INTRAVENOUS THERAPIES

HYDROGEN PEROXIDE

This is an extremely useful therapy that has been around for almost a century, but unfortunately has got forgotten. The first doctors to use this substance intravenously were two medical practitioners in the British forces in India during the 1914-1918 war. They were faced with large numbers of patients dying of pneumonia with the influenza epidemic at the end of the war. They wrote up their findings in the Lancet published in 1922. They treated 26 terminally ill patients with intravenous hydrogen peroxide, and 13 of the patients survived. Not bad considering they had to do a cut down and drip the fluid into a glass cannula, there were no drip sets or intravenous fluids prepacked at that time.

There was little or no interest in their work until 1988 when Dr Charles Farr worked on his PHD thesis on the intracellular effects of hydrogen peroxide. During a influenza epidemic at the Oklahoma Academic Hospital he sent a message around the hospital that anyone who was not well should come to his department. He treated 45 personnel on day 1, 7 on day 2 who were still not well, and 4 on day 3. He noted that those patients who needed more therapy had existing lung disease. Dr Farr later started the International Oxidative Medicine Association (IOMA), which he ran until his death in 1998.

Dr Farr showed that the body has an abundance of hydrogen peroxide in minute quantities in every cell of the body. By giving very dilute solutions of hydrogen peroxide it is possible to activate cytochrome P450, immune regulation, viricidal, bactericidal and fungicidal activity. There are three main enzyme systems that are activated by hydrogen peroxide: catalase, glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase.

This therapy may be used in acute and chronic cases. In chronic cases, the usefulness lies in the release of oxygen intracellularly by the action of catalase, which breaks down the hydrogen peroxide into oxygen and water. This is of great use in tissue that is anoxic due to various reasons. The patient with angina will obtain relief with this therapy, especially with the addition of magnesium.

VITAMIN C

This is a remarkable substance to use intravenously when the maximum dose taken by mouth needs to be exceeded. Usually a dose in excess of 10 grams Vitamin C in 24 hours will cause diarrhoea. Intravenous Vitamin C in dosages of 25 grams or more has a therapeutic role that is safe and effective in treating many clinical conditions.

In studying the physiological role of Vitamin C one realizes that it does a lot more than merely stop humans getting scurvy or giving them expensive urine. It is well known for immune stimulation, but also plays a part in collagen formation , hormone production,
liver detoxification , wound healing and slowing metatastic spread of cancers.

Practitioners interested in learning more about doing intravenous therapies may contact
Dr P. Rowan who conducts workshops on the above therapy.