Comparing Home Ozone Therapies

With so many different types of ozone therapy administration out there, choosing one can be overwhelming. But your choice comes down to three factors: 

1. Your physical condition 
2. What you hope to accomplish 
3. The advice your medical practitioner gives you 

The third factor is the most important. No information in this article or on mediskill.com is meant to replace the qualified advice of your doctor. That being said, the purpose of this page is to explain each ozone therapy treatment so you can identify what you need in order to get symptom free and healthy.

In this article you will learn:

• The safety of ozone therapy 
• What equipment you need and how to get it 
• The differences between systemic and localized ozone administrations 
• A quick breakdown of each ozone therapy administration 
• How to choose the best ozone therapy for your specific needs 

Is ozone therapy safe? 

In a word, yes. With the right precautions. 

Ozone therapy has been extensively researched in Europe and Cuba for the last sixty years. Millions of treatments have been performed with a higher safety record than aspirin.  While you cannot breathe ozone due to the lack of antioxidant defenses in the lungs, it can be safely administered in many other parts of the body.

We have researched all available data to create a comprehensive page on the safety of ozone therapy.

Getting Equipment for Ozone Therapy at Home

It costs around $1,200-$2,000 for everything you need, but it lasts a lifetime.  

You will need to get an oxygen tank too.  We have details here on how to do that.

Differences between systemic and local ozone therapy 

With only a couple exceptions (which we’ll cover on this page), all forms of ozone therapy fall into one of two categories: systemic or local. 

• Systemic treatments benefit the whole body
• Local treatments address a specific spot

‍

A clinic offering ozone therapy will have more options, such as intravenous therapies or injections around an infected wound.  But 90% of people have their needs met with ozone therapy at home. 

‍

We created the chart below so you can see the areas and types of benefits you can get with ozone therapy at home versus in a clinic. 

SYSTEMIC OZONE ADMINISTRATION

Intravenous (IV) ozone is perhaps the most potent systemic therapy, but it can only be done in a clinic. 

For ozone therapy at home, a few options exist that may provide systemic benefits, but there are only two truly systemic treatments: 

1. Rectal insufflation (releasing ozone gas into the body via the rectum) 
2. Vaginal insufflation (ozone gas into the body via the vagina).

Rectal insufflation

This is the best overall treatment for ozone therapy at home.  You can read the full details and how to do it here.

Rectal insufflation is most commonly used to fight chronic disease, or as an overall health optimization. It’s the process of releasing ozone gas into the body through the rectum. 

Since the colon walls easily absorb gases, rectal insufflation has been carefully studied and claimed by many to be 95-96% as effective as IV ozone. This is because ozone that’s inserted via the rectum is absorbed through the colon walls and distributed throughout the bloodstream. So while IV ozone is injected directly into the bloodstream, rectal insufflation still affects the bloodstream, just not as quickly or directly. 

But even if rectal insufflation was only 50% as effective as IV ozone, you can do it on a daily basis for a much lower cost.  This makes it highly valuable in comparison.  See our full comparison of rectal ozone vs IV ozone. 

Despite this slightly lesser efficacy than IV ozone, the only other downside of rectal insufflation is the mild discomfort some users report after their first experience.  Otherwise it seems the pros of rectal insufflation far outweigh the cons (after you get past the name). 

Rectal insufflation can be self-administered at home with the right equipment and minimal training, saving users the added expense and inconvenience of traveling to the clinic for every treatment (though many integrative practitioners also offer rectal ozone in their clinics).

And while IV ozone administration costs upwards of $150 for each treatment session in the clinic, rectal insufflation at home may have the potential to become only cents per treatment after the initial purchase of the necessary equipment. 

If you’re beset with a chronic illness like cancer, autoimmune disease, Lyme disease or something similar, consider using rectal ozone at home as only supplemental to IV ozone in the clinic until you feel well enough and your doctor advises you to transition to doing all your rectal ozone treatments at home. 

Vaginal Insufflation

Vaginal ozone insufflation is a good systemic treatment and works well for vaginal based issues.  

Like rectal insufflation, vaginal insufflation can be done at home. Vaginal insufflation is the release of ozone gas into the vagina for 5 - 10 minutes, and is one of the only ozone therapies to simultaneously provide local and systemic benefits. 

Its systemic benefits can be compared to IV autohemotherapy or rectal insufflation, but its potency is perhaps a step behind rectal insufflation — this is because the tissue lining in the vagina requires more time for absorption into the bloodstream. As a systemic therapy, it’s commonly used for chronic disease and lymphatic improvement as well as various female related issues. You can read full details and how to do it here.

Ozone Saunas

An ozone sauna can be either a hard chamber or a “tent” made of PVC and nylon. The sauna is designed in such a way that the user’s head sticks out to avoid any chance of ozone inhalation. Ozone is pumped into the sauna via an ozone generator while the sauna is filled with hot steam and ozone gas. Typically, a session lasts for 20 - 30 minutes.

While the systemic benefits of ozone saunas are not believed to be anywhere near as effective as IV, rectal, or vaginal ozone, the fact that ozone saunas are less invasive and easier to administer makes them good candidates for total body ozone therapy.

Ozone saunas are most ideally used in beauty, anti-aging, and skin rejuvenation but have benefits beyond those reasons. Check out our full explanation of ozone saunas. 

Ozone Ice Baths

Ozonated ice baths combine the benefits of cold therapy (increased energy and metabolism, improved circulation, fat loss, improved mental clarity and mood stabilization, to name a few) and transcutaneous (skin) ozone therapy (faster wound healing, stimulated collagen production, potential improved oxygenation, energy, metabolism, potential decreased brain fog and improved circulation). 

Users sit or lie in a tub of ice water treated with a therapeutic dose of ozone for an average of 2-6 minutes — some soak longer, some shorter, but shivering is an indicator that it’s time to get out. 

Read our full article for more information on ozone ice baths. 

LOCAL OZONE ADMINISTRATION

While systemic ozone administration is usually the best option for people who want to resolve internal issues and treat many different diseases, the following types of localized ozone administrations are intended for treatment of only certain areas and/or disorders.

Limb bagging

Limb bagging is obviously only used for limbs. When there is a wound, burn or infection on the skin of a limb (whether a leg or arm), a limb bag is used to fully enclose the limb, and ozone from a generator flows into the bag, exposing that layer of skin to the antiseptic and healing power of ozone. Read more about limb bagging here.

Vaginal insufflation

The process of vaginal insufflation involves ozone flowing from a generator via a specialized attachment into the affected area and back out into an ozone destruct to prevent any excess ozone from entering the air. Vaginal insufflation as a local treatment is generally used to treat yeast, bacterial and viral vaginal infections as well as pain in and around the vagina and pelvis.  Read more about vaginal insufflation here.

Ear insufflation

When there is an ear or sinus infection, ozone can be used to oxidize and treat the infection. Ozone is introduced into the ears via a specialized stethoscope and humidified using an ozone bubbler system to make the ozone gas more comfortable and effective (while ozone breaks down in high humidity, a little bit of moisture helps avoid irritation and aids in penetration of the ear/sinus cavities).  Read more about ear insufflation here.

Ozone cupping

Much like limb bagging, ozone cupping is used to expose affected areas of skin to the antiseptic, oxygenating power of ozone. A specially designed glass ozone cup is attached to an ozone generator and ozone flows into the cup, exposing the affected skin and flowing back into a built-in ozone destruct for safety. Read more about ozone cupping here.

Breathing ozonides through oil (BOO) 

If you’re familiar at all with ozone, you know it is never safe to directly inhale ozone gas. However, when ozone gas is bubbled through olive oil (or a similar organic oil), what’s left over is something called ozonides. Ozonides retain the healing properties of ozone molecules without the risk of damage to the lungs. When inhaled through oil, ozonides can help with a wide range of respiratory issues. Read more about breathing ozonides here.

TOPICAL OZONE ADMINISTRATION

Medical grade ozone doesn’t always require a generator and special equipment in order to benefit your health. Below are a couple of alternative ways to use ozone. 

Ozone Oils

Ozone Oils are made from a base of ozonated oil (particularly natural oils such as olive oil or sunflower seed oil), and are applied topically to the skin for things like acne, blemishes and rashes. The active ingredient of ozone releases lipids and peroxides into the skin and quickly turns back into oxygen, working with the skin’s natural cleansing functions instead of forcing something unnatural to happen with harsh, man-made chemicals. In a similar way, ozone gels and pastes are used in the mouth to eradicate pathogens, cut infections in cavitations and promote overall tooth health without the long-term damaging effect of unnatural chemicals like fluoride.

Ozone water

Ozone water has a variety of uses, including topical application on the skin (for safe antiseptic purposes), sterilization of produce and other fresh foods, or even drinking directly. There isn’t as much scientific evidence in favor of drinking ozone water as there is in favor of using it as a disinfectant, but ozone is often used for water purification, and it’s much safer than chlorine or fluoride. That being stated, there is a lot of anecdotal evidence to support the opinion that drinking ozonated water leaves those who drink it feeling refreshed and energized from the activated oxygen. However you choose to use it, just keep in mind that room temperature ozone water has a half life of around 20 minutes, meaning that within that time frame the ozone breaks down into oxygen and you’re left with regular water. Chilling it can extend the half life, but not by much. The sooner ozone water is used after it’s made, the better. An ozone water bubbler is required to saturate distilled water (make sure it’s distilled) with ozone via an ozone generator, and can be done easily at home. Read more about ozone water here.

Which therapies should you choose?

We recommend consulting with a medical practitioner to get a medical recommendation.  Below are the following reasons people choose a particular therapy:

• Rectal Insufflation - Gut health and total body benefit
• Vaginal Insufflation - Vaginal infections/issues and total body benefit
• Ozone Water - Stomach infections, oral infections, skin infections and wound healing, possible gut health such as SIBO or dysbiosis
• Ear Insufflation - Ear, nose, eye, or throat infections, tinnitus, lyme, mold toxicity, and other head related issues
• Ozone Bagging or Cupping - Skin infections, ulcers, post-surgery, and wounds
• Ozone Oil - Skin infections, ulcers, post-surgery, wounds, acne, rosacea, eczema, psoriasis, and more.  It’s a multi-purpose oil that can be used for lots of issues you come across.
• Breathing Ozonides - Lung and respiratory infections

CONCLUSION

There are several ways to safely and effectively administer ozone, but each has its own specialty. However you choose to use ozone, be sure to never breathe it in directly. Ozone is a safe and effective tool when used properly, but it will cause lung irritation if it’s inhaled without modification (see the section on ozonides above). This is why an ozone destruct is so important during ozone administrations, so no excess ozone has the chance to enter your lungs. Some ozone generators come with a built-in destruct, but if yours doesn’t, a separate ozone destruct is worth the investment. . 

Continue exploring this website, download our definitive guide to ozone therapy or talk to an integrative practitioner who offers ozone therapy to determine which type of ozone therapy is best for you and your situation.

‍