Hydrogen Peroxide Therapy

The human papilloma virus, also known as HPV, is a sexually transmitted infection that can affect both men and women. The virus can cause warts to appear on the hands, feet or genitals, which can be mildly bothersome if and when they emerge. Generally, most HPV infections do not pose any health dangers, but HPV can potentially cause cancer in some high-risk patients. Planned Parenthood states that, currently, there is no known treatment to target and cure HPV [source: Planned Parenthood]. Despite this knowledge, some people claim that hydrogen peroxide might be a good cure for HPV.

There are some claims that hydrogen peroxide therapy can help viral problems like herpes and HIV. People may make the connection that hydrogen peroxide might also affect HPV, since it is also a sexually transmitted infection [source: NHI].

Sites supporting these claims propose applying hydrogen peroxide after shaving off or pulling out warts caused by an HPV infection. However, such practices are not only painful but also not recommended because there's no proof that hydrogen peroxide can treat HPV, although some studies are underway [source: Singh and Singh]. Shaving and removing warts can also lead to scarring and infections. Instead, it's best to visit a qualified doctor in order to determine proper treatment for HPV warts [source: Dorads].

Click to the next page to learn about how hydrogen peroxide therapy could be an alternative treatment for cancer patients.

Some lay people believe hydrogen peroxide to be a good treatment for some variations of cancer. Separately, many alternative medicine practitioners have concluded that hydrogen peroxide therapy might be a good alternative to other cancer treatments [source: Farr and Josephs]. However, as with the use of hydrogen peroxide to treat HPV, there's no clear evidence that hydrogen peroxide can treat cancer. For this reason, you should consult your physician before considering hydrogen peroxide therapy.

Hydrogen peroxide therapy has many names, including oxidative therapy, bio-oxidative therapy, oxydology and oxymedicine [source: University of California]. These names have oxy as a base word because hydrogen peroxide has the ability to infuse the body with oxygen, thus making the body an oxygen-rich zone. Some advocates of hydrogen peroxide therapy believe that cancer cells blossom in areas that lack proper oxygen; therefore, the use of hydrogen peroxide is obvious. The theory behind hydrogen peroxide therapy is that the hydrogen peroxide can go into areas where oxygen is low and cancer cells are high. If the oxygen there can be increased, perhaps it could stop the cancer cells from thriving. According to proponents, hydrogen peroxide may bring healthy cells the energy they need in order to become stronger and ward off the cancer [source: American Cancer Society].

Though there were advocates of hydrogen peroxide therapy for treating cancer in the late 1800s, current evidence in the scientific world doesn't back up ideas that hydrogen peroxide therapy is effective in treating cancer. There is conflicting evidence as to whether or not the link between cancer and low oxygen levels in the cells even exists. Some doctors believe that the oxygen supply to these areas is sufficient, but the cells don't have the power to utilize the oxygen [source: Farr and Josephs]. This conflicting medical advice is something to keep in mind when searching for an alternative cancer therapy.

Read the next page in order to understand the specific method of taking in hydrogen peroxide intravenously.

There are several ways to receive hydrogen peroxide therapy. Some people suggest drinking a diluted form of it, while others might recommend inserting it rectally, vaginally, or through the nose or the ears [source: American Cancer Society]. Though these are all possibilities, the most common method of receiving hydrogen peroxide is through intravenous injection.

Intravenous hydrogen peroxide therapy was first brought en masse to the medical field at the First International Conference of Bio-oxidative Medicine in 1989 [source: Farr and Josephs]. Since then, many people stand behind the supposed power of hydrogen peroxide IV infusions. Treatments typically last an hour and a half. They can vary in frequency, as some people might request only one treatment and others might want an infusion five days a week [source: Kennedy].

Regardless of treatment frequency, intravenous hydrogen peroxide injections can have several dangers and serious side effects, the most severe being death. In South Carolina, a doctor of alternative medicine administered hydrogen peroxide to a patient who then died within five days of that injection [source: Liptak]. Other side effects of IV therapy are vein inflammation, red streaks up and down the arm, shortness of breath, chills, nausea and general aches [source: Farr and Josephs]. Despite these known side effects, some people claim that there are very few dangers when administered IV therapy by a professional [source: IV Therapy].

So while treating that childhood bicycle scrape may have not been a bad idea, you should consult your physician before you begin any sort of hydrogen peroxide therapy.

To learn more about hydrogen peroxide, visit the links on the following page.