Can Ozone Therapy Be Used To Treat Long Covid?
Please note, this blog is intended to educate the public about the latest developments in scientific research. It is not intended as personal medical advice. For all relevant medical decisions, please consult your chosen health practitioner.
With Covid-19 infections skyrocketing around the world, we are likely to see a huge increase in those unfortunate enough to suffer from symptoms 12 weeks or more after infection. This syndrome is generally known as Long Covid. According to national health statistics from the UK, at least 10% of those infected with Covid are in this category. That’s a lot of people!
New disease but a similar pattern
Like other post-viral conditions such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) there is currently no proven treatment for Long Covid. That’s why many doctors and scientists are searching for answers.
Enter the ozone
Given that ozone therapy was shown in this study to improve symptoms in 80% of CFS patients, and has shown promise as a treatment for acute Covid-19, a group of doctors in Italy decided to conduct this clinical trial: Fatigue in post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV2 (PASC) treated with oxygen-ozone autohemotherapy - preliminary results on 100 patients.
Unsurprisingly – encouragingly good results
The patients were treated with a regime of autohemotherapy, in most cases 2 to 3 times per week for 2 to 3 weeks, the results were very exciting! Nearly all the participants reported improvement in their condition and 40% showed complete recovery from this debilitating affliction.
The authors of the paper made this conclusion:
“Ozone therapy is able to recover normal functionality and to relief pain and discomfort in the form of PASC-associated fatigue in at least 67% of patients suffering from post-COVID sequelae, aside from sex and age distribution. This preliminary evidence encourages further research to go ahead in deepening the mechanisms underlying these results.”
What is autohemotherapy?
This is a clinic-based method of administering ozone to the patient where blood is removed, mixed with a measured amount of medical ozone (O2/O3 mixture), and reintroduced to the patient. It is the most accurate way of treating with systemic medical ozone but not recommended for home use unless one has medical staff on hand.
Is there another alternative?
Rectal Insufflation (RI) is now considered just as an effective protocol to treat a patient and fortunately can be self-administered quickly and easily at home with a home ozone therapy system such as the Wellness Warrior. RI has proven to give similar systemic benefits to autohemotherapy and is known to be a very low risk procedure.
Will it work?
At this time, although this preliminary research is extremely positive there is insufficient data to confirm whether home ozone therapy can improve the symptoms of Long Covid, hence the authors of the paper have called for more funding for research. Unfortunately, ozone therapy has long suffered from a lack of funding because there are limited options to patent and therefore commercialise the treatment.
Why not give it a try?
Personally, I use regular ozone therapy sessions as an indispensable component of my wellness regime. It’s so quick and easy to use, with an ever accumulating body of scientific work which attests to its safety and efficacy. Ozone therapy has been shown in numerous studies to have numerous benefits including:
- Increase oxygen uptake in the cells
- Modulate the immune system
- Anti-microbial qualities
- Decrease inflammation
- Increase mitochondrial function
Luckily, down here in the South Island, we have not had much Covid yet, but you can be sure that once it arrives, I will be keeping up my regular home ozone therapy sessions. That way, when my immune system does finally meet this nasty pathogen, I will have the best possible chance to fight it off.
