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Michael Mierop
University of Hawaii
10/11/2011

A Revolution in Oxygen
Immune deficiencies remain a problem we need to address because of the current
healthcare epidemic. Millions of poor people in 3rd World Countries have an immune deficiency,
while we should have a healthy body and love our neighbors as ourselves. Oxidative therapies
encourage a healthy society because they help boost the bodys immune system, rid the body of
harmful substances, and they virtually have no side effects. I am discussing Oxidative Therapies,
which I believe induce a benefit to society. Different forms of Oxygen Therapies can treat a
wide variety of immune deficiencies, disorders, and illnesses. I will explain how Oxidative
Therapies function in health care and immune deficiencies, and how they currently benefit
Hawaii. I am summarizing the pros and cons of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT),
Transdermal Continuous Oxygen Therapy (TCOT) and Ozone Therapy (O3).
Oxygen Therapies include different medical therapies requiring oxygen, ozone, and/or
hydrogen peroxide. Ozone Therapy introduces into the human body. Ozone has been used
successfully around the world for over 80 years to treat Cancer, AIDS, Stroke, Depression,
Chronic Fatigue, Lupus, Fibromyalgia and over 100 more diseases. Ozone addresses oxygen
delivery, circulation, and immune system function. Oxygen Healing Therapies remains a
necessity in our world of many diseases.
Due to the profit in the pharmaceutical industry it does not seem worthwhile to actually

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encourage health among patients, unless they patent a drug, and reap the profits. HBOT can also
cost up to five thousand dollars per treatment in some locations. Recently, several companies
have started to sell portable hyperbaric chambers approved by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) for home use. The portable hyperbaric chambers are more cost effective
because treatments beyond forty sessions can lead to additional improvements among autistic
children. Oxygen therapies are not being used enough due to doubts, ignorance, costs, and the
profits that motivate large medical companies. The general population wants to believe in a nonrealistic miracle drug to cure all diseases. The cost to operate the different medical machines
could remain inexpensive, but individuals increase the costs to attain profits.
In Americas healthcare system the profit that corporations and big businesses make is the
priority. Our health and well go unfocused in drug based allopathic medicine practiced in
America. Corporations dont care whether you die of a disease or live in health. For a typical
disease or ailment there is probably a pharmaceutical drug for it. A side effect of death goes
along with some drugs.
Since Americans spend so much money on health care, they should be getting a high
quality of care. Unfortunately, that's not the case. Of the 783,936 annual deaths due to
conventional medical mistakes, about 106,000 are from prescription drugs, according to Death
by Medicine. That also is a conservative number. Some experts estimate it should be more like
200,000 because of unreported cases of adverse drug reactions.
Plenty of controversy surrounds oxygen medicine. Dr. Wakefield with the Thoughtful
House Center for Children conducted a controlled evaluation of the effects of HBOT on the
behavior of 16 children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Dr. Wakefield published his research

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August 3, 2010 and concluded that HBOT remains an ineffective treatment for the participants.
In the report no consistent effects were observed within any individual participant. Dr.
Wakefield suggested this study was the first relatively large-scale controlled study on HBOT
towards autism. (Wakefield) 16 children does not equal a large-scale study. Dr. Wakefields
research did not conduct enough treatment sessions per participant included.
The International Child Development Resource Center in Melbourne Florida performed a
multi-center, randomized, double-blind, controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of HBOT in
children with autism. 62 autistic children participated in the study published on March 13, 2009.
This large scale research had significant improvements in overall functioning, receptive
language, social interaction, eye contact, and cognitive awareness compared to children who
received pressurized air. (Rossignol) Surprisingly this research shows great results for autistic
children receiving HBOT. The autistic children paid attention more, focused on the task at hand,
and retained sense of joy as a result of HBOT.
As stated in the book The Oxygen Revolution Fully Updated Edition Hyperbaric Oxygen
Therapy by Paul G. Harsh. M.D., and Virginia McCullough, In the most basic terms, HBOT
uses oxygen therapeutically for many conditions in which tissues remain damaged by varying
degrees of oxygen deprivation. This sounds simple enough, but of course, harnessing the power
of oxygen includes a more complex proposition. The definition of hyperbaric oxygen therapy is
the use of oxygen under pressure as a drug to treat basic disease processes and their diseases.
(Harch & McCullough 5) A chamber with pressurized oxygen summarizes HBOT. It seems too
good to be true, but Dr. Harschs research shows this treatment can help the tens of millions of
Americans who suffer from a brain injury or disease including: stroke, autism, cerebral palsy,
Alzheimers, Parkinsons, multiple sclerosis, carbon monoxide poisoning, and dive sickness. It

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can also help healing in infections, burns, skin grafts, and diabetic foot wounds. (Harch &
McCullough 7)
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy remains somewhat controversial because studies show
positive and neutral effects. Clinical research demonstrates that HBO therapy accelerates healing
of chronic leg ulcers. (Davis 15) Although HBO therapy can be effectively applied to treat
wounds, especially in hypoxic tissues, HBO is not always practical or readily available, and can
be relatively costly. (Davis 16)
The most common oxygen therapy used in Hawaii is HBOT. When scuba divers ascend
from the ocean too quickly without equalizing properly they may acquire dive sickness. My first
author on a local case of dive sickness is Anthony Sommer, an experienced diver and Kauai
correspondent for the Honolulu Star Bulletin. (Sommer, 2000)
Anthony experienced the bends or nitrogen bubbles in the bloodstream leading to
decompression sickness. Anthony was paralyzed from the waist down and lost all the feeling in
his legs. He was on Kauai diving in Lihue and after experiencing the bends he flew to Oahu.
Anthony participated in treatment at Hawaiis only hyperbaric treatment center, inside the
University of Hawaiis Hyperbaric Treatment Center at Kuakini Hospital. The hospital treats 40
to 60 divers per year. Anthonys treatment of HBOT left excellent results.
During the process of HBOT patients go into the pressurized chamber with a change in
pressure going down to an equivalent of 60 to 220 feet below sea level, then beginning a long
slow increase in pressure back to sea level. The high pressure quickly forces any nitrogen
bubbles back into the patients bloodstream. Hawaiis HBOT center also treats 30 to 60 nondiver patients per week. Overlock said, Most are cancer patients who have undergone radiation
treatment which changed their tissues to the point they cant withstand a treatment surgery.

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Participation in hyperbaric oxygen treatment before the surgery they stand a 100 percent better
chance for a good outcome. (Sommer 1) Patients in Hawaii need more awareness about HBOT
to improve health.
Doctors, hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, long term care facilities for treatment of
bedsores, podiatrists and physicians all use TCOT for the treatment of chronic lower extremity
wounds such as diabetic foot ulcers and venous leg ulcers. Therapy where oxygen is
administered continuously on an infected skin disease summarizes TCOT.
Patients can purchase a small device (EPIFLO) that patients use on their wounds for 24
hours a day. HBOT is a much larger machine where patients must go in for treatment lasting 1.52.0 hours. The HBOT can be used to help patients who suffer from stroke, autism, cerebral
palsy, Alzheimers, Parkinsons, multiple sclerosis, carbon monoxide poisoning, dive sickness,
burns, skin grafts, and diabetic wound. On the other hand, TCOT can be used for the treatment of
skin ulcerations, decubitus ulcers (bed sores, pressure sores), amputations, skin grafts, burns, and
frostbite. HBOT induces more use than TCOT, but TCOT remains cheaper for treatment of
amputations, skin grafts, burns, skin ulcerations, and decubitus ulcers. A hyperbaric oxygen
chamber used for HBOT can weigh thousands of pounds while Epiflos TCOT weighs only 3.5
ounces. Doctors, hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and long term care facilities for treatment of
bedsores, podiatrists and physicians for the treatment of chronic lower extremity wounds, such as
Diabetic Foot Ulcers and Venous Leg Ulcers, all use EPIFLO. (Ogenix, 2011)
TCOT repairs bedsores, damaged tissue, diabetic toe ulceration, and other ulcers. TCOT
helps the body heal quicker than it will on its own. Both FDA approved, TCOT and HBOT use
99% oxygen. Each therapy helps patients heal from amputations, skin grafts, burns, skin
ulcerations, and decubitus ulcers. They demonstrate clinical efficacy and remain noninvasive and

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painless. (Sommer 1)
As stated by Dr. Paul G. Harch, If we look at only brain injury or insult, as it is called
in medicine, tens of millions of individuals in the United States alone are affected by one or more
of the following: Cerebral palsy, autism, head trauma, stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinsons
disease, Alzheimers disease, accidents that result in oxygen deprivation, including near
drowning, near hanging, carbon monoxide poisoning, cardiac arrests, and exposure to
neurotoxins, Cancer , and alcohol and drug detoxification, including pharmaceutical drugs. Its
no exaggeration to say that HBOT should be universally available both as an emergency
treatment and as standard therapy for diseases that develop as we age. (Harch & McCullough
47) Some pharmacists would prefer to prescribe another drug for prescription drug abuse, while
we possess a treatment with no bad side effects.
Beyond diving medicine, HBOT treats carbon monoxide poisoning, and brain injuries. In
addition, now that Medicare has approved HBOT for diabetic foot wound healing, it is becoming
an accepted use. (Harch & McCullough 47 )
Discovered in the mid-nineteenth century, ozone is a molecule consisting of three atoms
of oxygen in an unstable structure. Pollution of the lower atmosphere has led to higher ozone
levels. Chlorofluorocarbons in refrigerants and spray cans along with pollution caused a hole
at the South Pole. Due to the reports in the media, it has created apprehension among the public
and doctors, who believe ozone is a toxic substance and deny evidence that it has therapeutic
effects. As explained in Editorial Review Ozone Therapy, to produce industrial ozone only 5%
of pure oxygen is converted to ozone by the medical ozonator, producing a 95:5 mixture of
oxygen and ozone. Ozone produced for medical use must be obtained from pure oxygen. If air
(78% nitrogen) were used, the result would be a mixture of gases containing nitric oxide which is

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toxic. The main gases that we breathe in the air are also toxic and lethal if we breathed in
oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide in abnormal amounts. Breathing in ozone produced by an
ozonator is toxic for animals and humans, it irritates the eyes and may cause coughing and
irritation. Breathing pure ozone for 4 hours has been estimated to lead to death. It would be
very irritating and hard to accomplish due to coughing. (International Journal of Artificial Organs
1) No deaths have occurred due to ozone therapy, while three million deaths from prescription
drugs seem acceptable.
There are ozone therapies that can be used to treat so many diseases and symptoms.
After several treatments, many patients reported a sensation of well-being and euphoria. I
thought that this sounds like a great therapy and resource. Some of the different types of ozone
therapy include: rectal insufflation, quasi-total body exposure, topical applications of ozonated
water, intraarticular applications, treating primary tooth caries, extracorporeal blood oxygenation
and ozonation(EBOO), ozone autohemotherapy(OAHT), minor 03 autohemotherapy and major
03 autohemotherapy. (International Journal of Artificial Organs 7)
All European countries today practice Ozone autohemotherapy(OAHT). The process of
OAHT usually takes place twice a week for seven to eight weeks. It includes extracting the blood
of a patient and ozonating it by a special process and then infusing rejuvenated blood back into
the patient. This method treats many disorders including: Burger disease, diabetic vasculopathy,
hepatitis, herpes I and II, herpes Zoster, chronic bacterial and fungal infections, and eye diseases
such as retinal maculopathy of the elderly. The blood neutralizes the oxidizing power of ozone
by a potent defense system. (International Journal of Artificial Organs 2)
In 1993 testimony before Senator Harkin's Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations
Committee, Ed McCabe, a promoter of ozone, stated, "644 German ozone therapists successfully

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treated 384,775 patients with 5,579,238 doses of ozone with no ill effects. Thousands of
published medical papers contain proof of ozone's effectiveness in vivo. Numerous US
physicians have converted hundreds of AIDS patients from HIV sero-positive to HIV seronegative status using ozone. Help is available to AIDS patients right now but the medical
establishment is ignoring it. (Green 12) The medical establishment has no profit in helping
AIDS patients heal. By limiting the cure of AIDS to a miracle drug it encourages profit for
research and development. Saul Green, Ph.D. stated McCabe did not provide evidence that
autohemotherapy was clinically effective and resulted in long-term benefits. (Green 12) The
thousands of medical journals published seem ineffective for the U.S. medical community to
recognize. The controversy is whether or not one assumes oxidative therapies are effective.
Doctors who promote healing encourage oxygen medicine while selfish doctors have no concern
for one's well-being.
In conclusion, I feel oxidative therapies remain revolutionary and necessary in our world.
In a world with millions of people suffering from different diseases, oxidative therapies include
something we should consider for our own health and well-being. We can strengthen our
immune systems so our bodies can heal themselves more efficiently with these technologies.
With these technologies expanding, the cost will become even more effective than alternate
therapies. Diabetics and the elderly with wound complications especially, can enjoy affordable
and dependable treatment now at their convenience, the only problem the ignorance of these
precious therapies. Our quality of living and the health of humanity can be greatly affected for
the better of society. If one has never heard of oxidative therapies I highly encourage one to
explore the current exciting field of oxidative medicine.

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Works Cited
Davis, J. 1977. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. Bethesda: Undersea Medical Society Inc.
Davis, S. C., Cazzaniga, A. L., Ricotti, C., Zalesky, P., Hsu, L.-C., Creech, J., et al. October
2007. Archderm. Web. 11 Sept. 2011.
Fraser, Jessica. 2011. Natural news website. 31 Oct. 2011.
Green, S.Quackwatch. 17 June 2011.Web. 27 Oct. 2011.
Harch, P. G., & McCullough, V. 2010. The Oxygen Revolution Fully Updated Edition
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. Hobart: Hatherleigh Press.
International Journal of Artificial Organs. 2004. 11 Sept. 2011.
Ogenix. March 2011.Web 11 Sept. 2011.
Rossignol, L., Smith, S., Schneider, C., Logerquist, S., Usman, A., Neubrander, J., et al. U.S.
National Library of Medicine May 2009. Web. 27 Sept. 2011.
Sommer, A. 13 June 2011.Proquest. Retrieved September 7, 2011
Wakefield, A. A., Granpeesheh, D., Jepson, B., Tarbox, J., Olive, M., Stott, C., et al. 3 Aug.
2011. Autism Dev Disorder. Web. 27 Oct. 2011