Hydrogen Peroxide H2O2 benefit and side effects, practical suggestions on used and review of oral, internal use, by Ray Sahelian, M.D.

Hydrogen peroxide is a clear liquid with strong oxidizing properties and is a powerful bleaching agent that has found use as a disinfectant, as an oxidizer, and in rocketry and in bipropellant systems.

Medical Uses

Drinking or injecting high-strength hydrogen peroxide products sold online to treat serious diseases such as AIDS can be harmful. The "35 percent food grade hydrogen peroxide" products are highly corrosive and ingesting them could cause stomach irritation and ulcers, gastrointestinal erosion, and perforation. Injecting the products intravenously could lead to blood vessel inflammation, bubbles in blood vessels and potentially life-threatening allergic reactions. The FDA has not approved 35 percent hydrogen peroxide for any use. The agency sent warnings to two Texas-based firms, DFWX and Frad 35 Inc., in which the agency said the firms were illegally selling 35 percent hydrogen peroxide products to treat AIDS, cancer, emphysema and other serious diseases.

MSRA disinfection
Hydrogen peroxide vapor, in combination with decolonization of staff and patient carriers, successfully controlled an outbreak of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus MRSA on a surgical ward that had previously been MRSA-free.

Catalase and hydrogen peroxide

Catalase is an antioxidant enzyme found in living organisms that changes hydrogen peroxide to water and oxygen. Hydrogen peroxide is formed as a toxic waste product of metabolism. It must be quickly converted into other, less dangerous, chemicals. To manage this problem, the enzyme catalase is frequently used to rapidly catalyse the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide into harmless oxygen and water.

Questions and comments from readers

Q. I got an email from a friend regarding hydrogen peroxide, and I wanted your opinion. This is what is claimed: These are just some of the benefits of that plain little ol' bottle of 3% peroxide you can get for under $1 at any drug store. Hydrogen peroxide is described as an effective anti-viral, antibacterial, and anti-fungal. Throughout the world hydrogen peroxide is used instead of chlorine as a safer and eco-friendly municipal water purifier. Some use H2O2 in pools and spas.

1. Take one capful (the little white cap that comes with the bottle) and hold in your mouth for 10 minutes daily, then spit it out. (I do it when I bathe or shower.) No more canker sores and your teeth will be whiter without expensive pastes. Use it instead of mouthwash.
2. Let your toothbrushes soak in a cup of hydrogen peroxide to keep them free of germs.
3. Clean your counters, table tops with hydrogen peroxide to kill germs and leave a fresh smell. Simply put a little on your dishrag when you wipe, or spray it on the counters.
4. After rinsing off your wooden cutting board, pour hydrogen peroxide on it to kill salmonella and other bacteria.
5. I had fungus on my feet for years - until I sprayed a 50/50 mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water on them (especially the toes) every night and let dry.
6. Fill a spray bottle with a 50/50 mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water and keep it in every bathroom to disinfect without harming your septic system like bleach or most other disinfectants will.
7. Put half a bottle of hydrogen peroxide in your bath to help rid boils, fungus, or other skin infections.
8. You can also add a cup of hydrogen peroxide instead of bleach to a load of whites in your laundry to whiten them. If there is blood on clothing, pour directly on the soiled spot. Let it sit for a minute, then rub it and rinse with cold water. Repeat if necessary.
9. I use hydrogen peroxide to clean my mirrors with, there is no smearing, which is why I love it so much for this.
10. Disinfect your dishwasher or refrigerator.
11. Use it on trees and plants as a natural fungicide, insecticide, and as a weed killer.
12. Clean with hydrogen peroxide when your house becomes a biohazard after its invaded by toxic mold, such as those with water damage.

     A. Well, I will give hydrogen peroxide a try to see if the claims are true.

I am finding that by dipping my toothbrush into a container of over the counter h2o2 and then putting toothpaste on the toothbrush and then thoroughly brushing teeth, gums, tongue and roof of mouth, I can introduce it into my body in a safe and pleasant way. Every brushing makes me feel as if I have just had a teeth cleaning.

What are your thoughts on using food grade hydrogen peroxide for getting oxygen in your system.
    I have not studied in detail the use of this product ingested orally or internally but I would avoid using large amounts.

This does not lead to high profits, but as a favor to some poor dying cancer patient, you could tell them about hydrogen peroxide therapy that could cure any virus, cancer, aids, even rheumathoid arthritis. The cure is only 100 years old, If you have 35% food grade h2o2, it can be taken in water 5 drops per glass of water, and Increased up to 25 drops, per 8 oz of water. If you can not find pure food grade h2o2. you can take a bath in it, the oxygen will absorb through the skin, you will get an oxygen high. it will nourish the body & kill what does not belong to it.
    I have not seen any scientific evidence that these claims are true.

I have been hearing a good bit on the benefits of 35% food grade hydrogen peroxide, especially for COPD sufferers. Have you researched this? What are your thoughts and or findings, if any? What about ozone therapy?
    I have not looked into the role of this product in terms of its effect on lung function or COPD treatment but I doubt that it would be effective for lung disease.

I have been doing alot of research on inhaling a very diluted hydrogen peroxide mist into the lungs. People are saying that it is an instant COPD cleanse, coughing up cigarette tar almost instantly, and killing bacteria and helping with emphesyma. So far I havent found many results for experiments of this, other than personal testimonies. However, I have discovered some very useful and interesting information. It seems that lungs naturally produce H2O2 for self defense and for signaling of immune responses. This is significantly increased by DUOX-1 in the lungs, and by alveolar macrophages in response to cigarette smoke entering the lung. Catalase is increased in these areas to deal with the free radical concerns of the H2O2. Does this mean that lungs can tolerate H2O2 at a certain strength? Sub-injurious strengths of H2O2 can activate endothelial cells, producing things like Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1, whatever that is. Just the fact the lung can tolerate a level of treatment by outside H2O2 supplements is interesting. Here are titles of articles I came across: DUOX-1, what produces hydrogen peroxide in the lungs, is significantly downregulated by cigarette smoke; Endothelial H2O2 causes vasodilation and cardioprotection; Airway Epithelial Lung Cellular Migration and Wound Repair caused by ATP-mediated Activation of Dual Oxidase 1 (DUOX-1) with H2O2 collecting around the wounds; Endotoxins in lungs stimulate H2O2 production. Please tell me what you think of these articles. People say dont confuse FDA warnings because they talk about using full strength hydrogen peroxide. But the first link clearly states that membrane tissue can tolerate a low diluted level of H2O2 without injury.
   HP, as generated within cells, has a different effect than that inhaled into the lungs. I don't think one can extrapolate these studies and related them to HP being inhaled into the lungs.

I came across a book “The One Minute Cure” and it claims that you can help heal your body by taking a few drops of Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide each day. Have you or anyone you know done any research on this?
   I have not seen such research.

There is a book titled The One Minute Cure which directs gradual ingestion of Food Grade hydrogen peroxide to provide oxygen to the blood and inhibit the growth of disease. Do you support this alternative therapy?
   I have not seen studies about this topic to have an informed opinion.

A friend of mine and I used 35% hydrogen peroxide for a week internally, we mixed several drops of it using a dropper in distilled water and we had to discontinue it because it gave us a burning sensation in our stomach and gave me a tight feeling in my chest, back and neck and made my friend bleed internally and she also have blood clots in her stomach.

I have taken H2O2 internally for a very long time, and it absolutely has many beneficial affects. A friend of mine is a nurse and wanted to know if you could "OD" on it, so she kept increasing the amount she was ingesting until she was up to 300 drops at a time. At that point, she was detecting the presence of H2O2 in her urine, so surmised that her body was passing off what it wasn't using. Her only "side effect" was having so much energy that she stayed awake for 3 days and felt great.

Please amend your post to include a discussion of 3% Food Grade (i.e. no chemical additives or preservatives) Hydrogen Peroxide. I live in Mexico and I study and practice Ozone Therapy and other Oxygen Therapies including Hydrogen Peroxide. This is an extremely important, powerful and healing medicine for detox, boosting the immune system and for oxygenation of the body and oxidizing of harmful compounds.
   I would like to believe this if it is true, but I have not come across any such studies. If you have come across any published clinical trials in humans, I would be glad to review them.