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Ultraviolet blood irradiation (UBI)

Ultraviolet blood irradiation (UBI) was extensively used in the 1940s and 1950s to treat many infectious diseases including septicemia, pneumonia, tuberculosis, arthritis, asthma and even poliomyelitis. The early studies were carried out by physicians in USA and published in the American Journal of Surgery. Later studies were mostly performed by Russian workers and in other Eastern European countries who did not have access to expensive pharmaceuticals.
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With the development of antibiotics, the use of UBI declined. Articles were written to disparage the use of UBI in Western countries, not unlike the discrediting of homeopathy and other holistic treatments that were not pharmaceutical based. Therefore, Western physicians believe that UBI use “highly controversial” and “of questionable value.”
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However, when healthcare professionals stumble across UBI and begin to research its value, UBI can’t help but be called “the cure that time forgot” as an alternative approach to current methods used to treat infections and autoimmune conditions. No microorganisms have been ever been found to develop resistance to UV irradiation unlike multi- antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria and tuberculosis. Even septicemia (severe illness dues to bacteria in the bloodstream) can be offer an optimal benefit because only 5-7% of the blood volume needs to be exposed to UV light to enhance the immune system’s ability to eliminate the infection.

Historical background

In 1801 Johann Wilhelm Ritter, a Polish physicist discovered a form of light beyond the violet end of the spectrum that he called “Chemical Rays”. It later became known as ‘ultraviolet light. In 1845, Bonnet first reported that sunlight could be used to treat tuberculosis arthritis (a bacterial infection of the joints). In 1877, Downes and Blunt discovered by chance that sunlight could kill bacteria.

 

In 1904, the Danish physician Niels Finsen was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on UV treatment of various skin conditions. He had a success rate of 98% in treating thousands of cased of skin-based tuberculosis known as lupus vulgaris. A few years later, in 1920, Walter H Ude reported a high cure rate in a series of 100 cases of erysipelas (a cutaneous infection caused by Streptococcus pyogenes) using UV light.

 

In the 1930s and 40s, UV light was being widely used in medicine. A Seattle researcher, Emmett K Knott reasoned that if UV radiation was beneficial to the skin, then it may also be beneficial to circulating blood. An irradiation chamber was constructed to allow direct exposure of the blood to UV light. The irradiation chamber was so designed as to provide maximum turbulence of the blood flowing through a chamber so that all blood was equally exposed the blood to UV light.

 

Knott and co-workers then carried out a series of experiments using UV irradiation of blood extracted from dogs who had been intravenously infected with Staphylococcus aureus bacteria and hemolytic Streptococcus species. They extracted blood from the dogs and found it was only necessary to expose a small amount of blood to the UV light to achieve therapeutic success. In fact, all of the dogs treated recovered from the overwhelming infection. They were followed for 4 months and showed no long-term adverse effects.

In 1940, Dr. Henry A Barrett at the Willard Parker Hospital in New York City reported on 110 cases including a number of different infections. Twenty-nine different conditions were described as being responsive, including infectious arthritis, osteoarthritis, chronic blepharitis (eyelash infection), chronic paranasal sinusitis, acne vulgaris, and even anemia of chronic illness improved.

But how does it work?

One of the major obstacles for acceptance of UBI has been the lack of understanding of its mechanisms of action. Another highly confusing aspect is the wide assortment of diseases, which have been claimed to be successfully treated by UBI. It seems to be a “too good to be true” treatment.

 

What do we know?

  • UV light positively interacts with nearly every type of blood cell in circulation – platelets, red blood cells, dendritic cells and every type of white blood cell.

  • It induces white blood cells to increase phagocytosis, the process that neutralizes and eliminates pathogens.

  • UV light increases the secretion of nitric oxide (NO) and promotes reactive nitrogen species to kill pathogens

  • UV light blunts activity that can lead to cytokines storm often associated with sepsis

  • Certain types of lymphocytes are inhibited, decreasing inflammation

  • UBI can cause a short burst of oxidative stress, which may be beneficial, because many antioxidant defenses are up-regulated by brief exposure to oxidative stress.

 

Why is ozone added?

Ozone therapy used during UBI. The ozone that is used therapeutically is clean, energized oxygen that contains three atoms of oxygen instead of two like the oxygen we breathe. Ozone is the second most powerful sterilizer in the world and can be used to destroy pathogens like bacteria, viruses, mold, fungi, yeast, parasites, and odors. 

 

Ozone is found naturally within the body as well as in the environment. While very high amounts of ozone may be harmful to the body, providers of ozone therapy believe the correct amount may:

  • Ward off disease

  • Improve blood circulation

  • Relieve pain

 

The combination of UV light exposure and small amounts of IV ozone are a powerful combination. UV irradiation of blood was hailed as a miracle therapy for treating serious infections in the 1940s and 1950s, before antibiotics, and it still is a powerful – and overlooked- treatment for unresolved infections and a long list of other inflammatory conditions. In an ironic quirk of fate, we left behind this powerful yet non-toxic solution chronic illness.

 

Try it today. See how you feel after a few infusions (we recommend 10 treatments for optimal results) Call today for more information. 440-239-3438

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