8

How Is Hydrogen Peroxide Administered?

Hydrogen peroxide can be introduced into the body in a number of different ways.

INTRAVENOUS INFUSION

An intravenous infusion is prepared by diluting 30 percent reagent-grade hydrogen peroxide with equal amounts of sterile distilled water to make a 15 percent “stock solution.” This is then passed through a Millipore 0.22-micrometer medium-flow filter both to sterilize the solution and to remove any particulate matter from it. The stock solution is refrigerated in 100 ml sterile containers until needed.

At the time of application, physicians use 5 percent dextrose in water or normal saline solution as the carrier. Adding 0.4 ml of the stock solution to 200 ml of dextrose in water yields a 0.03 percent concentration, which is the recommended strength for most intravenous infusions. Because of its tremendous oxidizing power, Dr. Farr cautions that “vitamins, minerals, peptides, enzymes, amino acids, heparin, EDTA or other injectable materials should never be mixed with the H₂O₂ solution.”¹ The mixture is then slowly infused into a vein over a period of one to three hours, depending on the patient’s situation. According to the International Oxidative Medicine Association, “Treatments are usually given about once a week in chronic illness but can be given daily in patients with acute illness such as pneumonia or flu. Physicians may recommend 1 to 20 treatments, depending on the condition of the patient and the illness being treated.”²

Follow-up treatments are sometimes necessary. Although adverse side effects are rare (some people experience irritation in the vein or slight temporary pressure in the chest), the patient is often monitored by a doctor or nurse during and shortly after the infusion.

Because the hydrogen peroxide solution is administered in exact amounts, this is the method most preferred by physicians. It is also considered the most efficient way to introduce hydrogen peroxide into the body.

INTRAVENOUS HYDROGEN PEROXIDE OR OXYGEN-OZONE AUTOHEMOTHERAPY?

There are always disagreements about whether intravenous hydrogen peroxide is more or less effective than autohemotherapy with ozone. As we’ll see later on, both methods have been used to effectively treat similar health problems. Ozone is used more widely in Europe, partly because it was first developed there.

Dr. Bocci believes that comparative studies could be useful, because hydrogen peroxide is one of the early ozone messengers. These ozone messengers are the Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) and Lipid Oxidation Products (LOPs) that are created after ozone biochemically reacts with blood plasma. These messengers are responsible for the biological therapeutic effects of ozone. Yet he believes that “late products, like LOPs [lipid oxidation products] may not be generated in vivo owing to the rapid reduction of H₂O₂,”³ which would possibly render hydrogen peroxide less effective than ozone.

However, Bocci and others have pointed to several advantages of therapeutic hydrogen peroxide over ozone therapy, especially in poor countries where health facilities are either primitive or nonexistent, and where electricity may be difficult to come by. In order to produce ozone, an ozone generator, which can cost several thousand dollars, is needed. And because generators run on electricity, a suitable energy source must be available. By contrast, hydrogen peroxide is comparatively very inexpensive to buy, and preparing the standardized solution is simple and reliable. Hydrogen peroxide can also be stored for a longer length of time. It can be taken anywhere and easily administered, either at a patient’s home or at a field hospital or clinic. This would make hydrogen peroxide especially useful in isolated communities in rural Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

ORAL INGESTION

The oral method calls for drops of 35 percent hydrogen peroxide to be added to a glass of water and then ingested two or three times daily. One of the more prominent advocates of this method was renowned heart surgeon Dr. Christiaan Barnard. In a letter dated March 10, 1986, he wrote: “It is true that I have found relief from the arthritis and I attribute it to taking hydrogen peroxide orally several times a day.”⁴

Dr. Kurt Donsbach, a noted holistic practitioner and writer, uses hydrogen peroxide and other natural substances to treat patients with cancer, heart disease, and other illnesses at his Hospital Santa Monica in Mexico. Although Dr. Donsbach prefers the intravenous method at the hospital (and estimates that he and his staff have administered over 120,000 hydrogen peroxide infusions without significant side effects), he recommends oral administration for outpatient use. He created a product for this purpose known as Superoxy Plus, made from aloe vera saturated with magnesium peroxide. Each ounce is said to be equivalent to twenty drops of hydrogen peroxide.⁵ Well-known lay researcher Conrad LeBeau suggests that adults take ten drops of food-grade hydrogen peroxide in an eight-ounce glass of distilled water two or three times a day on an empty stomach 30 minutes before eating or three hours after eating.⁶ Some people find the taste of hydrogen peroxide unpleasant. To help disguise the taste, several drops of olive oil can be added to the water.

One can also begin taking one drop of hydrogen peroxide in a glass of water on the first day and add a drop per glass each day until ten drops per day are achieved. Dr. Donsbach cautions against taking hydrogen peroxide with juice, milk, or other flavorings because it will “create oxidation, robbing the oxygen which is what you are trying to get into the bloodstream,”⁷ while Dr. Farr notes that “almost without exception, hydrogen peroxide, added to anything besides oil and/or water will cause dismutation and destruction of the hydrogen peroxide.”⁸

Physicians also caution against adding hydrogen peroxide to water containing iron, because the combination of hydrogen peroxide and iron produces a very high number of free radicals and can promote stomach upset, possibly leading to cancer over the long term. If one’s water contains iron, distilled water is recommended instead. It is also suggested that iron supplements not be taken within an hour of ingesting hydrogen peroxide.

Not all physicians who advocate the use of hydrogen peroxide are in favor of taking it orally. One of these critics is Dr. Farr. He believes that, in addition to the presence of iron in the stomach, combinations of fatty acids may reduce hydrogen peroxide to a number of free radicals, thus causing negative effects upon the gastric and duodenal mucosa, the delicate membrane lining the stomach and the first part of the small intestine. This may lead to an increase of glandular stomach erosion, an abnormal increase in the number of cells in the duodenum, and the possible formation of cancerous and noncancerous tumors in the stomach and duodenum.⁹

Dr. Farr’s views are supported by Dr. Bocci, who writes: “Hydrogen peroxide coming into contact with the acidic gastric juice will decompose immediately. Very little—if any—oxygen will reach the bloodstream and the effect on the gastric mucosa remains totally uncertain.”¹⁰ Hugo Vietz, M.D., a Pennsylvania practitioner who has had extensive experience using hydrogen peroxide therapeutically, agrees as well. In an article published in East West magazine, he strongly discourages the oral self-administration of hydrogen peroxide:

You’re putting a fairly caustic substance into the intestinal tract, which, from the mouth to the rectum, is lined with highly sensitive, delicate, multi-purpose mucous membrane. This membrane has some extremely important functions to perform. Introduce a caustic substance like hydrogen peroxide even in the dilute concentrations that they are using, and it scares me. A lot of people who are doing it are going to get away with it. But there are going to be some who will wind up with damaged intestinal tracts. If you cause permanent damage to an organ like this, I think you’re in for real trouble.¹¹

This subject of oral self-administration of hydrogen peroxide remains a controversial one, since many long-term users of oral hydrogen peroxide have not become sick, and clinical studies are lacking. Until such studies are done, many feel that oral hydrogen peroxide should be avoided in favor of less risky applications.

IN BATHING

A much safer (and less controversial method) involves adding one pint of 35 percent food-grade hydrogen peroxide to a bathtub of warm water and soaking in the water for a minimum of 20 minutes. The rationale for this treatment is that hydrogen peroxide is absorbed through the skin, and the reactive oxygen species that result are absorbed into the bloodstream. People have reported relief from stiff joints, rashes, psoriasis, and fungal infections from using this method one to three times a week. There is little clinical evidence attesting to the effectiveness of this method in treating serious diseases (some critics believe that the warm bath alone may produce a placebo effect). However, there is anecdotal evidence that it can be very helpful to people dealing with HIV infection and related health problems. Hydrogen peroxide in bathwater is often recommended as an adjunct to traditional medical therapies.

Another safe way to enjoy a hydrogen peroxide bath is to spray the body with a 3 percent solution of hydrogen peroxide (either diluted from food-grade hydrogen peroxide, or the common drugstore variety). The hydrogen peroxide is placed in a small spray bottle and applied to the entire body after a shower. The peroxide can then be massaged lightly into the skin. Care should be taken to avoid contact with eyes. The primary disadvantage to this method may affect men with abundant body hair, which may turn reddish blond. Those who utilize this method claim that the spray offers the same benefits of a hydrogen peroxide bath; some have reported that it clears up skin blemishes very effectively.

INJECTION IN JOINTS AND SOFT TISSUE TRIGGER POINTS

Dr. Farr discovered and reported the use of 0.03 percent hydrogen peroxide injected into joints and soft tissues. He found that the swelling and inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis and other types of inflammatory arthritis responded quickly to intra-articular injections of hydrogen peroxide. He also found that it was especially effective when injected into osteoarthritic joints such as fingers and knees. Trigger points in muscles and tendons are rapidly relieved with the same type of injection. Some physicians have reported good results in reconstruction of joint surfaces and spaces using hydrogen peroxide injections.¹²

FREE RADICALS AND HYDROGEN PEROXIDE

In chapter 1 we discussed the issue of free radicals in detail. Hydrogen peroxide is an activated oxygen species that can break down and liberate free radicals and may sometimes act as a free radical itself. However, it is more often an “intermediate” for the formation of other free radicals, such as hydroxyl. While hydroxyl is essential for fighting off disease, excessive amounts in the body have been linked to genetic mutations and the destruction of cell membranes. Many physicians believe that hydrogen peroxide is harmful to use in medical therapy because it can lead to the uncontrolled production of free radicals like hydroxyl in the body. However, this is very unlikely because hydrogen peroxide is reduced in blood within seconds. A closer look at recent findings in the field of free radical production is needed before reaching such a conclusion.

It has already been mentioned that small amounts of hydrogen peroxide are vital for the proper functioning of our immune system, as well as the metabolism of protein, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals; the production of hormones; and the regulation of blood sugar. Yet hydrogen peroxide is also a powerful agent in oxidizing harmful bacteria, viruses, and fungi while providing vital oxygen to the body’s cells.

Dr. Farr found that hydrogen peroxide leads to the formation of hydroxyl radicals only under special circumstances, primarily when ferrous oxide is present. This is why physicians suggest that iron supplements not be taken when hydrogen peroxide is given intravenously or orally and that tap water containing iron should not be used to take hydrogen peroxide orally.

When ferrous oxide is not present—which is true most of the time—Dr. Farr discovered that hydrogen peroxide is normally dealt with by the enzyme catalase, which renders the hydrogen peroxide beneficial to the body:

The action of catalase on hydrogen peroxide is to add an electron in the presence of hydrogen to pure water and diatomic oxygen. The oxygen is again reduced to superoxide and then to hydrogen peroxide and around the reaction continues. . . . One molecule of catalase can convert millions of molecules of hydrogen peroxide into oxygen and water within seconds and is the body’s first line of defense against hydroxyl radical formation.¹³

When taken into the body in small amounts, hydrogen peroxide oxidizes sick, weak, and devitalized cells while making healthy cells (such as T cells) stronger and more resistant to oxidation. It also permits the formation of new, healthy cells that are better able to resist disease. This process is essential for healing. In chapters 28 and 29, we will discuss the importance of antioxidants (which can be easily found in a number of popular vegetables and fruits and nutritional supplements) as important adjuncts to oxidative therapy, because they help keep the body’s production of free radicals in check.

As with ozone, there is a wealth of documented evidence that attests to the value of hydrogen peroxide in medical therapy. Part 2 of this book will explore the latest laboratory and clinical findings that evaluate the use of oxidative therapies to treat many of our most serious health problems.