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HEALTH
In The Ozone
Is it an effective treatment or just so much hot air
by Jim Dean, Atlanta NAPWA
Treatment Advisory Committee
To listen to people involved in the
ozone controversy—principally ozone
machine manufacturers and the FDA—is
to conclude that ozone is either a remark
able treatment or completely useless.
Ozone and HIV. HIV is from a fami
ly of viruses containing lipids. The
hypothesis is that such viruses are sensi
tive to ozone and that it destroys the lipid
shells and possibly halts reproduction of
the virus.
Like most alternative therapies for
HIV, ozone therapy has not been subject
ed to HIV clinical safety and efficacy
testing, so we must draw on the body of
anecdotal knowledge in existence.
Ozone has been used internally and
externally for a variety of ailments.
External ozone appears to be effective in
wound healing, because of its ability to
kill bacteria, fungi, and viruses which
cause infection. Indeed, one of
NAPWA's members has spoken of a
friend who has had success with ozone in
treating fungal infections on his feet.
Proponents of ozone therapy claim it has
amazing curative abilities in cases of
cancer and AIDS. (Also influenza,
measles, mumps, rabies, herpes, or any
other ailment caused by a virus, bacteria
or fungi.)
Not a cure-all: The person who
brought ozone to my attention is not a
member of the ozone-as-a-cure-all camp,
but he, like others, has reported an
increase in energy and improvement in
symptoms related to K.S. He is particu
larly impressed that ozone assists in sta
bilizing him through his frequent
chemotherapy treatments. Of course
alteration in symptoms are difficult to
measure and then attribute to one source
or another; he, like most people with
AIDS, does not limit himself to an exclu
sive treatment.
How is it used? Ozone is introduced
into the body in a variety of ways: vagi
nally, rectally or by injection. A small
device connected to an ozone compres
sor is inserted into the correct orifice.
Less commonly and usually in people
You Can’t Take It With You
Cashing in on life insurance
by Jeff Shinn
Many people with AIDS find them
selves trapped with medical bills and
expenses above and beyond what their
disability check will cover. If you have
life insurance there is a new develop
ment that might help ease the situation.
Several companies are now offering
to buy your life insurance policy for a
discount They will pay you up to 70%
of its face value but the policy cannot be
part of a group policy.
To qualify you must have been diag
nosed with full blown AIDS, and be
willing to provide copies of all medical
records. The company typically has a
panel of doctors who then review your
files and determine a "life expectancy."
They also confer with your doctor. Most
companies accept a life expectancy of 18
months or less; one or two use a 24
month time frame.
If you meet the expectancy and diag
nosis criteria, then an offer is made to
purchase your policy. The amount
offered, depending on a number of fac
tors, typically runs between 50% and
70% of the face value. It is also possible
to cash in on only part of your policy and
keep the rest.
It is strongly recommended that you
with more advanced cases of AIDS, a
small quantity of blood is removed from
the body, mixed with ozone and rein
fused.
There are several companies manu
facturing ozone machines, one claiming
superior qualities of their machine over
others. These units cost $1500 to $3000.
Some people cut costs by sharing
machines. Considering the administra
tion procedure for ozone, proper sanitary
procedures must be maintained to elimi
nate the transmission of germs, etc.
Is it safe?: Before researching this
article my one belief was that, if nothing
else, ozone therapy was harmless. Both
sides agree this is not true. Ozone pro
duced from room oxygen has toxic prop
erties. Ozone produced with a spark is
also toxic. Small amounts of ozone may
stimulate the immune system while too
much ozone does the opposite, causing
internal bleeding, fluid in the lungs, cell
destruction and even death.
More problems: Long before AIDS,
zone therapy was labeled a quack treat
ment for cancer. Reportedly many people
have traveled to Germany for ozone
treatments. These people were liberated
of much money and were often lied to
about their blood work which was altered
to provide evidence of improved health.
have an attorney or financial planner
review the situation before signing any
thing. If you have minor children or par
ents who have financial need, the compa
nies may not even consider the transac
tion. Should you decide to go ahead,
forms must be signed assigning your
rights to the investors. All beneficiaries
must also sign a waiver giving up their
rights to any claim on the policy.
If you live longer than "expectancy,"
great! The money is yours and there is
no penalty for living. The money is also
yours to do with as you wish.
Benefits are taxed as ordinary
income, but a bill now pending before
Congress would make the benefits tax-
free. Waiting until 1991 to receive bene
fits might make them tax free under the
new regulations, in either case it would
The FDA has announced that it has
targeted ozone therapy as the biggest
fraud in current "alternative therapies."
Project Inform has published an informa
tion sheet on ozone and on his recent
visit to Atlanta, Martin Delaney
expressed his skepticism about ozone
based on reports of its use in San
Francisco over the past several years.
There are many layers to this contro
versial treatment You should know that
the November NAPWA treatment forum
on ozone was canceled because the
scheduled speaker was arrested for
administering ozone treatments. This
was a direct result of the FDA attack. Is
it fair for the FDA to prohibit you from
accessing this treatment under the guise
of "protecting" you from spending the
money? If the FDA effectively bans
ozone will nutrition store clerks selling
blue-green algae be the next to be locked
up?
If you are investigating ozone therapy
I suggest you read the extensive litera
ture that NAPWA has articles on file,
speak to people who have personal expe
rience using it, and discuss it thoroughly
with your health care practitioner.
Atlanta NAPWA's phone number is
876-7926.
delay payment of taxes until April of '92.
Though many people may feel that
this is a "system for exploitation of the
terminally ill" and "morbid," the PWA's
that I spoke with felt that this was a
blessing. As one puts it, "One of my
best friends said she thought the idea was
sick—but I told her it's just the opposite.
It gives me an opportunity to keep my
house, to take a trip—I have so many
things to look forward to. This summer I
plan to plant flowers, to read, to be in
peace."
Atlanta NAPWA has the names of
four companies which will consider
buying life insurance policies. Call 876
7926 for that information. This article is
a edited version of one that originally
appeared in NAPWA Notes.
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Southern Voice/November 22, 1990
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