Oxygen multi-step therapy

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The multi-stage oxygen therapy ( SMT ) is an on oxygen BASED -Gabe treatment method of Alternative Medicine is allocated. It is used by alternative practitioners and (mostly naturopathic ) doctors both preventively and for the treatment of diseases . The effectiveness of the SMT is controversial.

Background and story

SMT is one of several different inhalation therapies that use oxygen . It was developed by the physicist and inventor Manfred von Ardenne from 1970 onwards at his private research institute in Dresden - among other things as a result of a self-experiment and inspired by the collaboration with the Nobel Prize winner Otto Warburg . It is also used to supplement overheating therapies ( therapeutic hyperthermia ), such as those used to improve performance and to promote the immune system (especially) in the case of cancer.

Procedure

The SMT is carried out in more than 20 variants and usually consists of three steps (hence “multi-step therapy”).

Patients first receive a vitamin - mineral cocktail, consisting of vitamin B1 , vitamin C , vitamin E and a magnesium salt (usually magnesium orotate, a salt of orotic acid ). This is the first step (about half an hour before ventilation, vitamin E should be given earlier), which is supposed to improve oxygen uptake and metabolism in the cells and also protect against the harmful effects of oxygen. Then the patients inhale oxygen-enriched air (O 2 from bottles [100%] or concentrators [approx. 90–95%]) for different lengths of time , in the most common form for two hours an oxygen-air mixture containing around 40% oxygen . Afterwards (possibly also during the "breathing phase") the patient should exercise mentally or physically. In the most common form of SMT, optimized in terms of long-term effectiveness, mental training is carried out during the two hours in order to increase cerebral blood flow. Sports training, on the other hand, should only be carried out in a reduced form (two minutes of light activity every 20 minutes). This restriction in movement is necessary to ensure an oxygen supply above the oxygen consumption.

The usual oxygen concentrators only deliver around four to five liters of concentrated oxygen per minute. Together with the room air, this results in an oxygen content of around 40 percent with normal breathing (without exercise). Normal air contains only about 21% oxygen. All variants provide for these steps to be repeated several times (once a day for ten to 18 consecutive days, depending on rest or movement during inhalation and the amount of oxygen per minute). The recommended variant takes around two and a half weeks. It is possible and customary to take short breaks, for example skipping a day on the weekend.

Effects

Proponents of SMT assume that it leads to a long-lasting improvement in the oxygen content in arterial blood (measured as oxygen partial pressure, paO 2 ). A closer look reveals the difference between the arterial oxygen partial pressure and the venous (it is usually larger). This should improve the blood microcirculation and stimulate healing processes. The list of diseases that should be favorably influenced by SMT includes, depending on the originator, 20 to more than 60 different diagnoses from old age vertigo to various types of cancer . Since the immune system is also supposed to be strengthened, SMT supporters attribute an effect in the prevention of diseases.

Critics of the therapy (among others in 2001: German Society for Internal Medicine, Professional Association of German Internists, German Cancer Society) argue that a methodically flawless proof of effectiveness has not yet been provided. The Working Committee on Medical Treatment of the Federal Committee of Doctors and Health Insurance Funds thereupon found in 2001 " ... no reliable evidence of the benefits and medical necessity of use in statutory medical care ... ".

Critics point out that the pO 2 increases are only temporary.

Side effects

In the event of improper use and overdosing, oxygen inhalation can u. a. lead to impaired consciousness , coma , respiratory failure and epileptic seizures . Treatment of certain lung diseases (emphysema, open tuberculosis) is not permitted. Otherwise the dangers are relatively minor.

Health economics

In the case of SMT, essentially only an oxygen concentrator, inexpensive vitamins (and a quantity element, usually magnesium orotate), as well as a health examination (and possibly monitoring) are required. However, in the absence of evidence of a medical benefit, a health economic analysis is ruled out in principle. The treatment in Germany is a private service of the patient, ie it is not recognized and paid for by the statutory health insurance.

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