Ozone was first discovered in 1785 by Dutch physicist Martinez Van Marum. While working with electrostatic machines, he noticed a peculiar odor that was being generated by the equipment. The electrical charges he was working with were reacting with the room air to produce ozone. Years later, in 1840, German chemist Christian Friedrich Schonbein synthesized ozone in his laboratory and was able to describe exactly what it was. “The production of ozone by chemical means.” Liebig, a collaborator of his, suggested the term “ozonated oxygen” because in Greek, Ozien means “smelling gas”. These scientists immediately recognized they had discovered something unique and powerful.
It didn’t take long for doctors and scientists to realize that ozone had many medical applications including water sterilization and its use as a potent anti-microbial agent. In 1881, ozone began to be used as a disinfectant. Throughout the next 100 years, it continued to be studied and used in many applications, including dentistry. Nikola Tesla’s ozone company was the first to manufacture ozone generators for medical use. He was also the first to develop ozonated olive oil. It was also used during times of war to treat infected wounds, frostbite and gangrene.
In the past 30 years, more than 2500 papers on the medical use of ozone have been published in peer reviewed medical and scientific journals. You can access these articles by visiting www.aaot.us.
So, you can see that just because the medical use of ozone is relatively unknown here in the United States, it is not because there is not a rich history for its use. Some of the brightest medical and scientific minds of all time have highlighted this amazing therapy.
History of Ozone
Ozone (O3) is formed when the oxygen atoms (O2) are split and then recombined into a triplet molecule. When an energetic force, such as electricity or ultraviolet light is imposed upon a molecule of O2, the two oxygen atoms are temporarily split apart into two single oxygen atoms. In a matter of nano seconds, these highly unstable oxygen atoms will pair up again and reform back into O2 molecules. But a small percentage of them will unite in a triplet formation known as ozone.
When we use ozone in the human body, it immediately interacts with the tissues to form peroxides, which Doctors refer to as ozonides. These ozonides can last in the body from days to weeks and continue to exert their effects long after the treatment session. Ozone never produces free radicals in the body.
Ozone therapy is not a new alternative medicine. In fact, one of its most appealing aspects regarding medical use, is its remarkably long history in the world of medicine.
