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Ozone therapy combines oxygenation and oxidation.  Ozone (O3) is a less stable form of molecular oxygen and readily reacts with other chemicals.  The extra oxygen atom in ozone breaks away and leaves O2, which is the molecular form present in the air we breathe.  Alternative medicine proponents claim that this breakdown of ozone provides oxygen for oxygenation and oxidation.  This would, theoretically, increase local oxygen supply to tissues while supplying a reactive oxygen species to combat infection (bacteria and viruses), and increase tissue temperature.  All of this would enhance local metabolic processes, according to Gerard Sunnen, M.D. of New York City. 

Conventional Western Medicine and Ozone (Selected Readings)

Ozone therapy is a controversial topic in conventional western medicine.  It is not widely understood, or accepted.  This does not mean that ozone therapy is useless, or that it is not under investigation.  Listed below are a collection of articles that show Ozone Therapy may have promise in the future of conventional western medicine.

Biological and clinical effects of ozone. Has ozone therapy a future in medicine? Bocci,-V, Br-J-Biomed-Sci. 1999; 56(4): 270-9
 

• Although ozone therapy has been used as an alternative medical approach for four decades, it has encountered scepticism, if not outright objection, by orthodox medicine. This prejudice is not unjustified because ozone therapy often has been used without rational basis or appropriate controls. With the advent of precise medical ozone generators, it is now possible to evaluate some mechanisms of action and possible toxicity. In contrast with the respiratory tract, human blood exposed to appropriate ozone concentrations is able to tame its strong oxidant properties and neither acute nor chronic side effects have ensued in millions of patients treated with ozonated autohaemotherapy. This paper summarises studies aimed at clarifying biological effects, defining any possible damage, the therapeutic window, and suitable doses able to express therapeutic activity. Although an unfashionable and unpopular approach, it is hoped that orthodox medicine will help to critically assess the validity of ozone therapy.
   

Repeated ozone exposures enhance bronchial allergen responses in subjects with rhinitis or asthma. Holz,-O; Mucke,-M; Paasch,-K; Bohme,-S; Timm,-P; Richter,-K; Magnussen,-H; Jorres,-R-A. Clin-Exp-Allergy. 2002 May; 32(5): 681-9

• "Our data suggest that repeated exposure to ozone, at a peak ambient air level, can enhance both functional and inflammatory responses to inhaled allergen in subjects with pre-existing allergic airway diseases, and that these effects might reach a clinically relevant magnitude."
   

Beneficial clinical effects of ozonated autohemotherapy in chronically dialysed patients with atherosclerotic ischemia of the lower limbs--pilot study. Tylicki,-L; Niew-glowski,-T; Biedunkiewicz,-B; Burakowski,-S; Rutkowski,-B. Int-J-Artif-Organs. 2001 Feb; 24(2): 79-82

• "...autohemotherapy with ozone, in a concentration of 34.4 mcg/ml of blood, is safe, easily applied and may be useful In the therapy of atherosclerotic ischemia of lower extremities among dialyzed patients. It could also be a complement to current treatment, especially in cases where the latter has failed."
   

Extracorporeal blood oxygenation and ozonation (EBOO) in man. preliminary report. Di-Paolo,-N; Bocci,-V; Garosi,-G; Borrelli,-E; Bravi,-A; Bruci,-A; Aldinucci,-C; Capotondo,-L. Int-J-Artif-Organs. 2000 Feb; 23(2): 131-41
 

• "Besides showing therapeutic effects, the preliminary results indicate that EBOO is clinically valid, without side-effects and worthy of testing in various diseases."

Treatment of severe Raynaud's syndrome by injection of autologous blood pretreated by heating, ozonation and exposure to ultraviolet light (H-O-U) therapy. Cooke,-E-D; Pockley,-A-G; Tucker,-A-T; Kirby,-J-D; Bolton,-A-E. Int-Angiol. 1997 Dec; 16(4): 250-4

• H-O-U therapy may prove useful in patients with severe Raynaud's syndrome.
  
   

Alternative Medicine and Ozone Therapy

Uses and Routes of Administration (according to alternativemedicine.com)

• Intra-arterial for vascular disease and enhanced circulation of blood
• Intestinal Insufflation (gas blown into intestines through anus) for colitis and fistulae (abnormal connection between two cavities)
• Intramuscular to treat infections, allergies, and cancer (with autohemotherapy)
• Autohemotherapy (ozonation of blood) to treat AIDS, arthritis, hepatitis, allergy, and herpes
• Ozonized water administered orally, vaginally, rectally to disinfect
• Intra-articularly (into a joint; the knee for example) during surgery and with diseased joints
• External application (area is covered with a tent and ozone is infused) to treat fungal infections, skin ulcers, and burns.

Side Effects

• inflammation of the vein (autohemotherapy)
• circulatory depression
• chest pain
• shortness of breath
• fainting
• cardiac arrhythmia
• gas embolus (bubble in the blood that can lodge and block blood flow beyond the bubble)

In his article, Dr. Green also discussed the use of ozone, or autohemotherapy, in the treatment of HIV infection and AIDS.  He cited several studies that found no evidence of a decreased viral load or an increased well-being in patients with a HIV infection treated with ozone.

Links

http://www.ozonetherapy.co.uk/

http://directory.google.com/Top/Health/Alternative/Ozone_Therapy/

http://www.oxystore.com/

http://groups.google.com/groups?q=ozone+therapy&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&selm=3fs9ls%24e73%40news.primenet.com&rnum=4