Ozone therapy, what does it consist of?

Are you interested in ozone therapy? Have you read or heard something about ozone therapy and want to clear up your doubts? Well, in this article you will learn everything you need to know what it is about..

Contents

• What is ozone therapy?
• What advantages does ozone therapy offer?
• When to consider ozone therapy?
• What to do to start practicing it?

What is ozone therapy?

Ozone therapy is an alternative therapy that consists of the insufflation of oxygen and ozone into the body of a person or an animal with the aim of treating the symptoms of a disease.

Ozone therapy is used in diseases as different as multiple sclerosis or cancer, although there is not enough evidence to support the success of its use for some of these conditions, nor the doses in which it should be used.

This type of therapy began to be used in 1856, less than two decades after it was discovered as a chemical element. At the end of the century it was used for medical and health purposes in Europe and other western areas.

Throughout all the years in which it has had a journey, ozone therapy continues to be studied, and the possibility that it offers benefits in the treatment of chronic pain is being considered.

Despite this, ozone therapy in dogs and cats is a treatment that is gaining more and more strength in cases in which dogs suffer from skin conditions, allergies and pain..

What advantages does ozone therapy offer?

Ozone therapy has an advantage that seems quite clear in cases in which a patient has damage to the spine, specifically when it manifests in the form of a herniated disc.

It is considered an effective treatment for pain and, in fact, it is offered in pain units of Spanish hospitals in the form of infiltrations.

However, the official documents of the Ministry indicate that ozone therapy does not have sufficient conclusive scientific evidence and that it should be recommended by a specialized professional.

The ways in which ozone therapy is administered are also indicative of the need to have the help of an expert professional, since ozone is usually incorporated into the body through injections or from one of the natural openings of the body or, also , by autohemotherapy.

To administer ozone therapy in this way, it is necessary to extract blood from the patient, expose it to ozone, let the blood accumulate it, and re-inoculate it into the circulatory system..

However, the doses administered by this system usually have a very low ozone concentration that makes its effect practically imperceptible..

When to consider ozone therapy?

Ozone therapy is especially indicated for processes that involve or may involve chronic pain. Thus, inflammatory diseases, herniated discs that have already been mentioned or osteoarthritis are pathologies that can be benefited by the use of ozone therapy..

The possibility that ozone therapy treatment is useful also in cancer patients has been evaluated, since there is a theory that the growth of cancer cells is slowed in oxygen-rich environments.

However, the oxygen needs of an adult body are met with respiration, while the ozone administered results in such a small amount that its effects are minimal or negligible..

This route could be interesting in the future, however, if it were given the possibility of administering higher amounts of ozone or oxygen to the subject in safe conditions for the person..

There is also some evidence that ozone therapy treatment can be irritating to the patient's tissues, so the assistance of a professional is absolutely essential.

What to do to start practicing it?

To start using ozone therapy in Spain, you can follow the channel of social security or private assistance. To receive this treatment through social security, we must be referred to the pain unit of our hospital by a qualified professional.

This means that receiving ozone therapy in public health can involve a long administrative process that is subject to professional medical criteria. It also occurs in private institutions, where it is offered, although professional supervision is also required.

However, ozone therapy applied to pets is an increasingly common practice that offers positive results in dogs and cats, due to its anti-inflammatory, antifungal and stimulating properties of the immune system..

It is normally administered through salts and baths, by prescription of the veterinarian, in recurring sessions that take place over several weeks.

We hope that this introduction to ozone therapy has been useful to you and that you have learned what it consists of and what advantages it has.

Although its use and dosage are not yet supported by conclusive evidence, its incorporation into the public health system appears to be good news for patients suffering from chronic pain.