384,775 patients, evaluating the adverse side effects of over five million medically administered ozone treatments, found that the rate of adverse side effects was only 0.0007 per application. This figure is far lower than any other type of medical therapy.

It has been estimated that over ten million people (primarily in Germany, Russia and Cuba) have been given oxygen therapies over the past seventy years to treat over fifty different diseases. In some cases, oxygen therapies are administered alone, while in others they are used in addition to traditional medical procedures (such as surgery or chemotherapy) or as adjuncts to alternative health practices.

 Any licensed physician may administer this therapy. However, only trained and experienced physicians are recognized by the IBOM Foundation. Dr. Rich is certified by the American Board of  Oxidative Medicine.

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