by Dr. Brooke Azie-Rentz, ND
So what is this threesome anyway? A single oxygen atom is very unstable; it likes to be paired up as O2. However, when we introduce an energetic force on O2, we can separate those molecules for a split second, and sometimes when they reform, some reform as O3. But this too is very unstable, so it only lasts for a few minutes before it goes back to the stable form of O2. But it is the instability of O3 that we are using for the medical application of ozone. When ozone gas is mixed with blood, it reacts in a process known as peroxidation, where it binds with the lipid layer of the cell membranes.
This process releases natural hydrogen peroxide, which is the mechanism by which viruses, bacteria and fungi are killed by immune cells in our bodies. This and many other processes happen during the interaction of ozone and your blood that promote overall detoxification, activation of the immune system, improved utilization of oxygen, release of growth factors and the activation of stem cells to repair and rejuvenate tissues and overall pain reduction and decrease in inflammation.
There are many medical uses of ozone; topically, intravenously, through insufflations or by prolozone injection. You will hear about many of these applications at AIM, but to start we are going to be doing mostly a form of major autohemotherapy (MAH) known as “10-pass ozone”. In this procedure, we will be mixing medical grade ozone gas with your blood, under hyperbaric pressure to be able to greater concentrate the ozone into the blood and plasma, and reinfusing it back into your body as many as 10 times! We do have to use heparin to make sure that your blood doesn’t clot during the procedure, so there are some precautions and conditions that have to be discussed prior to starting therapy.
The entire procedure takes about 60-75 minutes and takes place in our clean and comfortable IV suite at Alpine Integrated Medicine. You can’t start with 10 passes, you have to work your body up to it due to the cumulative effect of the treatment. We can monitor your response to therapy and manage any Herxheimer, or die-off, reactions that may occur to make your treatment go as smoothly as possible. Depending on what condition we are trying to treat, a longer treatment time or additional supplements or IV treatments to help your body detoxify may be needed. Some people may look at this as a way of supercharging or bio-hacking their bodies. Through some of the mechanisms described above, ozone treatment decreases mitochondrial decay, therefore decreasing the ailments of aging and degenerative disease, improving stamina and performance as well as increasing overall resiliency.
Ozone therapy has been around for decades! I was just trained by an Austrian doctor who has been treating himself and patients for 50 years, and his co-presenter has been studying medical applications in Cuba for 30 years! I found out that one of the doctors I graduated with was one of the first trained in this type of therapy in the US. She said to me, your practice will never be the same without it… and I already agree! There is plenty of research out there, it’s just not coming out of the United States. When our web page for ozone goes up I will have lots of links to various ozone related topics.
But for now, Ozone, what is it good for:
- Treatment of Bacterial, fungal and viral infections
- Anti-inflammatory effects
- Analgesic effects and modulation of pain response
- Detoxification effect on hepatic and renal tissues
- Increase in ATP synthesis by increasing the activation of mitochondria and the amount of oxygen dissolved in the bloodstream
- Optimization of pro and anti-oxidant processes in the body by balancing lipid peroxidation products
- Ozone in the blood causes a decrease in thrombocytic and coagulative values therefore making the blood less sticky
- Immunomodulating effects on autoimmune diseases
I know, get to the point, what is it used to treat?
Well here you go: here is a short list of some conditions that ozone has been used to treat:
Auto-immune diseases (Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue, Multiple Sclerosis)- Viral infections (influenza, herpes simplex, mononucleosis/Epstein Barr, pneumonia)
- Chronic infections (hepatitis, cystitis, Lyme disease, toxic mold)
- Allergies and Sinusitis
- Intestinal Diseases (pancreatitis, colitis, chronic infections, ulcers, leaky gut, Crohn’s, Ulcerative Colitis)
- Ear Infections
- Eye infections (macular degeneration, uveitis, iritis, kerititis)
- Dental Infections
- Arthritis and degenerative joint disease
- Chronic pain
- Cardiovascular Diseases
- Septicemia
Personally speaking, Ozone therapy has already made a difference in my life and I want to share it with our community. Maybe you have one of the things mentioned above, maybe I have already reached out to you personally and told you about the wonder that is ozone, maybe you are just a weekend warrior looking to deny the age on your license; I think this therapy is something that could benefit every one of you!