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Ozone therapy is analternative medical treatment that introducesozone orozonides to the body. The United StatesFood and Drug Administration (FDA) prohibits all medical uses of ozone "in any medical condition for which there is no proof of safety and effectiveness", stating "ozone is a toxic gas with no known useful medical application in specific, adjunctive, or preventive therapy. For ozone to be germicidal, it must be present in a concentration far greater than that which can be safely tolerated by man and animals."^[1]

Ozone therapy has been sold as an unproven treatment for various illnesses, includingcancer, a practice which has been characterized as "purequackery".^[2] The therapy can cause seriousadverse effects, including death.^[3]

Ozone therapy consists of the introduction of ozone into the body via various methods, usually involving its mixture with various gases and liquids before injection, with potential routes including thevagina,rectum,into a muscle,under the skin, ordirectly into a vein. Ozone can also be introduced viaautohemotherapy, in which blood is drawn from the patient, exposed to ozone, and re-injected into the patient.^[4]

This therapy has been proposed as a primary or adjunct therapy for various diseases, includingosteoarthritis,^[5][6][7] herniated disk,^[8] chronic wounds,^[9]hepatitis B^[10][11]and C,^[12][13]herpes zoster,^[14]human papillomavirus infection,^[15] HIV-AIDS,^[16]multiple sclerosis,^[17] cancer,heart disease,Alzheimer's dementia, andLyme disease, though supportive evidence for some of these applications is limited. TheAmerican Cancer Society warned in 2010 that evidence for the efficacy of ozone therapy against cancer is inconclusive, and the therapy may be dangerous.^[4] For treatment ofHIV/AIDS, although ozone deactivates the viral particlesin vitro, well-designed studies have shown there is no benefit for living patients.^[18]

The United StatesFood and Drug Administration initially stated in 1976, and reiterated its position in 2006, that when inhaled, ozone is a toxic gas that has no demonstrated safe medical application, though their position statements primarily deal with its potential for causinginflammation andpulmonary edema in the lungs. They also emphasize that for ozone to be effective as a germicide, it must be present at concentrations far greater than can be safely tolerated by humans or other animals.^[19] More recent reviews have highlighted that different routes of administration may result in different therapeutic and side-effect profiles.^[20]

Some reviews have suggested ozone as a potential treatment forherniated discs^[21] anddiabetic neuropathy.^[22] There is some controversy about its use byathletes to increase performance despite numerous adverse side effects within thepulmonary and/orskeletal muscle systems. Although its use is not disallowed in and of itself, it can be mixed with banned substances for administration prior to injection.^[23]

Ozone therapy has potentially seriousadverse effects, and as of 2012^[update] at least five deaths had been reported due to the therapy's use on people with cancer.^[3] From 1975 to 1983 in Germany, research revealed six deaths, four cases of visual disturbance, three cases ofparaplegias, fourgas embolisms in the pulmonary circuit, twomyocardial infarction, fourpulmonary embolisms, two cases ofapoplexy paralysis, and two cases ofcardiac arrhythmia following ozone therapy. More commonly,pulmonary edema is the most prevalent adverse effect of ozone treatment. In the muscular system, many cases oftendon rupture,osteoarthritis,myositis,synovitis, joint infections, and muscle tears have been documented as results of ozone therapy. In theintegumentary system, benignskin discoloration is most common. These all occurred following direct injection of O₂/O₃ gas: a method now regarded as malpractice by most ozone practitioners. In each case, the clinical picture corresponded either to gas embolism, or allergic shock. The fact that one case of apparent allergic shock followed the injection of a minute quantity of gas raises the unknown possibility that other methods of administration might also carry the risk of allergic shock.^[24][25]

Much of the concern related to ozone therapy revolves around the safety of blood ozonation. When inhaled by mammals in high levels, ozone reacts with compounds in tissues lining the lungs and triggers a cascade of pathological effects, includingpulmonary edema, however, ozone therapy does not usually involve inhalation of ozone gas.^[20][26] It has been argued that while peroxides (a product of ozone) are naturally generated insidephagocyte cells to kill bacteria, outside the cell they can damage tissue.^[27] Proponents suggest that its effects are tissue-dependent, though the subject is still debated.^[20][28]

Other serious incidents reported include transmission ofhepatitis C.^[29] Ozone-based treatments can be associated with central nervous system toxicity, termed Ozone Induced Encephalopathy (OIE).^[30]

The FDA prohibits the medical use of ozone "in any medical condition for which there is no proof of safety and effectiveness", stating that "ozone is a toxic gas with no known useful medical application in specific, adjunctive, or preventive therapy. For ozone to be germicidal, it must be present in a concentration far greater than that which can be safely tolerated by man and animals."^[1]

Beginning in 1991 theFDA has prosecuted and sent to jail several people presenting themselves as medical doctors and selling ozone therapy products as a medical cure or operating medical clinics using ozone therapy for healing human illness.^[31][32] Arrests following similar activity have been made in other countries as well, including Uganda and Thailand.^[33][34]

Ozone therapy is sold as an expensive alternative cancer treatment in Germany.David Gorski has described the practice as "pure quackery".^[2] Proponents of the therapy falsely claim it is a recognized therapy there, but the German medical establishment has not approved ozone therapy.^[27]

In 2009, a panel of experts consulted byForbes recommended that ozone therapy be included on a "list of the most egregious, dangerous, aggressively marketed health scams."^[35]

Ozone therapy was banned in Malaysia in 2017. The Malaysian Health Ministry determined that the treatment could cause serious harm and had no scientific support as a treatment for any condition.^[36]

On 7 August 2023, the Brazilian government legalized ozone therapy as acomplementary therapy, ignoring a request for veto due to lack of scientific evidence made in an open letter from theBrazilian National Academy of Medicine.^[37]

In 1856, just 16 years after its discovery, ozone was first used in a healthcare setting to disinfect operating rooms and sterilize surgical instruments.^[38] By the end of the 19th century the use of ozone to disinfect drinking water of bacteria and viruses was well established in mainland Europe.^[38][39]

In 1892The Lancet published an article describing the administration of ozone for treatment oftuberculosis.^[40] DuringWorld War I, ozone was tested atQueen Alexandra Military Hospital in London as a possibledisinfectant for wounds. The gas was applied directly to wounds for as long as 15 minutes. This resulted in damage to both bacterial cells and human tissue. Other sanitizing techniques, such as irrigation withantiseptics, were preferable.^[41][42]

The psychoanalystWilhelm Reich was a proponent of ozone therapy, which was supposed to enhance an imaginary life force he calledorgone. Reich developed a device utilizing ozonides in his work onbioenergetic analysis.^[43]

• Ozone health effects
• Air ioniser
• Gerson therapy - which can involve the use of ozone solutions for enemas
• List of unproven and disproven cancer treatments

• Ozone Generators that are Sold as Air Cleaners - factsheet at US EPA

• Ozone therapy
• Alternative cancer treatments
• Doping in sport
• Alternative medicine
• Pseudoscience
• Health fraud

• All articles with dead external links
• Articles with dead external links from May 2025
• CS1 German-language sources (de)
• CS1 Portuguese-language sources (pt)
• CS1 Russian-language sources (ru)
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from October 2017
• Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2012
• All articles containing potentially dated statements