Hydrogen Peroxide: Truth, Lies and Rumours

Hydrogen Peroxide: Truth, Lies and Rumours

Is it a miracle drug or a carcinogenic poison peddled freely and propagandized openly on the internet? Opinions differ greatly, though (thankfully) not violently, over the efficacy of hydrogen peroxide as a human disease cure or preventative.

When I received, in a print newsletter from a real estate company, a copy of a list of uses for hydrogen peroxide that has been floating around internet how-to sites for nearly a decade, I decided it was time to do some real research on the subject.

The piece begins "This was written by Becky Ransey of Indiana (a doctor's wife)." So far what we know for sure is that there is a real state called Indiana and doctors (at least of the medical variety) deal with health issues. We do not know who Becky Ransey is. An internet search turned her name up hundreds of times, but nothing more verifiable that the sentence quoted above. Becky Ransey, if she exists, may or may not be married to a medical doctor, but if both are true it still means nothing because the source of what was written cannot be verified. The email and internet list provide no source of evidence or verifiable testing.

In fact, the printed version I received said "My husband has been in the medical field for over 36 years." It doesn't even claim that her husband was a doctor, as some versions of the story do (see above). A hospital orderly and maybe even a janitor might make a claim that they are "in the medical field."

I will add the full version that has most commonly made its way around the internet later in the article. For now, let's address the facts and fictions of the peroxide list. First, hydrogen peroxide has been around and known about since it was first discovered about 200 years ago. Before that? Well, our bodies manufacture the stuff naturally so the chemical has been around much longer than that.

Since our own bodies make hydrogen peroxide, does that mean that the product we can buy in any drug store for a small sum is safe to use, it being only at a concentration of three percent (the balance being water)? Like everything else to do with health, the answer is not simple. Too much or too strong a concentration ingested (taken internally) could kill you, or at least kill a child or someone with compromised health. Under the right conditions, it could be used as therapy for cancer, Alzheimer, multiple sclerosis, even asthma and allergies. Just like warfarin, which kills rats at one concentration and heals heart patients at a lesser dose.

You would recognize the chemical formula for the hydrogen peroxide molecule as being similar to that of water. Water is H2O, while peroxide is H2O2. Peroxide is like water, only with a second atom of oxygen. No surprise then when we learn that peroxide breaks into oxygen and water in our bodies.

What may be a surprise is that the free oxygen atom is also known as a "free radical," which some will recognize as potential sources or catalysts for cancer. What's up with that? Free radicals get inside the good bacteria in our bodies and cause no harm because our good bacteria not only keep us healthy, they have adapted to avoid damage from invaders that break into their cells. Inside bad bacteria and other microbes, peroxide wreaks havoc.

The right amount of free radicals in our bodies fights off cancer, while too much can cause it to spread. Hydrogen peroxide in the hands of someone who doesn't know what they are doing could be dangerous. Or it could be a life saver, if the person is lucky.

Of course anyone considering ingesting H2O2 or receiving it by needle should consult a doctor. However, it may be necessary to consult a doctor who knows something about using hydrogen peroxide as a therapy. If your family doctor has no expertise or experience with peroxide use as a therapy, consider contacting the following for names and addresses of doctors near you who do:
International Bio-Oxidative Medicine Foundation (IBOM),
P.O. Box 13205,
Oklahoma City, OK
73113
USA
(405) 478-4266

Note that the ordinary brown bottle of hydrogen peroxide you can buy in a store is 3% concentration, which is low, but frequent use in the mouth, for example, over periods of time longer than a few days or use undiluted for more than a brief time to rinse the mouth is not recommended, even by the manufacturers.

H2O2 may be acquired in several concentrations. They come as follows, though from a variety of sources:
A) 3 or 3.5% Pharmaceutical Grade: This is the grade sold at your local drugstore or supermarket. This product is not recommended for internal use. It contains an assortment of stabilizers which shouldn't be ingested. Various stabilizers include: acetanilide, phenol, sodium stanate and tertrasodium phosphate.

B) 6% Beautician Grade: This is used in beauty shops to color hair and is not recommended for internal use.

C) 30% Reagent Grade: This is used for various scientific experimentation and also contains stabilizers. It is also not for internal use.

D) 30% to 32% Electronic Grade: This is used to clean electronic parts and not for internal use.

E) 35% Technical Grade: This is a more concentrated product than the Reagent Grade and differs slightly in that phosphorus is added to help neutralize any chlorine from the water used to dilute it.

F) 35% Food Grade: This is used in the production of foods like cheese, eggs, and whey-containing products. It is also sprayed on the foil lining of aseptic packages containing fruit juices and milk products. THIS IS THE ONLY GRADE RECOMMENDED FOR INTERNAL USE. It is available in pints, quarts, gallons or even drums.

G) 90%: This is used as an oxygen source for rocket fuel.

That list is courtesy of Dr. David G. Williams
http://educate-yourself.org/cancer/benefitsofhydrogenperozide17jul03.shtml

Dr. Williams not only discourages ingesting hydrogen peroxide at 90% concentration because it's needed in the space industry for rocket fuel, he cautions about taking great care when using the 35% Food Grade version for children, people with certain existing health problems or using it in other than a highly diluted concentration.
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Now for that email/internet list, both the annotated version and the original, courtesy of http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/h/hydrogen-peroxide.htm

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 Ibathe or shower.) No more canker sores and your teeth will be whiter without expensive pastes. Use it instead of mouthwash-Truth! But Limited Use!The Merck Manuals recommended diluting the 3% hydrogen peroxide 50 percent with water, but suggest it as a rinse and part of a treatment for trench mouth, for example. The FDA has approved 3% solutions of hydrogen peroxide for use as a mouthwash. Most sources said to use it only for a short time, however, such as part of a treatment of a mouth infection. A report from Well-Connected (written or edited by physicians at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital) recommended against extended use, saying that overuse may actually damage cells and soften tooth surfaces. We were not able to find any authoritative information about hydrogen peroxide and canker sores.

2. Let your toothbrushes soak [in] a cup peroxide to keep them free of germs-Unproven!We didn't find anything authoritative about soaking toothbrushes in hydrogen peroxide. Because hydrogen peroxide degrades quickly when exposed to light, if you do soak a toothbrush, do it in freshly poured hydrogen peroxide. Just keeping an open cup of the stuff around won't do much good.

3. Clean your counters, table tops with peroxide to kill germs and leave a fresh smell. Simply put a little on your dishrag when you wipe, or sprayit on the counters-Truth!

4. After rinsing off your wooden cutting board, pour peroxide on it to kill salmonella and other bacteria-Truth!The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved hydrogen peroxide as a sanitizer.

5. 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-Unproven! We were not able to find any authoritative source about foot fungus and treatment with hydrogen peroxide. Again, we are assuming she means a 50/50 mixture of water and 3% hydrogen peroxide. An actual 50/50 mixture of pure hydrogen peroxide and water would be too high a concentration to be safe.
For many of us, hydrogen peroxide was one of the first things we put on a cut or a wound, but that is less recommended nowadays. The reason, according to numerous medical sites, is that there is a downside to the hydrogen peroxide as well. It also damages healthy cells that are needed for the wounds to heal and hinders them from getting to the area where the healing needs to take place. The HealthFinder publication of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says don't use hydrogen peroxide on a wound because it interferes with healing. The U.S. Gymnastics team has followed the recommendations of researchers and uses soap and water for cleansing wounds and not hydrogen peroxide. The National Safety Council's First Aid Pocket Guide (1996) says "DO NOT use hydrogen peroxide It does not kill bacteria, and it adversely affects capillary blood flow and wound healing." The Mayo Clinic gives the same advice.

[6 was omitted on the site.]

7. Put two capfuls into a douche to prevent yeast infections. I had chronic yeast infections until I tried this once or twice a week-Disputed!Interestingly enough, hydrogen peroxide is naturally produced in the vagina to deal with bacteria. There is conflicting opinion among the experts, however, about whether douching with hydrogen peroxide is helpful or harmful and even some voices that doubt whether douching is necessary at all under normal circumstances.

8. 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 systemlike bleach or most other disinfectants will-But be sure you put the mixture into a bottle that filters out sunlight. Also, it appears that hydrogen peroxide does not harm septic systems. Again, this is probably a mixture of 50% water with the other half being 3% or 30% strengths of hydrogen peroxide.

9. Tilt your head back and spray into nostrils with your 50/50 mixture whenever you have a cold, plugged sinus. It will bubble and help to killthe bacteria. Hold for a few minutes then blow your nose into a tissue-Undetermined!

We couldn't find much about this in terms of research. Again, if you choose to do it, this is probably referring to a mixture of 3% hydrogen peroxide with water.10. If you have a terrible toothache and can not get to a dentist right away, put a capful of 3% peroxide into your mouth and hold it for tenminutes several times a day. The pain will lessen greatly-(N.B. this is highly disputed, especially because of the long time that it recommends holding it in the mouth)

11. And of course, 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. Youwill not have the peroxide burnt blonde hair like the hair dye packages, but more natural highlights if your hair is a light brown, faddish, or dirty blonde.It also lightens gradually so it's not a drastic change-Truth!One of the classic uses of hydrogen peroxide is to bleach hair. The concentrations are between 3% and 6%. This suggestion to dilute with water probably applies to those solutions.

12. Put half a bottle of peroxide in your bath to help rid boils, fungus, or other skin infections-Undetermined!The half a bottle probably refers to a 3% solution.

13. 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, pourdirectly on the soiled spot. Let it sit for a minute, then rub it and rinse with cold water. Repeat if necessary-Truth! But Careful!The effectiveness of this method is a matter of experimentation, but the principle is sound. Some of the so called "oxygen" bleaches contain hydrogen peroxide.
Be careful about the suggestion to use it on spots. Hydrogen peroxide is a bleach!

14 This list didn't have it, but I use peroxide to clean my mirrors; there is no smearing, which is why I love it so much for this-Unproven!
The original hydrogen peroxide eRumor did not include this. Some of these were added by people along the way.

15. Gargle with hydrogen peroxide, put drops in the ear and nose to end colds, flu, chronic sinusitis (including polyps], and infections. A repeat of some previous information.
16. Use as a vegetable wash or soak to kill bacteria and neutralize chemicals-Truth! We don't know about the chemicals, but there are several credible references about the use of hydrogen peroxide on fruits or vegetables. 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.17. Disinfect your dishwasher or refrigerator-Undetermined!

18. Use it on trees and plants as a natural fungicide, insecticide, and as a weed killer-Undetermined!We found no research on the use of hydrogen peroxide as an insecticide, fungicide, or weed killer.

19. Clean with hydrogen peroxide when your house becomes a biohazard after its invaded by toxic mold, such as those with water damage-Truth!In a publication about "Healthy Homes," the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) listed hydrogen peroxide as among the substances that can be used against mold, but also said there had not been enough research to recommend its use. It is not known what molds hydrogen peroxide is most effective against or what the human health hazards may be from using it so extensively. Also, since hydrogen peroxide is a bleach, be careful where you use it in terms of preserving the colors in your home.

Updated 8/5/06

A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet:
HYDROGEN PEROXIDE.....H2O2

We know ..........vinegar/baking soda and now peroxide - our mothers were right!

I want to share this with you, which was written by Becky Ransey of Indiana:
"I would like to tell you of the benefits of that plain little ol' bottle of 3% peroxide you can get for under $1.00 at any drug store. My husband has been in the medical field for over 36 years, and most doctors don't tell you about peroxide, or they would lose thousands of dollars.

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 a cup peroxide to keep them free of germs.

3. Clean your counters, table tops with peroxide to kill germs and leave a fresh smell. Simply put a little on your dishrag when you wipe, or sprayit on the counters.

4. After rinsing off your wooden cutting board, pour 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 peroxide and water on them (especially the toes) every night and let dry.

6. 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.

7. Put two capfuls into a douche to prevent yeast infections. I had chronic yeast infections until I tried this once or twice a week.

8. 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 systemlike bleach or most other disinfectants will.

9. Tilt your head back and spray into nostrils with your 50/50 mixture whenever you have a cold, plugged sinus. It will bubble and help to kill the bacteria. Hold for a few minutes then blow your nose into a tissue.

10. If you have a terrible toothache and can not get to a dentist right away, put a capful of 3% peroxide into your mouth and hold it for ten minutes several times a day. The pain will lessen greatly.

11. And of course, 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, faddish, or dirty blonde. It also lightens gradually so it's not a drastic change.

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

13. 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 directly on the soiled spot. Let it sit for a minute, then rub it and rinse with cold water. Repeat if necessary.

14 This list didn't have it, but I use peroxide to clean my mirrors; there is no smearing, which is why I love it so much for this.

15. Gargle with hydrogen peroxide, put drops in the ear and nose to end colds, flu, chronic sinusitis (including polyps], and infections.

16. Use as a vegetable wash or soak to kill bacteria and neutralize chemicals.
17. Disinfect your dishwasher or refrigerator.

18. Use it on trees and plants as a natural fungicide, insecticide, and as a weed killer

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

Throughout the world hydrogen peroxide is used instead of chlorine as a safer and eco-friendly municicpal [sic] water purifier. Some use H2O2 in pools and spas.
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A Few Final Notes

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved those high strength hydrogen peroxide products for use internally and considers them dangerous. In July, 2006, the FDA issued a warning about the high strength hydrogen peroxides, saying they could lead to serious health risks and even death. Though the FDA statement is not clear, we can safely assume that the reference is to taking high strength hydrogen peroxide internally without diluting it.

My personal anecdote involves using hydrogen peroxide to remove ear wax. I have one ear that produces an inordinate amount of wax. That wax not only reduces my hearing, but it provides a nice breeding ground for infection, which I recognize by some dizziness when turning my head quickly. When a now-former family doctor caused tinnitus in my ears by "washing" them with a stream of warm water to remove wax plugs, destroying most of the cilia hairs that amplify incoming air waves that produce "sound," I sought out another solution. Every couple of weeks I lie on my side in bed and drop eight drops of 3% peroxide from an eye dropper into the ear and let it bubble away for 30 to 60 minutes. The peroxide removes the wax, allowing any infection to clear up by itself within a day, should it be present. My sources can't agree about whether the peroxide actually clears up the infection or allows the air to do the job. But it works.

The following sources will be useful to someone interested in learning more about hydrogen peroxide:
http://www.snopes.com/medical/homecure/peroxide.asp

http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/43308

The David Williams web page listed earlier in the article also provides more valuable web sites on the subject.

Bill Allin
Turning It Around: Causes and Cures for Today's Epidemic Social Problems, a guidebook for parents and teachers who want to provide kids with what they really need rather than just what some adults believe they should be taught in school. Despite the book's heavy sounding subtitle, it's written in an easy to read fashion.
Learn more about the book and the worldwide TIA project at http://billallin.com