EBOO, also known as extracorporeal blood oxygenation and ozonation treatment, exposes blood to oxygen (O2) mixed with ozone (O3). Clinicians use different methods of performing the procedure, including exposing small amounts of withdrawn blood and reinfusing the contents, to running a patient's blood through a type of hemodialysis machine. Studies suggest that while providing the blood with rich oxygen, the ozone destroys foreign microbes and has antioxidant properties. Research also indicates that this therapy improves the symptoms of patients with cardiac and vascular diseases.
Physicians typically perform EBOO treatments, also known as autohemotherapy, in a hospital or special clinical settings, and treatment methods vary depending on the reasons for EBOO treatment. Some physicians withdraw just under 1 cup (200 milliliters) of blood into a sterilized bag, add heparin and insert the oxygen/ozone mixture. The blood is returned to the patient in under 30 minutes. Studies indicate no ill effects from the treatment, and reports indicate that the benefits from this type of therapy include lowered total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein levels, along with enhanced antioxidant activity.
Some facilities perform a more extensive EBOO procedure that involves pumping blood through a filtering machine, in a manner similar to kidney dialysis. Some physicians combine kidney dialysis with EBOO. This type of treatment lasts from one to two hours and exposes up to 10 pints (4,800 milliliters) of heparinized blood to the oxygen/ozone mixture. Some autohemotherapy units might also expose the blood to ultraviolet light for further decontamination. Depending on the medical condition treated, patients might undergo therapy daily, or one or twice a week, for a predetermined period of time.
Chronic cardiac conditions might require monthly follow up EBOO treatments. Laboratory tests and personal testimonies suggest that cardiac patients experience improvement in energy levels and the heart's pumping ability after exposure to oxygen rich blood. Some physicians claim effects of autohemotherapy also include successfully removing cholesterol embolisms. Health care proponents of oxygen/ozone therapy might use the treatments intramuscularly or topically as well. Research also indicates that patients exposed to autohemotherapy following a stroke exhibited increased blood flow.
Patients with peripheral arterial disease often develop open wounds that resist healing on the lower extremities because of poor circulation. Encapsulating the affected area and exposing the wounds to EBOO therapy, patients experience dramatic healing results. The treatment has also proved successful in treating patients suffering from flesh eating bacterial infections.
Reports suggest that patients rarely experience adverse effects, but there may be complications of EBOO therapy. Side effects can include vascular inflammation at the insertion site. The dialysis process might also inject an air bubble, or gas embolism, into the bloodstream, blocking vessels and inhibiting circulation. Overexposure to oxygen/ozone mixtures may produce abnormal heart rhythms, chest pain, and fainting.