Jason’s report that highly diluted nebulized hydrogen peroxide rapidly improved his health sparked concerns.
A recent blog featuring Jason’s near recovery from a 16-year bout of ME/CFS reported that nebulized hydrogen peroxide (2%) was one of two treatments that he credited with playing the greatest role in his improvement. Within a week of nebulizing 2-3% food-grade hydrogen peroxide, Jason reported he was feeling 80% better.
Decades earlier – after nothing had worked – an alternative health M.D. tried intravenous hydrogen peroxide on me. It failed, like everything else, to effect any change – positive or negative. That was the extent of my experience with hydrogen peroxide therapy.
I didn’t realize, though, what a hornet’s nest I was stepping into with Jason’s report and how controversial the treatment had recently become. A 2021 warning by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America about the dangers of using hydrogen peroxide in any form had pervaded the media. I was accused – not surprisingly – of promoting a dangerous treatment without much forethought.
This blog is an attempt to rectify that situation. I dug into what I could find on the use of nebulized hydrogen peroxide to treat infections and other illnesses.
The Study
Our cells use hydrogen peroxide to kill pathogens but highly concentrated forms of it can be dangerous when used improperly.
The controversy may have had its genesis in a July 2021 case series, “Hydrogen Peroxide as an Adjuvant Therapy for COVID-19: A Case Series of Patients and Caregivers in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area“, published in the Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine journal.
Citing the prevalence of COVID-19, and the need for “easily and cheaply obtained” over-the-counter alternatives in Mexico, the authors noted that hydrogen peroxide (H202) therapy had been first used over a hundred years ago and that exactly a hundred years ago, a Lancet article described how intravenous hydrogen peroxide had cut mortality in half in a set of soldiers during the Spanish Flu pandemic.
The paper reported that nebulized hydrogen peroxide (0.2%) or H2O2, taken by mouth (PO, at a concentration of 0.06%) or oral rinse (mouthwash, 1.5%) was taken by 23 patients over 16 days. The participants were given instructions on how to prepare the hydrogen peroxide:
“Given the risk of misuse because of the oxidizing corrosive nature of the concentrated H2O2 solution, precise instructions on preparing the dilutions were given both verbally and in writing (described in Table 1).”
Instructions for the use of hydrogen peroxide in the Mexican study.
The authors reported that “Most of our patients reported immediate relief of respiratory symptoms and documented improved oxygenation as measured by their pulse oximeter with the nebulization. In addition to the reduction in the duration (compared to clinical progress and outcomes for Mexican patients), we observed a possible reduction in the severity of the disease and a perceived reduction in symptoms by most patients.” They concluded that the application was safe in the group of patients tested (none of which had asthma).
Note that there was no control group and that it was possible that the coronavirus infection resolved itself naturally.
The authors reported that “many positive effects on the immune response have been described” and asserted that “hydrogen peroxide is a simple, well-studied, and useful molecule for a range of medical and sanitary applications”, and that “an abundance of scientific knowledge” exists, including “sufficient documentation” for its use as a therapeutic modality.
Noting that the body produces its own H202 and that H2O2 decomposes into water (H2O) and oxygen (O−), the authors asserted that “in appropriate doses, it is relatively safe for animal and human uses, as well as relatively nontoxic.”
The Farr Paper
Dr. Charles Farr – the “father of oxidative medicine” – advocated for the use of intravenous hydrogen peroxide in the mid-1980s.
The authors’ documentation, however, was slim, relying mostly on a few older studies, several of which focused on using hydrogen peroxide as a mouthwash. One of the works cited was a self-published 1986 work, “The Therapeutic Use of Intravenous Hydrogen Peroxide“, by Dr. Charles Farr, MD., Ph.D., known as “the father of oxidative medicine”.
Farr claimed that he had given over 500 IV infusions of H202 (0.15%) without harmful effect and noted that immune cells called granulocytes produce H2O2 “as a first line of defense against bacteria, yeast, virus, parasites, and most fungi”. He reported that the infusions had produced “rapid improvements” in people with infections, allergies, flu syndromes, “and other toxic phenomena”. He ended the paper by stating that:
“We feel the evidence presented should stimulate a new appreciation in the study of the potential therapeutic application of bio-oxidative mechanisms.”
In 1993, he produced a paper, “The Protocol for the Intravenous Administration of Hydrogen Peroxide”. Farr’s report appears to have triggered new interest in hydrogen peroxide therapy in some corners of the alternative health world but did not trigger the kind of rigorous study he was apparently looking for.
By 1996, enough people were apparently drinking high strength hydrogen peroxide – something Farr warned against – for the FDA to publish a warning in 1996 “not to purchase or use high-strength hydrogen peroxide products for medicinal purposes, including a product marketed as “35 Percent Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide.”
A 2007 rejoinder to Farr’s work, “Charles H. Farr and the purported scientific and medical rationale for intravenous hydrogen peroxide“, noted the very thin scientific citation record for hydrogen peroxide use and concluded, “There is no growing body of support from basic science, animal models or human studies. Specifically, there would need to be systemic animal studies showing real promise, followed by phase I, II and III human trials.”
While many studies exist on the pros and cons of hydrogen peroxide as an antiseptic agent, very few have explored the use of low concentrations of H202 in IVs or in nebulized form.
Most published admonitions against the use of H202 that I found use case reports of damage from high concentrations of H202 to argue against any applications of it. A 2009 paper, “Oxygen Therapies”, for instance, used several reports of death or injury from the ingestion or IV use of 30-40% hydrogen peroxide to conclude that “0xygen therapies are expensive, unproven, and harmful”.
The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America Message
The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America issued a blunt warning about using hydrogen peroxide in a nebulizer.
More recently, in September 2021, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America responded to what it called a “concerning and dangerous trend” on social media platforms … regarding people using nebulized hydrogen peroxide to fight COVID-19.
Its message was brief and succinct and allowed no gray areas. “Nebulized hydrogen peroxide in any form is dangerous, was the message.
“DANGER! Don’t Nebulize Hydrogen Peroxide and Breathe It to Try to Treat or Prevent COVID-19”
“Hydrogen peroxide can be used as a cleaner and stain remover, and can cause tissue damage if you swallow it or breathe it.”
It reported that, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry:
“Hydrogen peroxide can be toxic if ingested, inhaled, or by contact with the skin or eyes. Inhalation of household strength hydrogen peroxide (3%) can cause respiratory irritation. Exposure to household strength hydrogen. peroxide can cause mild ocular irritation. Inhalation of vapors from concentrated (higher than 10%) solutions may result in severe pulmonary irritation.”
The warning ended by stating:
“Only use asthma medicine prescribed by your doctor in your nebulizer. Other chemicals can be harmful to your lungs.”
The Gist
- Jason reported that nebulized hydrogen peroxide returned him to 80% of health within a couple of weeks. Questions came up, though, regarding its safety – hence this blog.
- A small Mexican study suggested that nebulizing or ingesting highly diluted hydrogen peroxide might be a cheap and effective way of treating COVID-19. The study reported rapid relief of respiratory and other symptoms with minimal side effects but lacked a control group and it was possible that the patients might have recovered naturally.
- After doctors and patients on social media outlets promoted the use of nebulized hydrogen peroxide, the Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America issued a stern warning about using hydrogen peroxide in any form in a nebulizer.
- The warning was picked up by numerous media outlets and amplified. The message was clear: using hydrogen peroxide in any concentration was dangerous.
- Media reports regarding the dangers of hydrogen peroxide use exploded. They and the doctors they quoted, however, often didn’t differentiate between the clearly dangerous high concentrations of H202 found and concentrations that are 10x or more lower than some alternative health practitioners assert are safe.
- Given that highly diluted H202 therapy has been used by at least some alternative health practitioners for decades, one would have thought that reports of damage would be easy to find but the opposite was true. Two reports from poison control centers produced little evidence of harms from low concentrations of hydrogen peroxide. Little other evidence was found.
- On the other hand, the evidence for the efficacy and safety of low concentrations of nebulized H202 is almost entirely anecdotal. No animal studies or phase I, II, or III clinical trials and only one study were found. Highly diluted hydrogen peroxide has been almost totally ignored as a possible research subject.
- The evidence regarding the efficacy and safety of using diluted hydrogen peroxide to combat infections comes entirely from doctor and patient reports.
- It’s not clear how widespread the use nebulized hydrogen peroxide is. While it’s clearly used in many alternative health centers, I couldn’t find evidence of any ME/CFS/FM experts recommending it.
Media Reports
That put H202 therapy on the map big time. The warning was immediately picked up by dozens of media outlets. Most media reports warning about the use of hydrogen peroxide noted the dangers of using industrial-strength hydrogen peroxide – which was not being advocated – making the subject confusing.
Others simply didn’t address the concentration issue. Forbes, for interest, ridiculed people who’d tried hydrogen peroxide therapy stating that:
“Don’t hit your head repeatedly with a trash can lid. Don’t eat spaghetti and hot dogs that you randomly find splattered on the sidewalk. And don’t inhale hydrogen peroxide to try to prevent or treat Covid-19. These three things should be obvious. Nevertheless, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) has had to issue a warning about one of them. Take a wild guess as to which one.”
Healthline blankly stated, “Inhaling Hydrogen Peroxide Will Hurt Your Lungs and Won’t Prevent COVID-19“. The expert it cited, Dr. Len Horovitz, stated, “There is ‘never’ a good reason to inhale hydrogen peroxide. It concluded that, “Experts say that hydrogen peroxide should never be inhaled or ingested, as the health consequences could be severe.”
Dr. Gregory Schrank, infectious disease specialist at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, told USA Today. “The concern for using it in a nebulized form is severe irritation to the airways with a lot of additional inflammation,” but never addressed the concentration question. (Ironically, the Mexican study reported that low-dose hydrogen peroxide provided relief from respiratory conditions.)
Dr. Mercola – who advocates the use of nebulized hydrogen peroxide and has produced videos promoting it – responded to an article in the Washington Post, stating:
“The solution you are referring to is primarily saline, with highly diluted hydrogen peroxide. It is important to ensure that people use saline to dilute the hydrogen peroxide to .1%; 30X lower concentration than standard peroxide found at the local pharmacy. High concentrations of hydrogen peroxide should not be used.”
In response to Mercola’s comment, Melanie Carver from the Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America side-stepped Mercola’s claim about the safety and efficacy of low-dose hydrogen peroxide, and instead focused on the possibility that some people might be using higher concentrations:
“There are different concentrations available for purchase, and people may be using dangerous concentrations of hydrogen peroxide in an attempt to protect themselves from COVID-19,”
Harms Caused by the Use of Low Concentrations of Hydrogen Peroxide
It was hard to find reports of injury due to the use of low-dose (1-3%) hydrogen peroxide in its nebulized form. (Several case reports cite the dangers of hydrogen peroxide enemas.) One case report concluded that a 50-year-old woman with a history of asthma had brought on lung difficulties through her 5-year use of nebulized hydrogen. It noted that she had recently increased her use of the nebulizer.
The report noted that “hydrogen peroxide use as an alternative and complimentary form of medicine is advocated for use in multiple disease processes including COPD, asthma, pneumonia, and bronchitis” but were aware of only one case report of interstitial lung disease that was associated with it.
One of the few actual studies involved a 1994 3-year review of hydrogen peroxide exposures at a regional poison center which found that most of the 325 exposures (which made up less than .4% of all exposures) “resulted in a benign outcome (no effect or minor effect)”. A statistically insignificant trend (p<0.11) toward more severe outcomes was found in people ingesting a concentration greater than 10% – which is 3-10x’s the concentrations used in alternative health practices.
Similarly, a much-cited 2004 Toxicology Review, “Hydrogen Peroxide poisoning“, pointed out the potentially dire effects (stroke) of taking in concentrated hydrogen peroxide (35%) and noted that “highly concentrated solutions… can cause severe irritation and inflammation of mucous membranes, with coughing and dyspnoea (shortness of breath) but was mostly silent on the effects of much smaller doses stating that “most inhalational exposures cause little more than coughing and transient dyspnoea (shortness of breath).”
While it didn’t state what it considered “diluted” Medical News Today at least contrasted the effects of ingesting concentrated hydrogen peroxide (severe stomach upset, tissue burns, in rare cases embolism) to ingesting diluted forms (mild gut irritation, throat irritation, vomiting). It still treated all nebulized treatments the same stating that they could lead to nose, throat, and lung irritation and pulmonary edema.
While ample evidence shows that higher dose hydrogen peroxide (30-40%) is quite toxic, I could find little evidence of harms produced by highly diluted H202. A 1994 poison control center study, for instance, found a statistically insignificant trend towards harm in exposure to doses greater than 10% – 3x higher than the maximum dose recommended. Two years later, a review of 670 exposures to 3% hydrogen peroxide over a three-year period at a different poison control center found that most exposures involved children, that 86% of the exposures did not produce symptoms, and all except one exposure – to a small child, were benign. (The small child developed bloody bowels and gastric ulcers).
In conclusion, evidence of damage done by the use of highly diluted forms of hydrogen peroxide was hard to come by.
Use in the Alternative Health Field
It’s not clear how often nebulized hydrogen peroxide is used by alternative health practitioners. I didn’t find any reference to it by prominent ME/CFS/FM practitioners such as Dr. Teitelbaum, Dr. Holtorf, Dr. Murphree or Dr. Nathan. Jon Kaiser – one of the few alternative health M.D.’s to do clinical trials in ME/CFS – prescribes it.
A search of nebulized hydrogen peroxide therapy brought up a variety of alternative health clinics in the U.S. that use it including the Riordan Clinic, Dr. David Brownstein, East Valley Naturopathic, the Integrative Medicine Center of Western Colorado, RegenIV Wellness, Dr. Sean Ceaser, Auburn Naturopathic Medicine, KOIWellBeing, Innovative Medicine, BrioMedical, and others. It’s clearly used regularly in quite a few practices.
Thomas E. Levy, MD, JD is one of the more vocal proponents of using diluted hydrogen peroxide. In a Townshend Letter article, “Curing Viruses with Hydrogen Peroxide – Can a Simple Therapy Stop the Pandemic?“, Levy called H202 a “straightforward and quite elegant way to augment the body’s natural expression of HP to combat infection and inflammation” and goes so far as to say that, “The search for an effective, nontoxic, available, and inexpensive respiratory virus therapy could end with HP.”
At the low doses used, he asserts that “the only ‘toxic’ effects of inhaled HP consist of minor degrees of nasal and throat irritation that rapidly resolve upon termination of the nebulization.” People who experience irritation at 3% H202 can easily drop the concentration further.
Levy recommended (a runny nose or slightly sore throat) 5 to 15-minute nebulization sessions be undertaken several times daily or until symptomatic relief is realized for mild colds. He reported that many individuals report significant improvement only a few hours after the first one or two treatments.
Conclusion
Despite the warnings little evidence of harm caused by nebulizing highly diluted hydrogen peroxide was found. On the other hand, the evidence for its efficacy and safety is almost all anecdotal as well.
Jason reported that nebulized hydrogen peroxide returned him to 80% of health within a couple of weeks. Questions came up, though, regarding its safety.
Not long after a small Mexican study suggested that nebulizing or ingesting highly diluted hydrogen peroxide might be a cheap and effective way of treating COVID-19 the Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America issued a stern warning about using hydrogen peroxide in any form in a nebulizer.
Media reports regarding the dangers of hydrogen peroxide use exploded. They and the doctors they quoted, however, often didn’t differentiate between the clearly dangerous high concentrations of H202 found and concentrations that are 10x’s or more lower that some alternative health practitioners state are safe.
Given that H202 therapy has been used by at least some alternative health practitioners for decades, one would have thought that reports of damage would be easy to find but the opposite was true. Two reports from poison control centers produced little evidence of harms from low concentrations of hydrogen peroxide.
On the other hand, the evidence for low concentrations of nebulized H202 is almost entirely anecdotal. No animal studies or phase I, II, or III clinical trials and only one study were found. Highly diluted hydrogen peroxide has been almost totally ignored as a possible research subject.
It’s not clear how widespread the use nebulized hydrogen peroxide is. While alternative health centers that use it can pretty readily be found, I couldn’t find evidence of any ME/CFS/FM experts recommending it.
Aside for some doctors and patient reports that it’s helpful with infections and causes only mild irritation at best, we lack any other evidentiary basis regarding optimal dosing, duration, effectiveness, and safety.
I’ve been using nebulized hydrogen peroxide for around 2 weeks, since the Jason post.
I use 1 ml of 3% hydrogen peroxide solution, and 2 ml water, measured with a dropper bottle, taken 3x a day.
So far I think it has been fairly helpful. My right jaw, which is almost always very tight, has been relaxed 90% of the time. My muscles are less tight. When I take hydrogen peroxide, it feels like my cells become a bit calmer and produce less danger signals. It gives slight mental clarity and a slight relaxed feeling. My lungs relax a bit.
I noticed if I didn’t take an anti oxidant (Coq10 in this case), then it can make me tired and crash. So on most days I take Coq10 when normally I just take it once a week.
I think it is a very good supplement, it seems to synergize well with others and has few side effects. It seems to help particularly with degenerative and inflammatory zones, like my jaw, that have low oxygen and high pain.
Detrus, in the US the alternative docs mostly recommend to mix the H2O with sterile saline for nebulizers. They come in single sterile packs of 3 ml or 5 ml (might be a 2 ml out there), very handy. Here’s an example – https://www.vitalitymedical.com/mckesson-respiratory-therapy-inhalation-solution.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwnP-ZBhDiARIsAH3FSRcJ8IQzzBVuPxwpUfjW11pu5_oyh60CE0u_qsYv3kI0KQqdYNYxWGsaAoVrEALw_wcB
Some also sell a stronger saline solution but I wouldn’t think it’s necessary given the H20 is doing the killing of pathogens, the milder saline is more like the level found in blood from what I understand and might be easier on the body combined with the H2O (my opinion). Again docs here seem to recommend the milder (normal?) saline.
Something to consider. Wishing you the best in healing.
* H2O2 (typo, put H2O)
I’l just use boiled water. The salt in the saline is inconsequential at doses as low as 2 ml. And bacteria cannot really survive the H2O2 anyways, once you mix them together.
The use of normal saline (0,9%) for nebulizing whatever is not being recommend to kill off anything. Normal saline makes for better tolarability on your mucus membranes because it avoids fluid shifts in the cells.
I’m assuming you’ve taken CoQ10 on a daily basis before this so you know that that is not what is causing the relief instead of the H2O2? That is one of the benefits of CoQ10.
I didn’t even take the CoQ10 for the first week, I just started taking it when I started feeling really tired after the nebulization. The effects reported happened in the first week and were maintained after taking the CoQ10.
Oh and yeah of course I’ve been taking CoQ10 for over a year off and on, I know what it feels like.
Been using 0.1% hydrogen peroxide in a sterile normal saline solution since the beginnings of the pandemic. No harmful effects and helps clear sinuses. Since I have immune system issues I use it whenever I am in a crowd. No COVID and one cold since winter of 2019.
I have severe uncontrolled asthma and reactive airway disease. I am also immunocompromised and have multiple autoimmune issues on top of ME/CFS. I got COVID in January of 2021 (age 66) and as soon as I realized I was sick I started using nebulized hydrogen peroxide along with steroids and supplements. I got through it without going to the ER or anywhere until about 3 weeks in when I had no more steroids. When I did see the pulmonologist he was shocked that I had not had to be hospitalized and asked me what I had done and I told him. He was actually quite interested. The nebulized hydrogen peroxide did nothing for chronic fatigue but I definitely credit it for not developing pneumonia and other lung complications.
Would you mind sharing more about your covid treatment protocol – what kind and dosage of steroids and which supplements you used? Was it hydrocortisone tablets or rather inhalation of a corticoid like budesonide?
I am particularly interested in the steroids aspect, because: Following a blog on this site reporting on the finding of low cortisol in Long Covid (Iwasaki’s research), in Dr. Wilson’s book on “Adrenal Fatigue” I found a bit of information that during the early 1900s flu pandemic, supplementing adrenal extracts reduced severity & and long-term consequences of the flu (adrenal extracts contain both traces of adrenal steroids and the organic matter building blocks the adrenals are made of, supporting function). (I guess adrenal capacity is tested to the limit with an infection like the flu or Covid, so I had already thought about stocking adrenal extracts and some other adrenal support like DHEA, Pregnenolone in case I get Covid.) So I’d be very interested to learn about what steroids you used for acute Covid.
Hi JR,
Dr. Thomas Levy wrote fairly extensively on how he recovered from COVID with even better health than before he got COVID. He attributes much of his improved health to using low-dose hydrocortisone, which he began during his sickness, and now continues afterwards.
I started a thread on Phoenix Rising in which I posted his protocol, which is quite fascinating. For instance, he regained his sense of smell within minutes of starting an IV Vit. C. So much more to be gleaned from his report. Here’s a link to the thread:
Dr. Thomas Levy — How COVID Helped Me Regain Good Health
https://forums.phoenixrising.me/threads/dr-thomas-levy-how-covid-helped-me-regain-good-health.86870/
Hi Wayne, thank you for your reply and the interesting link!
Taking hydrocortisone during the acute covid infection at first glance sounds a bit counterintuitive because I’ve been told cortisol is immune suppressive (so interesting question what cortisol supplementation would do during the acute infection: Support the adrenal glands by relieving them of the need to produce? Would supplementing cortisol suppress the immune system at all in a situation where it is stretched to the limit anyway? Or suppress the immune system somehow in a good way?). Levy seems to stress a combination of VitC and cortisol. I think we cannot know a 100% for sure what part of his acute phase recovery was due to supplementation or the natural course of recovery from acute infection.
Taking low dose hydrocortisone during the recovery phase would fit together with the low cortisol findings in LongCovid by Akiko Iwasaki.
I will have a closer look at the interesting link you’ve provided and the comments included it it.
It also includes a free link to a book by Dr. Levy. I had a peek into the book, and though I don’t like some of it (such as his him going on about no need of fear of Covid, and I suspect might be quite convinced by his method), but it might contain some interesting information – among others a chapter on hydrogen peroxide nebulisation!
Thanks again, JR
Hi Patricia, you said “I realized I was sick I started using nebulized hydrogen peroxide along with steroids and supplements”.
Could you please tell me how you made up your hydrogen peroxide solution, strength and water or saline.
(I’ve had a bout of human respirovirus 3, one new worker infected the whole office. I’m currently on a steroid and acetylcysteine after a week in hospital and I feel I need to do more than that).
Thank you if you can help.
https://getbetterwellness.com/nebulizedperoxide/
This link explains it very well. I used 12% food grade hydrogen peroxide and I did buy normal saline. I have a water filter similar to a Berkey and I used that water. I keep the peroxide in the freezer and that maintains its potency.
Thank you for this report. I did see the warnings in my Facebook groups for both asthma and COPD. I didn’t comment earlier but I did worry. I’d love to see a study comparing sterile saline versus very dilute H2O2 nebulizer treatments. Until anyone does at least controlled studies of H2O2, I’ll remain my cautious self and not try it at all. Also constraining its use is the memory of my grandmother pouring household H2O2 on a scrape, which burned for several hours then healed more slowly (but with less redness around the scrape) than usual. I thought at the time that at least any dirt and germs were washed away…
I agree with Cherie. I’m leery of anyone introducing anything into their lungs via nebulizer (or other means) that isn’t guaranteed sterile. I use prepacked saline with my nebulizer. Perhaps if they do studies and determine it’s at least safe and possibly effective, they’ll put the sterile water and hydrogen peroxide together into a safe, prepacked single use form and it will be of use to some people.
Hydrogen peroxide gets mixed up with Clorox, sometimes, I think. Reading this post, I wondered whether the Farr protocol is where Trump got his idea, that so freaked out the CDC (rightly) of injecting Clorox into the veins to combat Covid.
Hydrogen peroxide also went through a brief period of being maligned for use on the skin. I keep it around as a staple. Terrific wound disinfectant, especially on burns, even though it hurts over a large area. I think its reputation for being safe for skin use has now been restored. Whatever, I always continued using it. Like Cherie’s grandmother, I just pour it over the wound. It has helped heal many of burn that dragged on and on without my using it (during the period it was maligned), even though I used soap and water and bactroban. My hat off to H2O2.
Clarification: My last sentence was totally confusing. I meant to say that when I had a non-healing wound I would finally resort to using H2O2 and the infection would resolve. Stopped trying to abstain. My hat off again to H2O2, though for internal use, I’m more worried about the sterility of the water used in the solution unless it is prepackaged for single use.
i’ve read about using it on your skin for age spots. i tried it. it didn’t hurt me but it didn’t feel so good either.
I purchased Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide, sterile saline water and a Nebulizer in the early months of Covid. I practiced using the mixture and the new nebulizer for several days. I never actually got Covid but my boyfriend, who lives with me, did. After about 6 days the Covid infection moved into his lungs and he was willing to use the nebulizer. He said he felt way better 2 hours after using it with the hydrogen peroxide solution for just one time. He didn’t use it again because he felt it was no longer in his lungs. Three days later he went back to work.
Dr. Mercola’s article provided detailed instructions. He was reporting on the early success of another doctor, Dr. Brownstein, who has used nebulized hydrogen peroxide for his patients with respiratory infections for years before Covid. They credit Dr Charles Farr who pioneered nebulized hydrogen peroxide in the early 1990’s. Dr. Mercola’s articles are now in Substack behind a small pay wall but this information is also in his Covid book. Here’s a link to one of his videos on this topic.
https://www.bitchute.com/video/CBSYke2jV1Sx/
Dr. Mercola emphasized the importance of using “Food Grade” hydrogen peroxide and “sterile” saline water. I was able to purchase these on Amazon. Also the proportions are important. Mercola also suggested the addition of a drop of iodine to the solution. So I did that as well.
Now at the time I didn’t know it could help with ME/CFS so I didn’t pay attention to improvements in that area. However using it once a day for 7 or 8 days didn’t cure me. If there’s a virus behind ME/CFS then it does seem logical that it might be helpful.
Rebecca
Rebecca Carson
Same here…..
Once experiencing the COVID symptoms and start using the nebulizing 3% H2O2-saline solution, we recovered within 3 days
sorry about the hornet’s nest. probably comes with the territory unfortunately but we are pretty much on our own here anyway so it is no wonder we go looking for alternatives etc. i remember back in the 80’s a cfs treatment was in one of my books was to to rub food grade hydrogen peroxide on the soles of your feet every night. i think i tried it. i always felt better when i went to an oxygen bar as long as it was unflavored. i recently tried the hydrogen water. wish i could say i noticed a difference.
why do you take coq10 only weekly? i take it daily. (ubiqiunol) with lcarnitine, pqq and went back to malic acid because fibro seemed to be rearing its head after decades of being dormant.
Too much and too little anti oxidants can be bad. You need periods of higher oxidation and periods of lower oxidation for your system to stay regulated. Anti oxidative stress is a thing, too much anti oxidants reduce immune function and greatly reduce the beneficial effects of exercise. Part of why hydrogen peroxide works is because it is oxidative, hydrogen peroxide, along with superoxide, is produced in the body normally and helps kill off pathogens. Hydrogen peroxide may also trigger similar pathways to exercise through increasing oxidation and causing healing through harm, which is called hormesis.
Deltrus,
Any suggestions on how to take a ideal amount of antioxidants to avoid oxidative stress?
Like Donna above I assumed more is better of Coenzyme Q10.
I feel like I’m sensitive to Coenzyme Q10, and I buy liquid Ubiquinone and take a tiny dose of 1-2mg. Which is 0.05ml of liquid.
I’ve tried many different doses of Ubiquinol and Ubiquinone 150mg, 100mg, 50mg, 30mg, 20mg, 10mg, 5mg, 4 mg
I’ve settled on 1-2mg daily. As I get significant insomnia as a side effect. I still get insomnia on the 1-2mg dose.
@Josh at doses that low you can take it daily for sure.
In my experience both too low and too high anti oxidants gives brainfog and fatigue. So if you aren’t taking them and start feeling brainfog/fatigue then take them, if you are taking them and start feeling brainfog/fatigue then stop taking them. You gotta balance.
Okay I see. Thanks for the tip!
It is interesting that you mentioned Fibro in the context of flaring after decades of remission. I am currently in a bad flare after years of short bursts of Fibro symptoms. I wonder if MCAS plays a role? In my case, it is stress from 34 ER visits since 2020. At any rate, love your protocol.
Stress is a huge player in MCAS. 🙁 I hope you can find a way to manage it! It’s even worse now with the political situation. I’ve canceled TV and checked out from world events for the most part and my MCAS is much better on the same diet. My suggestion for anyone with stress issues is try every suggestion out there for yoga, meditation, CBT, music, etc and do it for at least 3 weeks, whether you like it or not. You might find that eventually something “clicks”. Keeping a journal, diary, etc is also critical for pinpointing when you feel better or worse. Blessings!
Hi Donna, what do you feel to be the effect of daily coq10, lcarnitine, pqq (not sure what that is ) and malic acid? Asking as I’m still trying to help my son (years on) settle on a fairly small set of supplements that have optimal value in helping his CFS.
(He is resistant to taking large quantities of supplements, so my attempts to get/keep him on the full protocols used by some have been a failure.)
My experience: used topically on cleaned unbroken skin not near any body openings, away from eyes, hydrogen peroxide will bubble (turn whitish) bubbles in the presence of staph aureus. If is dangerous to get hydrogen peroxide anywhere on the eyes, and is damaging to tissue on open wounds ( where it will bubble as a reaction with red blood cells). The only sores i use hydrogen peroxide on is small pus pimples, as it bubbles for me on them. This is regular strength hydrogen peroxide NOT industrial strength.
This is anecdotal as my experience, and not a recommendation nor medical advice to others.
For a period in the early 2000s, as I recall, and as late as 2009, there was a popular theory in the medical research world that hydrogen peroxide was damaging to tissue on open wounds. This was the same period that it was said that flouride in toothpaste caused chronic acne on the chin and around the month.
Both theories were debunked a few years later. Good riddance to bad science.
Hydrogen peroxide has not been damaging to my tissue, and has in fact promoted healing, and the doctors who used to tell me otherwise now forget they ever said it.
This is, of course, very typical of medical science. The theories are temporary.
Thanks for digging deeper on this. We definitely need research on this subject.
As a tangent, I don’t trust Dr Mercola. I followed him for a year or two, including following his Keto book. The Keto diet had a bad reaction in spite of following protocols. I stuck with it on his advice, definitely at least 2-3 weeks too long.
A number of his other recommendations struck me as bad, oil pulling being the most memorable.
I also no longer have the doctor that recommended Mercola, for related reasons.
Andrew Weil is the man in complementary and alternative medicine. I’ve been following him for maybe 15 years. Not everything works, but nothing has harmed and there is no obvious BS. Mercola may put forth a more traditional appearance, but the Harvard trained Weil is the real deal.
I agree!
Thank you, Cort, I found this article very clear, well written and informative!
OK, so anecdotal evidence supported H2O2 use for treating respiratory infections. What does this have to do with CFS?
I bought Jason’s book and have started nebulizing 2% food grade hydrogen peroxide mixed with saline. It’s only been 3 days and I’m not sure I’m getting the “immediate” benefits Jason did but I’m willing to be a guinea pig at this point.
Also, I had been nebulizing during C19 at the very low dose recommended by Mercola. If anyone wants me check back please do.
Hi Sandra…wanted to check in on your progress with the nebulizing as I plan to try it soon.
Hey Sandra, would love to hear an update from you too! 🙂
how it went? Thanks a lotme ca s’est passé? Merci beaucoup
Just an Observation: I sometimes use a nasal irrigation rinse (HydraSense) that uses sterilized water with the addition of dry pre-measured (primarily saline) powder – from packets designed for use with the HydraSense irrigation bottles. This “salinated” rinse is very comfortable when flushed through the nose and sinuses. However, a flush with only sterilized water (with no saline) causes a very uncomfortable burning sensation. This makes me wonder if lung tissue might be as sensitive as the nasal and sinus tissue – to water without saline?
I have added very, very small quantities of 35% food grade hydrogen peroxide (2 drops per 8 oz HydraSense container) as well as the saline packet, after I have been out in public, in hopes of possibly killing or reducing any inhaled viruses in my nose before they infect further. I have not noticed any negative effects from this small dosage. I am considering slowly increasing it up to perhaps 1% or 2%, particularly if Covid proliferates again. However, I am also wondering if adding it to my nasal rinse might be an adjunct therapy for my CFS/Fibro symptoms?
However, I have also noticed that any hydrogen peroxide that I have tried for teeth whitening or as a mouth wash has produced significant negative symptoms for me (burning sensation at point of contact, as well as exacerbating my general symptoms). This has made me wonder if this negative reaction is just me? And, since people seem to tolerate it for teeth whitening, might my unusual intolerant reaction to it be due to my (CFS/Fibro) health challenges? (Food for thought).
Thanks again for the great reporting Cort.
Good point on the burning feeling of nose rinse if not saline – actually it burns both below and above the physiological (same as the body’s) salt content.
I’d like to second the warning about NOT using plain water instead of saline. For me, too, nasal rinsing with saline water that’s even a bit lower salt than it should be causes me lots of pain in nasal tissues. I’d say stick with the saline to dilute the hydrogen peroxide, if you are trying it.
I had some teeth problems and gargled a few times with the hydrogen peroxide you buy OTC for that. To my surprise my lungs and/or bronchi that had been clogged up following a cold, had cleared up after gargling a few times. I could breathe freely. I hadn’t read the former article or this one. I am reading it just now. So, my humble opinion is that there must be some truth in that method. I found this out purely by accident. I hadn’t even made the link between the two.
Thank you, Cort, for digging deeper here! The topic is interesting because, apparently, we now have all these „esoteric“ therapies that have been suggested, and in part studied, in Long Covid and ME/CFS: high flow O2, HBOT, hydrogen (you had a blog on this: https://www.healthrising.org/blog/2022/07/21/hydrogen-rich-water-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-trial/), and now H2O2.
At least for ozone and HBOT we have some indication that they may work: ((https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-15565-0 // https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8806311/ // https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34604980/)). Also there is now some experimental data that at least some of these therapies may indeed „do something“ biologically (here a recent publication on ozone and mitochondrial function from a German team: https://transmedcomms.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s41231-022-00123-7 and here a summary on putative effects of hydrogen: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ardp.202000378)
The question is: could all these therapies be linked in how they exert their effects?
Possibly, yes. To understand this we need to know that tissue hypoxia (which may plausibly result from endothelial dysfunction, for instance) is not only bad for mitochondrial function but can also a potent trigger of reactivation of latent viruses, like EBV ((https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2022.08.026) (EBV resides not only in B-cells but mostly in endothelial cells, so if these are affected – inflamed or deprived of oxygen – EBV goes from the latent to the active state).
Now from the literature it appears plausible that both HBOT und ozone may counteract hypoxia ((https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30538529/ // https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6038082/)). HBOT and ozone therapy can also induce HIF-1 alpha (((https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25532619/ // https://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/anticanres/37/2/425.full.pdf) which may be beneficial for tissue repair. Possibly, high flow O2 therapy may also activate HIF-1 alpha (I have not researched this).
Now what about H2O2? If you read the ozone literature it is quite remarkable how often H2O2 pops up, this molecule seems to play a central role in mediating the effects of ozone ((https://ur.booksc.me/book/31566547/e5c767)): „The H2O2 formed as a result of the reaction between ozone and biomolecules is accepted to be a second molecule acting as a mediator for ozone treatment effects.“ And H2O2 seems to have quite profound beneficial effects in the body – it shifts the hemoglobin-oxygen dissociation curve to the right by increasing the erythrocyte 2,3-diphosphoglycerate levels. It apparently can also enter leukocytes and endothelial cells and „stimulate the synthesis of various cytokines“ (e.g. interleukins, TGF and platelet-derived growth factor). Also, and very interesting to me, H2O2 has also been implicated in neuroprotection ((https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3417441/)) .
Now I have not researched the biological effects of hydrogen much, but maybe this also acts in some way to alleviate hypoxia, I guess there are some hints to this: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0024320519302553.
So, possibly, all those therapies (HBOT, high flow O2, ozone, H2O2, H2) could be tied together in their effect on alleviating hypoxia (and thus, possibly help rein in EBV – plus/minus other viral – reactivation)?
Just a hypothesis, not proven or anything. But yes, this should be studied for real.
I also found this about possible effects in the body (2009): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2668804/ “Although reactive oxygen species (ROS) are generally considered to be proinflammatory and to contribute to cellular and organ dysfunction when present in excessive amounts, there is evidence that specific ROS, particularly hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), may have antiinflammatory properties. (…) results indicate that H2O2 has antiinflammatory effects on neutrophil activation and inflammatory processes, such as Acute Lung Injury, in which activated neutrophils play a major role.”
Thank you for thoughts on H2 and the three articles on H2 that you cite. There are many moreon the Molecular Hydrogen institute website.
A lot of these studies are done on animals but nontheless the potential of H2 seems to be huge.
As Cort mentioned Dr Neil Nathan doesnt appear yet to use H2 at his practice. I am currently reading his 2018book Toxic which covers some of the things you mention. But even his patients would benefit from H2in my opinion .
If patients take lead in using it vi a inhalation then the doctors will eventually take note. We need open minded people like yourself to contine the discussion!!
fascinating Herbert, your hypothesis certainly has the potential to tie some threads together. thanks for sharing (and thanks cort as always)
I did an h202 protocol on my son when I believed he was getting the virus. I used distilled water, small amount of Redmond sea salt and .048 of food grade h202. We nebulized for 5-10 minutes and both got worse. Any thoughts?
too weak
Early in the pandemic Dr Mercola shared a video of Dr David Brownstein and partners treating COVID patients in their cars in his practice Car Park. (March 2020) (Snowing) 107 patients, One hospitalization, zero deaths, No ventilators, IV Vit C & H2O2,(arm out of car window) Nebulizers H2O2 & Lugol’s I2(iodine) in normal saline, hooked up to a nebulizer( sending them home with nebulizer + 250 ml bag of solution)Intramuscular shot of ? H2O2 in each buttock for those who couldn’t breathe. Boosting the immune system is imperative. Brownstein explained; Iodine has direct virucidal effects, also stimulates & supports the immune system ; increases killing effect of H2O2 production in WBCs by improvingWBC & thyroid function, which is one of the ways our immune system works to’kill’ pathogens. Vit C directly increases H2O2 production when used in high doses. Vit A helps modulate the immune system. [Summary;Prophylactic, Vits C D A, Mg, 15mg Se, 50mg Zn picolinate,Quercetin 500mg/night]
Dilute Food Grade hydrogen peroxide down to 0.1% in sterile Normal saline, put 3-5ml in nebulizer tank with one drop of Lugol’s iodine [12-15%] Inhale the entire amount.Use the face mask not the tubes.Breathe in & out through the mask. Do this every hour when you are sick until you start to notice an improvement; then back down to every 4-6 hours, continue until you are over the illness. Use prophylactically once or twice per day. [Especially after returning home or after visitors]
Normal Saline, Use filtered boiled spring water + Himalayan pink salt.
Spring Water 500ml, Himalayan Salt1&1/2teaspoons/ 2.5ml , /4.5g
1litre 3 teaspoons 5ml 9.0g
Boil filtered water in kettle. add to salt in clean pan, boil to dissolve, cool, store in brown glass bottle(s) in fridge.
Hydrogen Peroxide Normal Saline Lugol’s Iodine
6% 1 in 60 = 0.1% 1 teaspoon(5ml) 300ml 25-30 drops
3% 1 in 30 = 0.1% 1 teaspoon(5ml) 150ml 12-15 drops
Store in a clean brown glass bottle in fridge use to fill nebulizer reservoir as needed.
I was already sick 3 days when I managed to cook all this up.Gasping for breath, with a pounding headache, & D&V, boy was the effect welcome relief. Would have been better before the thing took hold!!!!
Thank you for taking the time to provide such a detailed report! Also, wow, the concentration (0,1%) you’ve used is much lower (just 1/20) of what Jason reported using (2%) in the his recovery story blog.
If you’ve got the information, would you have a link to the video with Dr. Brownstein’s explanations, and a model name for a nebulizer, so I could look up the picture to find something similar on German websites? Thanks!
To JR, No link.try Mercola substack, $5 dollars per month; tedious,don’t think it will have been transferred over had to tease information out original intrview. Try Brownstein;Cort gives a link above,
Desktop Nebulizer best, hand held waste of time!Last 2 weeks.
HANGSUN (Family Doctor)
Desktop Compressor (Nebulizer)
CN560 Amazon or other
Costs up to £50 , worth it , still going strong 2 person use.
To Betty
Salt water supersaturated solution in a neti pot, used for centuries on Indian subcontinent. Can’t manage them myself.
Xclear, USA product, salt solution with grapefruit seed extract, squirt up nose while leaning forwards so it drops into the sinuses,Amazon.
Inhale/sniff peppermint oil fumes from bottle, thins the mucus .
Salt Pipe, clay pot with salt reservoir, add a few drops of , inhale 10 breaths in through mouth out through nose, each nostril too,out through other nostril or mouth.
Use these all at least twice a day.
Thank you, Jantilly!
Salt water, a safer alternative to prevent deaths from Covid.
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20220930/Simple-nasal-wash-can-prevent-hospitalization-and-deaths-from-COVID-19.aspx?fbclid=IwAR3T89p-bvpovIC0cGslBRUJoH5hrytvDoM3B1cyCgzAf83EP4tw-eLdxjc
Just to reiterate a point I made at greater length on the last post about Jason’s treatment — Jason’s doctor asserts at length that nebulized hydrogen peroxide is known to be able to completely cure any viral infection from influenza to Covid to West Nile, and Jason then adds some conspiracy theories about how a cabal of greedy doctors have arranged to hide this from the public. YMMV, but to me, those sorts of outlandish claims raise serious questions about an author’s recommendations and judgment, so I wanted to share that context again here.
Thanks Cort for this great Information. Always deep and Quick!
I use an ultrasonic portable battery powered nebulizer instead of the heavy cable compressor type: this is very light, noiseless and rechargeable, so I can use it easily frequently over the day even when at work.
Hydrogen peroxide at 3% is used routinely to make dogs vomit when they ate something bad for them. The usual procedure is to try to get them to swallow some, wait a couple minutes and give more until they finally vomit. I’ve never seen a dog with adverse side effects. H2O2 is a weak biocide but effective quickly at HIGH doses.(7-35%) You wouldn’t want to use it to make water safe to drink unless you run it through a carbon filter after letting it sit for 24 hours. You can nebulize distilled water but it my not be good for some people while others would be OK. Saline is better for the tissues. Anyone with health issues should stick to sterile saline and disinfect the nebulizer/tubes with approved disinfectants. The last thing we need is to add more bacteria/fungi/pathogens to our systems! Just my opinion but sticking to low dose (1.5-3%) H2O2 at appropriate dose rates recommended by someone you trust would be worth a try. It likely won’t hurt you and might help. Like everything start low and slow and record how you feel.
Oh, I just remembered. CPAP machines use regular tap water to humidify the air in the mask. I’m assuming because it’s larger droplets and not micronized like a nebulizer. The larger droplets don’t get into the lungs so using tap water isn’t harmful. You’d want to use saline to protect the delicate lung tissues.
Just wanted to say thanks Cort, this is an excellent article .
Would love to hear your progress.
Thanks,
Vicki
vicki_houff@yahoo.com
Hi Vicky, if you put an adress, best put it in a form that bots don’t find (like not using the @sign etc.), or you might get spam to your email. Or register for a free email adress different from your usual to use for such purposes.
The problem with using antibiotics to reduce the populations of pathogenic (symptom or disease causing) microbes in the gut (which may also affect some viruses – especially when abx are used in combinations) – is that antibiotics are not selective. They kill many (or most) bacterial microbes in the gut (including those that support or enhance our health – when in balance). Then, when the antibiotics are stopped, it is the opportunistic microbes (that often caused an imbalance and symptoms in the first place) that grow back the fastest to fill the void (or niche). This can make the symptoms return (sometimes even worse) when the antibiotics are stopped. The alternative approach to managing an imbalanced microbiome is to nourish a vibrant and diverse micobiome – which will hold the populations of all microbes in check – so none over-populate and become pathogenic. However, the role of viruses in the microbiome is still poorly understood.
I have explained this under this topic because I am wondering if hydrogen peroxide (and iodine) would be non-selective (like antibiotics) and thereby capable of deregulating the balance of our microbiome – even as they might immediately decrease symptoms in the short term? Just a thought.
I have done various forms of oxidative therapies including h202 internally, h202 IV’s and Ozone therapy. I have self-administered at least 500 treatments of ozone. Keep in mind that this is medical-grade ozone (not tabletop units, please do not use these due to the nitrogen compounds).
Caveats exist with ozone and breathing it in. The lung tissue is very sensitive to ozone but never had any other issue with it. Can you compare ozone to nebulized h202?
If irritation comes from ozone, it does resolve within a period of time. Some suggest that Vitamin C will neutralize the oxidative stress.
Ozone works wonder with pathogens but not all pathogens as some proponents suggest. I would say that it is particularly effective for viruses. You can read Dr. Robert Rowen for more quality data.
I credit ozone treatments for a good percentage of my recovery, it certainly can hit some of the lower grade infections, but the real help is from the detoxification it provided me.
What is important is the levels of antioxidants present. If you are at the bottom level of antioxidant status, then the therapy must be toned down. I can’t stress this enough. Here is my blog post about it https://patrickrambling-pb.blogspot.com/2012/12/ozone.html
The MHI has a phttp://www.molecularhydrogeninstitute.com/hydrogen-an-emerging-medical-gasositive view of Hydrogen:
wallace
wrong link
wallace
http://www.molecularhydrogeninstitute.com/hydrogen-an-emerging-medical-gas
Hydrogen peroxide oxidative therapy is similar to Chlorine Dioxide (CDS) oxidative therapy. According to leading research scientist on Chlorine Dioxide Andreas Kalcker, CDS is more stable and safer than other oxidative therapies like hydrogen peroxide. Kalcker’s book “Forbidden Health” is a compelling read. I’ve tried his CDS protocol. Seems promising to me. We’ll see…
https://medwatch.de/alternativmedizin/medwatch-check-darum-sind-chlordioxid-und-mms-gefaehrlich/
https://medwatch.de/alternativmedizin/chlordioxid-mms-toedlicher-schwindel-andreas-kalcker-angeklagt-argentinien/
(use Google translate)
Mentions: cases of poisoning and deaths (for which Kalcker was sued in Argentina) and concentration dependent toxicity.
What about nebulized hypochlorous acid, such as the Briotech products that Dr, Klinghardt recommends? I find it a strong but at least tolerable oxygen therapy. I would like to see an article about that.
I tried the nebulized hydrogen peroxide and it was too strong for me. Every time I nebuilized it, I coughed violently for an hour and spit up a whole bowl of sputum. Never again.
Dear Sandra, thanks for your comment! What hydrogen peroxide concentration did you use?
The concentration would be helpful to know as so far I was under the impression that side effects depended on concentration. If you used a very low concentration and still had side effects that would be very helpful to know.
Finally received the kit, am going to try it the peroxide glutathione part. All the other recommendations in the book I either can’t afford and or don’t have the focus for. Will update as progress. Thanks
Good luck Julien!
The effects of nebuliser are subtle but I can do tasks for long periods and also I can push myself to do more things, I know not to push myself but I’m not punished for doing so. Also went to Costco and have tried ‘focus factoe’ and it helps a lot. I found a website of treatments I would like to try for recently evaluated bipolar at https://www.balancingbrainchemistry.co.uk/peter-smith/116/My-Natural-Treatment-for-my-Bipolar-Disorder-Regime.html
And then there are days like today where I just can’t get out of bed. However, I’ve only been doing it for two weeks, so I will post to let know