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12/10/2007: "Hydrogen Peroxide - A Cut Above"

My friend Linda sent me an email that listed some of the benefits of Hydrogen Peroxide. I have been exploring it for a while as it is used as an alternative treatment for cancer. Like most alternative treatments, the medical community is in disagreement over its use and effectiveness. Some practitioners are injecting a diluted solution into patients while others are recommending drinking it. If interested, you need to be careful and follow specific protocols for success.

Hydrogen peroxide is simply a water molecule with an extra oxygen atom – but what a powerful combination. White blood cells that are responsible for fighting infection and foreign invaders make hydrogen peroxide and use it to oxidize the invaders. The bubbling you see when hydrogen peroxide is poured over a bacteria-laden cut or wound is the oxygen being released and bacteria being destroyed. When hydrogen peroxide is taken into the body (orally or intravenously) the oxygen content of the blood and body tissues increases dramatically. Since the solution is diluted, there is not enough extra oxygen to account for the increase. New research shows that when hydrogen peroxide is introduced, it stimulates enzyme systems throughout the body. This causes an increase in metabolic rate, a dilation of small arteries thus increasing blood flow.

Your local drug store will have a 3% solution in an opaque plastic bottle. Sun light and warmth causes hydrogen peroxide to break down. This product will have some stabilizers in it so it is not safe to drink. I have purchased (online or some health food stores) a bottle of 35% food grade H2O2. To use this in some of the ways listed, I will need to dilute it. It is advised to use both goggles (to protect the eyes) and rubber gloves (to protect the hands and arms) in handling even the H2O2 bottle. To preserve the original bottle’s quality, I store it in the freezer. I can make a 3.5% solution with my 35% bottle by mixing one ounce to 11 ounces of distilled water (not chlorinated).

Becky Ransey of Indiana is credited with this list of household uses for hydrogen peroxide. All are assuming you are using a 3.5% solution. With the toxic make up of some of our cleaning and hygiene products, this is a great substitute.

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.) No more canker sores, and your teeth will be whiter without expensive pastes. Use it instead of mouthwash.

2. Clean your counters and table tops with 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.

3. After rinsing off your wooden cutting board, pour peroxide on it to kill salmonella and other bacteria.

4. I had fungus on my feet for years until I sprayed a 50/50 mixture of peroxide and water on them (especially the toes) every night and let dry.

5. Soak any infections or cuts in 3% peroxide for five to ten minutes several times a day. My husband has seen gangrene that would not heal with any medicine but was healed by soaking in peroxide.

6. Fill a spray bottle with a 50/50 mixture of peroxide and water and keep it in every bathroom to disinfect without harming your septic system like bleach or most other disinfectants will.

7. If you like a natural look to your hair, spray the 50/50 solution on your wet hair after a shower and comb it through. You will not have the peroxide-burnt blonde hair like the hair dye packages but more natural highlights if your hair is a light brown, reddish, or dirty blonde. It also lightens gradually, so it's not a drastic change.

8. Put half a bottle of peroxide in your bath to help rid boils, fungus, or other skin infections.

9. You can also add a cup of peroxide instead of bleach to a load of whites in your laundry to whiten them. If there is blood on clothing, pour it directly on the soiled spot. Let it sit for a minute, then rub it and rinse with cold water. Careful, this is bleach.

10. Use as a vegetable wash or soak to kill bacteria and neutralize
chemicals. Research published by the Journal of Food and Science in 2003 showed effective results of using hydrogen peroxide to decontaminate apples and melons that were infected with strains of E.coli.

11. Clean with hydrogen peroxide when your house becomes a biohazard
after its invaded by toxic mold, such as those with water damage.

12. Many farmers have been increasing crop yields by spraying them with diluted hydrogen peroxide (5 to 16 ounces of 35% mixed with 20 gallons of water per acre). You can achieve the same beneficial effect with your house plants by adding 1 ounce of 3% hydrogen peroxide (or 16 drops of 35% solution) to every quart of water you give your plants.

13. Mixed in with your bath water, it becomes an excellent detoxifier.