Ozone therapy is fundamentally about providing more oxygen for the body to use, and helping the tissues use the oxygen more efficiently. It is so effective because oxygen is an essential nutrient for every cell in the body.
Ozone is nothing new. The first generator was created by Nikola Tesla in 1896. It took some time for it to be more widely used as a medical treatment, but it was used in humans as early at 1911 at the Loyola Chicago University to treat tuberculosis, anemia, chlorosis, tinnitus, whooping cough, asthma, bronchitis, hay fever, insomnia, pneumonia, diabetes, gout and syphilis. In other parts of the world it is a mainstay treatment in human hospitals. There are a number of veterinarians around the country that have been using ozone successfully to treat many disease conditions, including cancer.
All disease processes start with inflammation, and inflammation will always be enhanced in a low oxygen environment. Ozone will help support healing with any type of condition, either bacterial, viral, degenerative (arthritis, senior pets), autoimmune disease, and, of course cancer. For cancer patients, in particular, this process boosts the immune system by strengthening the cells that do the work of eliminating damaged cells from the body. Because cancer cells thrive in a low-oxygen environment ozone will directly help eliminate them. Ozone is not a magic bullet, and we still need to address diet, detox and other supportive supplements, but it is definitely a valuable tool.
You may have heard that ozone in the air is dangerous – so how is this different? Atmospheric ozone is produced by either lightening or UV radiation splitting oxygen molecules, causing a single oxygen atom to join with O2 to make O3. It gets a bad reputation on smoggy days, so how is it safe to use in your pet? The actual amount of ozone mixed in the smog is actually very small when compared to other pollutants that we see and smell. The reason you hear so much about it is that ozone is easier to measure than the other components of the smog layer. When the ozone levels go up, so do the hydrocarbon and other toxins, but these are in much larger amounts and are consequently much more toxic. There is a beneficial layer of ozone far above the earth in the stratosphere, which exists 5-11 miles above the surface of the planet. This layer protects us from UV radiation so it is dangerous to us if this layer gets depleted.
Medical grade ozone is made by passing pure oxygen through a generator that uses an electrical spark to split an oxygen atom off of the O2 molecules. This free oxygen atom will combine with other O2 molecules to produce O3, which is ozone. Ozone is administered to your pet in a number of different ways:
- A small amount of blood is drawn, mixed with ozone and re-injected either into the vein or muscle
- Rectal insufflation, where the ozone gas is deposited directly into the colon to provide gastro-intestinal support and help detoxify the liver.
- Ozone gas or ozonated saline can be injected directly around tumors, wounds or surgical sites to promote healing.
- Ozone can be breathed in after percolating it through olive oil so it is not irritating to the lungs. This can help with nasal and respiratory infections, asthma, allergies, and cancer.
- Bagging an affected area of the body with the ozone gas to allow for a direct external effect on wounds, skin sores and rashes or draining tumors
- Ozone can be infused into olive oil to provide a valuable skin ointment that promotes wound healing.
Once in the body, the ozone will combine with small protein and fat molecules to form substances called ozonides that can readily enter the cells. Straight ozone is unstable and will react quickly with the tissues it comes in contact with. Ozonides, however, are more stable and can provide benefit for days or even weeks after a treatment.
Even though we are only treating a small portion of your pet’s overall blood volume, the oxygenated blood will inform and support other cells in the body.
Biophotonic therapy
A valuable addition to ozone therapy is a form of light therapy using a biophotonic device. This light treatment further energizes the cells and enhances the effects of the ozone treatment. The ultimate benefits include:
- Fighting bacterial and viral infections
- Reducing inflammation
- Restoring normal function of the immune system
- Treating auto-immune disease
- Treating cancer
This is a procedure performed on the blood before re-injecting it into the body during an ozone treatment. There is no further discomfort to your pet; the process just takes a few minutes longer.
Ask us for more information or to discuss how these valuable therapies can benefit your pet.