Introduction to oxygen therapies

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients,  Dec, 2004  by Jule Klotter

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Oxygen to the Rescue

by Pavel I. Yutsis, MD

Basic Health Publications, 8200 Boulevard East, 25G, North Bergen, New Jersey 07047 USA; 201-868-8336

Softbound, ISBN 1-59120-007-5, c. 2003, 167 pp., $14.95

In Russia, where Pavel I. Yutsis, MD, first practiced medicine, oxygen therapies such as hyperbaric oxygen therapy, hydrogen peroxide therapy, ozone therapy, and photoluminescence--are accepted treatments. Oxygen therapies provide additional oxygen (or, in the case of photoluminescence, increase the blood's capacity to absorb and use oxygen) to enhance the body's capacity to heal damaged tissue and/or to destroy pathogens. Research and clinical experience indicate that providing cells with more oxygen has helped people with diverse conditions including arthritis, cancer, cerebral palsy, HIV, Lyme disease, optic neuritis, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and various infections. Dr. Yutsis has written Oxygen to the Rescue to educate consumers about the uses and benefits of these treatments.

Of the four therapies described in the book, hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HOBT) is the only one now used by conventional medicine in the US. During HBOT treatment, patients breathe pure oxygen while in special pressurized chambers. The extra pressure forces oxygen into all body fluids, including lymphatic fluid and cerebrospinal fluid, and, thereby, spreads throughout the body. This extra oxygen promotes healing. For example, HBOT reduces brain swelling and helps stimulate non-functioning neurons, traumatized by stroke. Part of HBOT's healing power comes from its ability to combat and prevent infection. Dr. Yutsis says that HBOT treatments and surgery give better results in cases of gas gangrene than the usual combination of surgery and antibiotics. Oxygen kills bacteria and other pathogens as well as promotes healing. Use of HBOT can lessen the extent of and, in some cases, even the need for amputation. It also increases survival rate among people with severe injuries.

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The Institute for Hyperbaric Medicine in Moscow has approved HBOT's use for 60 conditions, including stroke, multiple sclerosis, and cerebral palsy. Its accepted use in the US is far more limited; only 13 conditions have gained insurance approval. Here, HBOT is primarily used to treat carbon monoxide poisoning; radiation tissue damage; severe trauma to bones, soft tissue, nerve cells, or blood vessels; and decompression sickness. HBOT has a cumulative effect and results take time. Depending on the seriousness of a condition, a patient may require 40 to 200 treatments for full recovery. HBOT is subsidized in Russia and Cuba, so both the pressurized chambers, which are mass produced, and the treatment are less expensive than in the US. Chambers here cost $100,000 for a monochamber (for one person) and several hundreds of thousands for larger chambers. Dr. Yutsis believes that if the US public becomes aware of the effectiveness and advantages of HBOT and the demand increases, more hospitals will buy the equipment and insurance companies will be pressured into covering HBOT for more treatments.

Unlike HBOT, IV hydrogen peroxide therapy, ozone therapy, and photoluminescence do not have acceptance in the US. All three have anti-microbial and immune-boosting effects that could be very helpful as organisms gain resistance to antibiotics. Hydrogen peroxide, produced by the body, takes part in numerous tasks, including breaking down food, regulating blood sugar, producing cellular energy, regulating hormone production, and destroying pathogens. Although IV hydrogen peroxide therapy is especially helpful for treating infections of all kinds, it also benefits people with cardiovascular, pulmonary, inflammatory, endocrine, and neuromuscular problems.

Ozone has been used to purify water since 1901. Like hydrogen peroxide, it kills diverse bacteria and viruses. German doctors used it during World War I to treat battle wounds and infections. A German surgeon began using ozone intravenously on patients with circulatory problems in 1945. Ozone therapy is helpful in treating AIDS, allergies, arthritis, asthma, cancer, colitis, hepatitis, herpes, and sinusitis.

The final treatment outlined in Oxygen to the Rescue, photoluminescence, involves removing blood, exposing it to ultraviolet light, and then re-injecting it into the patient. Like the others, it stimulates the immune system.

In keeping with his purpose to educate US consumers about oxygen therapies and to encourage their use, Dr. Yutsis includes a list of US practitioners who use oxygen therapies and gives resources for more information. Although he does not claim that these therapies will help all patients, his years of medical practice have led him to believe that oxygen therapies are well worth trying as both primary and adjunctive therapies. Oxygen to the Rescue provides a detailed introduction to these effective, inexpensive therapies that have been used in other countries for decades.

review by Jule Klotter

COPYRIGHT 2004 The Townsend Letter Group
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