•Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO) is a remarkably safe naturally occurring substance that has a variety of remarkable properties that make it well suited to treating a variety of challenging medical conditions (e.g., pain, injuries, wounds, strokes, spine injuries, autoimmune conditions, cancer, and internal organ diseases).
•DMSO has broad antimicrobial properties, protects the body from microbial toxins (e.g., from C. diff), eliminates antibiotic resistance, and serves as a vehicle that can bring antimicrobials deep into the body and treat otherwise inaccessible infections.
•DMSO significantly enhances the treatment of many common bacterial infections (e.g., of the head, mouth, and skin) and many severe bacterial infections that require hospitalization (e.g., tuberculosis, sepsis, peritonitis, severe lung infections, osteomyelitis). In many cases, this has allowed an individual requiring an amputation of a chronically infected area to instead fully recover.
•DMSO has significant antiviral properties, which have most extensively been studied for herpes and shingles (both of which it excels in treating), but also in a variety of other conditions (e.g., feline panleukopenia, one of the most deadly conditions cats face.
•DMSO has significant value in treating challenging fungal and parasitic infections. Additionally, evidence suggests its utility in treating cancer and autoimmune disorders arise from DMSO’s unique antimicrobial properties.
•In this article, we will review the body of evidence showing DMSO’s remarkable contributions to the treatment of infectious diseases and provide guidance on how DMSO can be used to treat many of the conditions listed in this article.
Introduction
DMSO is a remarkably safe and naturally occurring substance (provided you use it correctly) that rapidly improves a variety of conditions medicine struggles with — particularly chronic pain. For reference, those conditions included:
Strokes, paralysis, a wide range of neurological disorders (e.g., Down Syndrome and dementia), and many circulatory disorders (e.g., Raynaud’s, varicose veins, hemorrhoids), which I discussed here.
A wide range of tissue injuries such as sprains, concussions, burns, surgical incisions, and spinal cord injuries (discussed here).
Chronic pain (e.g., from a bad disc, bursitis, arthritis, or complex regional pain syndrome), which I discussed here.
A wide range of autoimmune, protein, and contractile disorders such as scleroderma, amyloidosis, and interstitial cystitis (discussed here).
A variety of head conditions, such as tinnitus, vision loss, dental problems, and sinusitis (discussed here).
A wide range of internal organ diseases such as pancreatitis, infertility, liver cirrhosis, and endometriosis (discussed here).
A wide range of skin conditions such as burns, varicose veins, acne, hair loss, ulcers, skin cancer, and many autoimmune dermatologic diseases (discussed here).
In turn, since I started this series, it struck a cord and has now been seen by millions of people, and I have received over 1400 reports of remarkable responses to DMSO many readers have had (which can be read here).
This begs an obvious question — if a substance capable of doing all of that exists, why does almost no one know about it? Simply put, like many other promising therapies, it fell victim to a pernicious campaign by the FDA which kept it away from America despite decades of scientific research, Congressional protest, and thousands of people pleading for the FDA to reconsider their actions. Consider for example, this 60 Minutes program about DMSO that aired on March 23, 1980. (Go to top link to watch program)
DMSO and Infectious Diseases
DMSO has a variety of unique properties that make it incredibly well suited to addressing microbial infections (e.g., bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites).
These include:
While non-toxic, it has an antiseptic effect that is harmful to microorganisms, especially the smallest ones (mycobacteria, cell wall deficient bacteria, and viruses). This property appears to be the most beneficial for herpes, shingles, and other complex conditions, which I believe have a microbiological component (e.g., cancer and autoimmunity).
It can remove the antibiotic resistance of bacteria. This is particularly helpful in widespread problematic infections that have gradually developed a resistance to many existing antibiotics (e.g., tuberculosis) and challenging infections that are not responding to antibiotics (e.g., ones that would otherwise require an amputation).
It can further increase the sensitivity of already susceptible microorganisms to antimicrobial agents.
It can deliver antimicrobial agents to areas that are typically difficult to reach (e.g., deep in a bone) and also directly to regions that would otherwise require a systemic application of the medication.
It can increase circulation to many parts of the body, something which is often critical for resolving illnesses (as a healthy blood supply allows the immune system to enter and heal diseased areas). Likewise, pretreatment with DMSO has been shown to increase the immune system’s ability to resist a subsequent infection.
Much in the same way DMSO protects cells from a wide variety of lethal stressors, it can also protect them from the harmful effects of bacterial toxins (e.g., with the most pertinent applications studied being for sepsis and clostridium difficile). Likewise, it can also mitigate the toxicity of antimicrobial agents taken for a prolonged period.
DMSO and Bacterial Infections
DMSO has six properties that make it useful in treating bacterial infections.
Data suggests DMSO increases bacterial cell membrane permeability and concurrently creates changes in the cell indicative of damage to its membrane. In addition to directly eliminating bacteria, it also reduces their ability to prevent antibiotics from entering them. In turn, existing data shows DMSO has a much greater ability to increase the potency of antibiotics that target structures inside bacteria rather than ones that target their cell wall (e.g., penicillin). Note: this property is particularly important for tuberculosis as it has a robust external barrier that impairs antibiotic entry.
By increasing membrane permeability, it can also make bacteria more susceptible to taking up the nucleic acids of lethal bacteriophages (viruses that kill bacteria and have been extensively researched outside of America due to their efficacy in treating a wide range of bacterial infections).
DMSO can often simply dissolve bacteria and cause their contents to leak out.
DMSO can interfere with the normal functioning of bacteria. A 1977 study, for instance, found that it interferes with the production of membrane proteins that E. coli (and other bacteria) need for metabolism.
As discussed throughout a previous article, DMSO greatly improves circulation (which, when impaired often leads to chronic infections).
In the same way DMSO can protect cells from various lethal stressors (discussed here), DMSO effectively mitigates the harmful effects of many bacterial toxins.
Cancer and Autoimmunity
One of DMSO’s widely recognized properties is that it causes cancerous cells to revert to normal. In researching that, I came across a fascinating study that tested cancer patients for pleomorphic bacteria (something many previous pioneers of successful but suppressed alternative cancer therapies like Rife and Naessens also believed caused many cancers). While difficult to culture, pleomorphic bacteria were eventually isolated from the blood of some of them, in the blood of some of those who had been around those who had recently died from cancer for a prolonged period.
Note: the morphology of the bacteria is extensively described in the paper, but essentially matches what many other pleomorphic researchers have found over the years.
The pleomorphic model of bacteria (discussed further here) essentially states that bacteria can significantly change their morphology (to the point they are almost unrecognizable from their original form), that these changes are often done in response to their environment, and that some forms are relatively harmless to the body, while others cause disease. In turn, since things that kill bacteria often transform them into ones that are more pathogenic, a longtime belief within certain schools of natural medicine is that the goal should be to change the terrain of the body to encourage a benign morphology of bacteria rather than trying to kill them all off.
A large group of modern researchers studied this subject for decades (e.g., hundreds of research studies they conducted are summarized in this wonderful textbook by Lida Mattman). Five of their key observations were:
Antibiotics will often fail to kill every bacteria present and then trigger those that survive to enter a primitive survival state known as a “cell wall deficient” (CWD) form resembling a mycoplasma. This process in turn, was most commonly triggered by antibiotics that attack bacterial cell walls (which characterizes many commonly used antibiotics).
CWD bacteria are very hard to detect (most standard microbial methods will determine that no organisms are there when CWDs are present).
When conditions are more optimal for survival, CWD organisms can revert to the active form and cause an infection that had been eliminated with antibiotics to suddenly and inexplicably recur (which, for example, we frequently see with urinary tract infections).
Once present, CWD bacteria will often enter cells and cause chronic inflammation because the immune system will attack cells with the CWD bacteria.
Many different unexplained autoimmune disorders (e.g., sarcoidosis) have characteristic CWD bacteria present that can be repeatedly identified from their inflamed tissue (the textbook cites an exhaustive amount of data substantiating this).
While standard antibiotics are ineffective in treating CWD infections, non-standard ones (e.g., erythromycin or minocycline) often are, but the sensitivity to those antibiotics is highly variable depending on the causative organism.
In practice, we find 10-15% of chronic illnesses (including blood clots and cancers) have a pleomorphic etiology, but rather than try to eliminate those organisms with antibiotics (which always have side effects), we instead give signaling products derived from healthy bacteria that cause the pathologic bacteria to transform into a non-harmful form, which in those applicable cases, frequently yields remarkable results (e.g., this approach is very useful for lupus and many cancers). Likewise, I believe this model explains a longstanding belief within natural medicine that giving antibiotics for an acute infection often transforms it into a chronic illness down the road.
Note: ultraviolet blood irradiation is also quite effective at eliminating these organisms and the diseases they cause.
Lastly, Individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome often find relief from DMSO, which some have attributed to its antiviral properties (e.g., towards Epstein Barr). This for example, is a letter Stanley. Jacob received from a patient.
Note: Readers have also reported to me (e.g., here, here, and here) that DMSO helped their chronic fatigue. (See link for article)
______________
**Comment**
Please note that DMSO did best when it was coupled with antibiotics or other antimicrobials.
Now that you know that Lyme disease presents a regular risk for you and your family due to its worldwide spread, rapidly increasing tick populations due to a warming climate (ticks reproduce faster at higher temperatures), and lack of accurate testing, what are the most common Lyme symptoms, aside from the telltale rash, that you should be looking for to suspect an infection?
Signs and Symptoms of Lyme Disease
There are six major signs and symptoms that allow the Medical Detective to suspect an infection with Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent of Lyme disease:
(1) It is a multisystemic illness. Although it is possible to just have one joint that hurts and may be swollen as your primary symptom, this is not the usual manifestation that I have seen among the 13,000 chronically ill individuals I have diagnosed and treated. A broad range of body systems is usually affected, including the heart, musculoskeletal system, along with neurological, psychological, hormonal, and even immunological consequences, including immune deficiency.
So if you have a multisystemic illness, with many of the symptoms listed below, and your doctor has sent you to specialist after specialist looking for answers, that is a telltale sign Lyme disease may be present.
(2) Symptoms of Lyme disease tend to come and go with good and bad days. In many other chronic illnesses, symptoms tend to be daily without huge variations in intensity or frequency.
(3) The hallmark symptom of Lyme disease is migratory pain. Migratory joint pain, migratory muscle pain and/or migratory nerve pain (neuropathy, which is usually experienced as a burning, tingling, numbness or stabbing sensation) lets the Medical Detective know that a diagnosis of Lyme is likely. (There are only seven diseases that cause migratory pain.)
(4) Symptoms of Lyme disease usually get better or worse with antibiotics. This would not be the case with a chronic fatiguing, musculoskeletal, cardiac, neuropsychiatric illness due to a pure viral infection (which can be the case in CFS/ME, FM, and/or long Covid). Symptoms that can get better (lowering the load of the bacteria) or worse (known as a Herxheimer reaction, which is an inflammatory reaction due to killing off of the bacteria) include the following:
*Muscle and joint pain (which can be migratory in nature)
*Severe fatigue
*Tingling and/or numbness/and/or burning and/or stabbing sensations (neuropathy, which can be migratory in nature)
*A stiff neck
*Headaches
*Light and sound sensitivity
*Dizziness
*Memory and concentration problems
*Mood disorders such as depression and/or anxiety
*Difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep
*Fever and/or chills
*Gastrointestinal issues
*Chest pain with palpitations
*Shortness of breath…and more.
*(I’ll have more details about symptoms in my next article.)
(5) Women usually have a worsening of Lyme disease symptoms around their menstrual cycle: before, during or right afterwards. This is because when estrogen levels drop, the bacteria can become more active.
(6) Finally, there are clues on blood tests that you have been exposed to Lyme disease and associated tick-borne infections, but it is important to know that standard two-tiered testing (STTT), using an ELISA followed by a Western blot–one of the primary ways doctors try to diagnose Lyme disease–is highly insensitive, with the accuracy of about a coin flip.
Insensitive testing
For early Lyme disease, doctors may use a version of the STTT, called “Modified two-tiered testing (MTTT),” where two enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) are used instead of the traditional Immunoblot. (Although in one Canadian study it was 25% better at diagnosing some early cases, it is still an imperfect test, and other studies have found the MTTT to be more or less equivalent to the STTT.)
Which means that, ultimately, Lyme disease is a clinical diagnosis. An EM rash, the classic rash of Lyme disease, is proof of exposure and does not require a positive blood test. But if you did not see the rash, you need to know that negative testing with a STTT and/or a MTTT does not rule out exposure.
Clues that you have been exposed are Borrelia specific bands in your blood, such as the 23 kDa (Outer surface protein C, i.e., Osp C), 31 kDa (Osp A), 34 kDa (Osp B), 39 kDa and the 83/93 kDa bands. The exception is the 31 kDa band on a Western blot may cross react with viral proteins or reflect an autoimmune process. The 31 kDa band on an Immunoblot, a test that uses recombinant DNA, is however specific, which is why we prefer using Immunoblots as our first line test.
Standard treatment for Lyme disease
Because testing and treatment can be so complicated, there’s much more info to come….
For now, know that if caught early, the standard treatment for Lyme by some infectious disease doctors is a 14-day course of antibiotics, usually doxycycline or amoxicillin. For an EM rash, some doctors will prescribe antibiotics for up to 30 days.
However, if you have multiple EM rashes, or an EM rash with peripheral nervous system (PNS) involvement (tingling, numbness, burning, and/or stabbing sensations of the arms and legs) and/or central nervous system (CNS) involvement with nerve palsy like Bell’s palsy (where your facial muscles don’t work properly) with associated neuropathy, cognitive difficulties with memory/concentration problems, light or sound sensitivity, dizziness, sleep disorders, new or exacerbated psychological symptoms–short courses of antibiotics will not clear the infection, and you will go on to the chronic form of the disease.
When symptoms persist–Stephen’s story
If symptoms persist, brace yourself! You could find yourself at the mercy of the bacteria that will make your life a misery. Like Stephen.
When Stephen came to see me in March 2020, he told me he’d had to drop out of his first semester at college because he couldn’t function anymore. He’d been suffering for 10 years—no, that is not a typo!–from a strange disease that had brought his life to a halt, going from one doctor to another trying to find a cure.
When I asked him to describe his symptoms, he took a deep breath. The list was long. “Well, I’m tired all the time, no matter what I do,” he told me. “My joints and muscles always ache. I get these sharp stabbing pain in my hands or legs or chest. Sometimes it’s a burning pain.” He shook his head, confused. After all these years, he still couldn’t understand why this was happening. It didn’t make sense.
Working on a theory, I asked if he experienced shortness of breath or night sweats. He did. But then, carefully avoiding my eyes, he confessed to the worst symptom of all. “Sometimes —not always—I see or hear things that aren’t really there.”
My heart went out to him. This bright young man with such a promising future had suddenly developed auditory and visual hallucinations when he was 18 for no apparent reason. A psychiatrist decided he was schizophrenic, and prescribed an antipsychotic that came with serious side effects. Once Stephen had this diagnosis, no doctor had ever listened to him the same way again. Until now.
An important piece of the puzzle
“Have you ever been around cats?” I asked him.
“Not lately,” he said. Then he remembered that, growing up in rural Pennsylvania, he’d had a cat. Inevitably, she had scratched and bitten him more times than he could remember.
“How about tick bites?”
“Sure,” he said. “But that was years ago…”
As I questioned him, the pieces of the medical puzzle started to fall into place. I’d seen the same series of infectious and environmental assaults in patients with this illness for decades. I thought it might also stem from the same infections.
When I asked Stephen to stand up for the physical exam, he felt dizzy. I checked his pulse. It had jumped more than 30 beat per minute and stayed high for several more minutes.
That was a clear sign of POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome), a dysregulation in areas of the nervous system that controls our blood pressure and pulse rate. I see this problem regularly in my chronic Lyme disease patients, those suffering from long Covid, as well as those with problems due to environmental toxins like mold.
When he lifted his shirt so I could listen to his lungs, Stephen muttered, apologetically, “Oh, I have a rash…” That was an understatement. Spreading across his entire middle and upper back was a distinctive purple rash that looked like horizontal stretch marks.
I smiled. “I need to confirm it with blood tests, but I think I know what’s causing your symptoms.”
Stephen was stunned. “What is it?”
“A parasite,” I told him. “It’s called Babesia. It’s a protozoan, like malaria, that can cause sweats, chills, shortness of breath. And I also strongly suspect you have contracted a bacterial infection called Bartonella, often transmitted through cat bites and scratches.”
When we got his laboratory results back, they confirmed my suspicions. “Bartonella could’ve caused all of your neuropsychiatric symptoms—and the rash!” I told him.
Other factors
That said, a condition as extreme as Stephen’s is not just about parasites and little-known bacterial infections. There were a lot of contributing factors. He’d been exposed to environmental toxins like mold, along with vitamin and mineral deficiencies, and this had exacerbated and compounded his symptoms, preventing his immune system from clearing away any lingering infections and making it difficult for him to detoxify and improve.
With so many things going on, it was clear that Stephen didn’t just have Lyme disease. He had Multiple Systemic Infectious Disease Syndrome (MSIDS). He had multiple overlapping sources of inflammation with downstream effects making him ill.
When I started Stephen’s treatment, using dapsone combination therapy for chronic Lyme disease and Bartonella, he soon felt like a completely different person. For the first time in over a decade, his pain was gone. His joint and muscles didn’t ache. The stabbing, burning nerve pains had disappeared. No more night sweats (we will devote an entire article to Babesia in the future). No fatigue.
Even the hallucinations were almost gone. After struggling to regain his health for so long that he had nearly given up hope, Stephen was almost completely back to normal — in months — after finally getting the right treatment.
And you can get the right treatment too.
More to come
In upcoming articles, I’m going to talk much, much more about MSIDS, and the 16-point treatment plan that I used my Medical Detective skills to develop. It’s a treatment plan that works for not only chronic Lyme disease, but many other chronic illnesses which share overlapping biological processes with the three I’s: multiple infections, inflammation, and immune dysfunction.
Coming up next, I’m going to share the Lyme questionnaire, taken from my book. How Can I Get Better? and published in the International Journal of General Medicine. We validated this questionnaire in 1,600 individuals, both healthy and sick, with help from researchers at the State University of New Paltz. I know it’s going to help if you worry at all that you or someone you know might have Lyme disease. Then, in future articles, we are going to dive into the broad range of testing available to help diagnose early and late disease.
This article was originally published on Substack by Dr. Richard Horowitz.
Dr. Richard Horowitz has treated 13,000 Lyme and tick-borne disease patients over the last 40 years and is the best-selling author of How Can I Get Better? and Why Can’t I Get Better? You can subscribe to read more of his work on Substack or join his Lyme-based newsletter for regular insights, tips, and advice.
How Red Light Therapy Benefits Neuropathy, Myopathy and More
Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola
November 18, 2024
Story At-A Glance
Photobiomodulation, using specific wavelengths of red and near-infrared light, shows promise in treating neuropathy, myopathy and myopia by reducing inflammation, improving cellular function and slowing eye elongation
Red light therapy has demonstrated effectiveness in slowing myopia progression in children, with studies showing reduced axial eye elongation and improved vision compared to conventional treatments
Photobiomodulation therapy alleviates neuropathic pain by boosting mitochondrial function and reducing oxidative stress. It’s particularly effective when combined with other treatments like exercise or electrical stimulation
The optical window for light therapy ranges from 600 to 900 nanometers, with nearinfrared light (around 800 to 810 nm) being especially beneficial for deep tissue penetration and mitochondrial health
Red and near-infrared light exposure stimulates ATP and melatonin production in mitochondria, improving overall health. A general dosage guideline is 25 joules, typically achieved through 20-minute sessions
Red light therapy, also known as low-level light therapy (LLLT) or photobiomodulation, is a non-invasive treatment that uses specific wavelengths of red and near-infrared light to stimulate cellular function. This therapy has gained attention for its ability to promote healing, reduce inflammation and alleviate pain in various conditions.
The benefits of red-light therapy extend to several areas of health. For neuropathy, it helps reduce pain and improve nerve function by increasing blood flow and reducing inflammation. In cases of myopathy, red light therapy shows promise in enhancing muscle recovery and reducing muscle fatigue. Additionally, research suggests it may have positive effects on skin health, myopia, cognitive function and more.
Low-Level Red-Light Therapy: A Promising Approach for Myopia
Myopia, commonly known as nearsightedness, is becoming increasingly prevalent worldwide, especially among children. A study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) highlights the alarming rise in myopia rates (1). According to the research, the global prevalence of myopia has steadily increased from 24.32% in 1990 to 35.81% in 2023. Even more concerning, projections suggest this number could reach 39.80% by 2050.
This trend is particularly pronounced in certain demographics. East Asian populations show a higher prevalence at 35.22%, while urban areas see rates of 28.55%. Adolescents are especially affected, with a staggering 47% prevalence rate. These statistics underscore the urgent need for effective interventions to manage and prevent myopia progression in children. This is where innovative approaches like low-level red light therapy come into play.
Low-level red-light therapy (LLRL) offers a gentle approach that may be particularly suitable for children. A meta-analysis of several studies, published in Clinics and involving 685 patients with a mean age of 9.7 years, found that LLRL therapy was associated with better outcomes in two key measures of myopia progression: spherical equivalent refraction (SER) and axial length (AL) change (2).
Compared to control groups, children receiving LLRL therapy showed a mean difference of 0.58 diopters in SER change and -0.33 mm in AL change. These numbers might seem small, but in the context of myopia progression, they represent significant improvements that could make a substantial difference in long-term eye health.
A comprehensive review of multiple studies also found that red light therapy, using wavelengths between 635 to 650 nanometers (nm) — a unit of measurement used to describe wavelengths of light — effectively reduces axial elongation of the eye and slows the increase in myopic spherical equivalent refraction, suggesting the nearsightedness is progressing more slowly (3).
What’s particularly exciting is that these benefits were observed in treatments ranging from just four weeks up to 24 months.
A Bright Solution for the Growing Problem of Myopia
Additional studies have found that repeated low-level red light (RLRL) therapy significantly slows down the elongation of the eye, which causes myopia, and improves vision compared to just wearing glasses(4). The treatment is simple: children look into a red-light device for three minutes, twice a day, five days a week. It’s easy to do at home, and parents monitor their child’s progress through an app.
Best of all, it doesn’t have the side effects associated with other myopia treatments like atropine eye drops or orthokeratology lenses. The secret to red light’s profound effects on vision lies in how it interacts with your eyes at a cellular level.
Red-light therapy works by stimulating the production of dopamine in your retina, which acts as a “stop signal” for eye growth. It also increases blood flow to the choroid, the layer of blood vessels that nourishes your retina (5). A thicker choroid is associated with better eye health and less myopia progression.
Additionally, red light therapy reduces oxidative stress and inflammation in the eye, both of which are thought to play a role in myopia progression. By addressing these underlying factors, red light therapy doesn’t just mask the symptoms of myopia — it helps to slow down or even halt its progression. This is a crucial difference from conventional treatments that only correct vision without addressing the underlying cause of myopia.
In several clinical trials, children who received red light therapy showed significantly less myopia progression than those who only wore glasses. On average, children treated with red light L had about 0.3 millimeters less eye elongation after 12 months compared to those who only wore glasses (6).
Importantly, these studies found no serious side effects from the RLRL treatment. This safety profile, combined with its effectiveness, makes RLRL therapy an attractive option for parents concerned about their child’s worsening myopia.
Photobiomodulation Offers Hope for Neuropathy Sufferers
If you’re struggling with neuropathy, photobiomodulation (PBM) therapy, which refers to the therapeutic use of specific wavelengths of light, including red and near-infrared light, to stimulate biological processes in cells, may provide relief.
Recent research has shown that PBM is particularly effective when combined with other therapies, offering a powerful tool in managing neuropathic pain. The therapy works by boosting mitochondrial function, improving adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthesis and reducing oxidative stress and inflammation.
These effects are especially beneficial for those dealing with peripheral neuropathy, where nerve damage causes pain, numbness and tingling sensations. Studies have demonstrated that PBM therapy helps alleviate these symptoms, offering you a drugfree alternative or complement to conventional treatments. The wavelengths used in PBM therapy, typically ranging from red to near-infrared light, target the affected nerves and promote healing at a cellular level (8).
Integrating PBM with treatments like exercise or ultrasound therapy yields superior results compared to using these therapies alone. For instance, combining PBM with transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) has been found to significantly reduce pain scores and improve nerve function in carpal tunnel syndrome, a common form of neuropathy (9).
Another study revealed that using PBM alongside wrist splinting led to reduced pain, enhanced hand grip strength and improved functional status in carpal tunnel patients (10). These combination therapies work synergistically to promote healing and restore function.
Beyond Neuropathy: PBM’s Wide-Ranging Benefits for Neurological Health
While neuropathy relief is a significant benefit of PBM therapy, its potential extends far beyond peripheral nerve issues. Research has shown promising results in various neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. For instance, PBM has demonstrated positive effects in managing symptoms of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s (11).
When combined with exercise, PBM therapy has shown promise in slowing disease progression and improving motor function in these conditions. In regard to mental health, PBM reduces anxiety and depressive behaviors when used alongside conventional treatments or environmental enrichment strategies (12).
For stroke patients, combining PBM with other therapies like neuromuscular electrical stimulation led to improvements in cognitive function and mobility (13). This suggests PBM could be a valuable addition to your treatment plan if you’re dealing with a range of neurological issues, not just neuropathy.
PBM Is a Powerful Health Optimization Tool
Indeed, PBM stands out as one of the most powerful health optimization tools available through modern technology. It’s crucial to understand a fundamental truth about human biology: your body requires regular exposure to red and infrared radiation, ideally on a daily basis. Nature designed us to receive this through sunlight on exposed skin, but modern lifestyles and seasonal changes often make this challenging.
Far infrared saunas offer an excellent alternative, providing both the necessary infrared radiation and valuable detoxification benefits. However, don’t make the mistake of thinking this replaces your need for movement. Daily walking, targeting 8,000 to 10,000 steps, remains essential for optimal health. If you’ve been free from vegetable oils for at least six months, performing these walks with minimal clothing around solar noon amplifies the benefits tremendously.
During winter months or poor weather, combining regular walking with infrared sauna sessions ensures you meet your body’s daily infrared requirements.
While saunas and sunshine provide invaluable full-body exposure to infrared radiation, PBM devices offer unique advantages for targeting specific areas needing therapeutic attention. This targeted approach proves particularly valuable when dealing with injuries or requiring focused treatment. The beauty of PBM lies in its precision — delivering optimal wavelengths at the therapeutic energy range where they are needed.
I’m particularly excited to share that we’re in the final stages of developing what I believe will be one of the world’s finest PBM devices, scheduled for launch in 2025. This device will incorporate cutting-edge technology while addressing the limitations of current devices on the market. Our focus has been on creating a tool that delivers precise, therapeutic wavelengths while maintaining the highest standards of safety and effectiveness.
Understanding the Optical Window
More than half the wavelengths that come from the sun — 53% — are red, near-, mid- and far-infrared. Each of these wavelengths has important health benefits. Solar rays can be divided into three categories:
Ultraviolet (UVA, UVB and UVC), which account for 7% of the solar spectrum
Visible light (violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, red), ranging from 400 to 700 nanometers, which account for 39% of the spectrum
Invisible infrared (near-, mid- and far-infrared) light, ranging from 700 to 10,000 nanometers, which account for 54% of the spectrum
There’s a term in biophysics called the optical window, which ranges from approximately 600 nanometers to 1,100 nanometers; 600 nanometers is red-orange. Around 700 nanometers you get into near-infrared, which becomes invisible and tops out roughly at 1,500 nanometers.
The ideal optical window is about halfway through the near-infrared range, between 600 to 900 nanometers. Within this optical window, the wavelengths are long enough to penetrate into the body and reach deep into the tissues, but they’re not readily absorbed by hemoglobin, melanin and water.
Below 600 nanometers, the rays don’t penetrate very deep, and what does get into the body gets absorbed by hemoglobin and melanin. The optical window sweet spot is around 800 to 810 nanometers, which is classic near-infrared.
Near-Infrared Light Is Also Beneficial
One of the primary mechanisms behind the benefits of infrared exposure is the increase in ATP production in your mitochondria. Any cell that has mitochondria benefits from exposure to red and near-infrared light.
Another fantastic benefit of near-infrared exposure is melatonin production — 95% of melatonin is produced in your mitochondria in response to near-infrared light. The melatonin released by your pineal gland accounts for just 5% of the melatonin in your body.
Mitochondria are tiny organelles found in most of your cells responsible for cellular energy production, and mitochondrial dysfunction is a root cause of most chronic disease. Melatonin, meanwhile, is a very powerful antioxidant that reduces oxidative stress in your mitochondria. By mopping up free radicals created through normal cellular metabolism, melatonin reduces damage right where it’s needed the most — in the mitochondria — and helps them work optimally.
Melatonin also helps increase glutathione, which is a major detoxification agent. Importantly, none of the oral melatonin you take will ever make its way into your mitochondria. Oral melatonin helps regulate sleep, when taken at the appropriate time (in the evening, shortly before bed), but it will not do anything for the oxidative stress in your mitochondria. The only thing that will trigger that is near-infrared light on your bare skin.
In addition to increasing energy and melatonin production, other benefits of nearinfrared exposure include triggering conversion of retinol (vitamin A) into retinoids, which your body needs for vitamin D production and the hemoglobin process, and boosting nitric oxide (NO) release, which increases blood circulation and vasodilation.
Dosing Suggestions
Spending time outdoors provides natural near-infrared exposure, but many people don’t get outside on a regular basis. Red and near-infrared therapy has also been shown to improve athletic performance and recovery, and for this effect, a PBM device is far more effective than sunshine, as the wavelengths are more targeted. This is also the case for targeting health conditions like myopathy and neuropathy.
For general health, you’re looking for the Goldilocks amount of red, near- and infrared light. With too little, you don’t get a biological effect. With too much, you get into an inhibitory zone. So, what’s an ideal dose, in terms of an individual session? Most of the scientific literature uses anywhere from 5 joules to 50 joules. (Joule is a measurement of the energy delivered to the body in watts per second.)
As a general guidance, get as much full-spectrum sunlight from the outdoors as you can, and then use a dose of 25 joules, and take a day off every now and then. With a large panel, that would equate to 10 minutes on the front and 10 minutes on the back, for a total of 20 minutes.
There are no hard rules to go by when it comes to selecting a device, but in general, red is not going to penetrate as deep, and is typically more for skin disorders. Near-infrared will penetrate deeper, which is ideal for muscle recovery and cognitive enhancement. A mixed device gives you the best of both worlds, but you’ll need to spend about 50% more time using it, compared to a pure near-infrared device.
The effectiveness of PBM varies depending on factors such as wavelength, power density and treatment duration. When considering PBM for your neuropathy or other health concerns, consult with a health care provider experienced in this therapy. They can help determine the most appropriate parameters for your specific condition and guide you on how to integrate PBM for the best results.
As you explore PBM as a treatment option, keep in mind that it’s typically most effective as part of a comprehensive approach to your health. Combining PBM with lifestyle modifications, such as a balanced diet and regular exercise, may enhance its benefits and your overall health.
Sources and References
British Journal of Ophthalmology September 24, 2024
Clinics (Sao Paulo). 2024 May 9;79:100375 1 2
Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2024 Aug 21;13(8):31
5. 6 BMC Ophthalmol. 2024 Feb 20;24:78; 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. BMC Neurol. 2024 Mar 19;24:101
Natural light is an essential nutrient many of us do not have enough of within our bodies. Because of this, when ultraviolet light is added to the bloodstream, phenomenal health benefits emerge.
Once ultraviolet blood irradiation (UVBI) was discovered in the 1930s, it produced miraculous results for patients on the verge of death and was quickly adopted by hospitals throughout America. There, it demonstrated remarkable efficacy for a wide range of diseases, and the doctors who pioneered its use compiled a large body of research.
To neutralize this competition, the American Medical Association published a small doctored study that “debunked” UVBI, and before long it became a forgotten side of medicine. The Russians and Germans however recognized the value of it, and for decades have produced research showing UBVI’s remarkable utility for a variety of challenging medical conditions both within and outside the hospital. However, in America, UVBI is primarily used by integrative practitioners who need effective tools to treat complex illnesses (e.g., Lyme disease, Chronic fatigue syndrome, spike protein injuries, or migraine disorders).
In this article we will review the hundreds of studies showing UVBI’s utility for a wide range of medical conditions (e.g., cardiovascular diseases, infertility, preventing miscarriages, many autoimmune disorders, preventing complications from surgery, and treating a myriad of challenging bacterial and viral infections), explain how UVBI works, and provide the resources for those wishing to best utilize this therapy.
In this publication, I have attempted to make the case that we are routinely denied vital knowledge, treatment, and care, in order to protect the interests of the medical industrial complex (as you can only sell costly but abysmal therapeutics to people if no alternatives exist). As that is a rather extreme allegation to make, I’ve tried to show piece by piece how this is indeed the case. For example:
I’ve highlighted how many unsafe and ineffective pharmaceuticals make it to market (and sometimes are even mandated) because the panels that approved them were stacked with people taking money from the manufacturer (which I recently argued was a tactic Anthony Fauci weaponized against America).
I’ve discussed how in the early 1900s, the American Medical Association was taken over by a group of unscrupulous businessmen who decided to fund the association by unconditionally promoting anything they were paid to (which amongst other things is why there were so many AMA advertisements of doctors promoting smoking) while simultaneously using the government to outlaw each competing therapy that refused to sell out to them.
I’ve shown how American society has been methodically separated from the fundamental requirements for good health (e.g., sleep or sunlight), how damaging losing each of those is, and just how far the marketing industry often goes to ensure we never reclaim those basic requirements for health.
Assuming the first three are indeed true, it then suggests that a variety of remarkable medical innovations exist that have been buried. In this article, I will discuss one of those, ultraviolet blood irradiation (UVBI), both because there is a vast body of evidence for its use and because, unlike many of the other lost medical technologies, it’s still relatively accessible.
The Importance of Sunlight
A widely held view now exists that sunlight (particularly its ultraviolet component) is dangerous and something we must avoid and shield ourselves from. In a recent article, I showed how this came from a 1980s public relations campaign that the struggling dermatology profession used to rebrand themselves as cancer fighters.Treating skin cancer (by cutting it out) is both easy and incredibly lucrative, hence making dermatology the most desired specialty in medicine.
Note: to illustrate the importance of sunlight, a 20 year prospective study of 29,518 Swedish women found that those who avoided sunlight were 130% more likely to die than women who had regular sunlight exposure, and much more likely to develop a variety of medical conditions (e.g., they were twice as likely to get cancer).
In the first half of this series (which provides critical context for this article), I thus attempted to shine a light on the critical benefits we receive from sunlight, how many different illnesses result from artificial lighting and lack of sunlight, and that the same changes observed in plants and animals from unhealthy lighting are also observed in humans. Some of the key points I covered there included:
•Unhealthy light causes and exacerbates a wide range of cancers.
•Unhealthy light significantly increases the risk of a variety of infections (particularly within livestock).
•Unhealthy light contributes to a variety of behavioral disorders (e.g., ADHD or animals attacking each other).
•Healthy lighting significantly increases the health, fertility, and productivity of domesticated animals.
•The normal growth cycle of many plants and animals is dependent upon healthy light from the environment. Likewise, the circadian rhythm (which regulates sleep and healing) is heavily disrupted by unnatural lighting.
•Many organisms are extraordinarily sensitive to unnatural lighting. Additionally, many biological structures are highly sensitive to specific wavelengths of light, which is problematic because artificial lighting typically has a few narrow bands of light, rather than a complete spectrum.
•Light plays a critical role in generating circulation throughout the body and protecting the blood vessels from damage.
•Ultraviolet light is particularly critical for health. In turn, the most dramatic benefits of using light therapies are seen when appropriate amounts of UV light are administered to the body.
•Glass blocks UV light, so since much of the sunlight we are exposed to is filtered through glass, modern life prevents us from having access to that light, and hence there is a widespread deficiency of UV light in our society.
•Since the skin has difficulty absorbing UV light, we instead receive much of the light which enters our body through the eyes. In turn, when individuals where glasses that block sunlight from entering their eyes, a wide variety of health problems can ensue that resolve once the glasses are addressed.
The major challenge with light therapies is getting the light inside the body. Fortunately, methods have been developed to do just that, and for over a century, they have produced truly remarkable results.
Note: conversely, since sunlight is “free” and has no lobbyists to promote it, there was little incentive not to make it a scapegoat for every health problem in America.
Before long, the medical field concluded part of the value of sunlight was that the ultraviolet within it was a sterilizing agent, and a variety of UV devices were developed to sterilize things. For example, one of the most effective ways to prevent people from catching COVID-19 indoors was to expose the air to UV light and likewise, one of the promising approaches which was explored for treating COVID-19 was to safely put UV light inside the respiratory tract to sterilize the viral particles there (which was what Trump was actually describing during his infamous remark about putting disinfectants inside the body).
Since blood borne infections (septicemia) were a major problem, in 1927, Emmett K. Knott (who was not a doctor) decided to try sterilizing the blood by extracting it, exposing it to UV light, and then returning it to the body. Initially, when tried doing this (by infecting dogs with a lethal bacteria), he found that while the treated dogs (unlike the untreated dogs) did not have the bacteria in the blood at their time of death, they still died after about a week (from a physiologic depression and respiratory slow down).
Eventually, in 1928 an accident happened and Knott dramatically under-dosed a septic dog (he’d been irradiating their entire blood volume), after which the dog had a dramatic recovery—leading Knott to realize only a small amount of the blood should be irradiated for the treatment to work. Shortly after, Knott received a request from a doctor (and friend) whose sister was on the verge of dying from septicemia (due to an abortion) for blood irradiation. Knott consented because her infection was the same as the bacteria he’d infected the dogs with, the UVBI worked, and the woman had a complete recovery.
For the next 5 years, Knott then refined his method but did not try it on any human beings, likely due to the difficulty of finding a doctor willing to try an unorthodox therapy and the economy being in a tailspin (due to the Great Depression). Eventually, in 1933, another Seattle doctor with a septic patient on the verge of death reached out to Knott, and again UVBI resulted in a dramatic recovery.
Knott then began traveling the country with his massive machine to promote the therapy, and beginning in 1937, successfully convinced doctors at hospitals around the country (who were highly skeptical of “quacks promoting miracle cures”) to use UVBI. As the therapy, proved itself, more adopted it, and by the 1940s, a few pioneering physicians who tested it on hundreds of patients found UVBI consistently treated a wide range of conditions such as sepsis, pneumonia (including viral pneumonias—an area which conventional medicine still struggles with), kidney disorders (e.g. nephritis), asthma, polio, botulism, rheumatic fever, and viral hepatitis. (See link for article)
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**Comment**
Once again we owe A Midwestern Doctor a debt of gratitude for underscoring the importance of LIGHT for health.
Years ago my amazing holistic doctor (RIP) introduced me to the work of photobiologist John Ott and his work experimenting with light. This information changed me fundamentally and I’ve never looked at light the same.
Finding healing after four decades of Lyme-related misery
By Christian Scarborough
Nov. 5, 2024
I grew up on a little farm in Northern Virginia, just outside Washington DC, in what was then a very rural, middle-class community. That part of Fairfax County is now one of the wealthiest in the nation.
In addition to being around livestock, grass fields and woodlands, my brothers and I liked to hike, camp, hunt and fish. In Virginia, that meant encountering ticks! We routinely pulled them off our bodies, thinking nothing of it. We also dealt with plenty of fleas from barn cats and house dogs.
As a teenager, I began experiencing severe pain in my hands and other joints. An orthopedic surgeon prescribed me the first NSAID – Clinoril – which was later pulled due to its dangerous side effects. He said he felt strange giving a 16-year-old arthritis medication, but that I clearly had it systemically. This was also around the time I started struggling with anger issues, depression and anxiety. I was given prescription sleeping medication by an internist.
I have always been an adventure athlete and health/fitness geek, which as it turns out has saved me many times. People look at me and say you look amazing at 62, but they have no idea of the battle I’m fighting and why so many health issues I’ve had most of my life now make sense.
Severe GI issues
It all came to a head in May 2023, when I began to have severe GI issues and lost 27 pounds. After eight months and several false diagnoses ranging from pancreatic cancer to SIBO, the top GI practice in Austin punted. They said, “You have irritable bowel syndrome. Don’t eat anything and take these horrible meds forever.”
Well, the meds were awful. My gut would spasm so violently that it tore up my insides, but the antispasmodic they gave me had terrible side-effects, too. Another medication swung things to the opposite extreme, leaving me constantly balancing between diarrhea and constipation. And along with this I had severe shin and foot pain at night, no energy, blurry vision, an overall feeling I was falling apart.
A new doctor
I finally went to an integrative physician who specializes in treating complicated illnesses. Unlike other doctors, she spent close to two hours with me, asking detailed questions about my medical history. I told her everything.
Even before I had the very expensive, cash-only blood tests, she said, “I’d bet my medical license that you have Lyme.” And boy was she right! It turns out I also have Babesia and Bartonella.
The first thing she did was address my severe GI pain, spasms and diarrhea – and in a way not one GI doctor had ever suggested. She put me on a nightly microdose of naltrexone, and within a week I was much better. At normal doses, naltrexone is used to treat opiate addicts and alcoholics, but you have to think outside the box in order to effectively treat Lyme.
As anyone who is being comprehensively treated for chronic Lyme disease will tell you – treatments aren’t fast, easy, painless or cheap. The months of oral antibiotics made my already fragile gut worse. Then, they switched me to six weeks of intramuscular Rocephin shots, four days a week rotating between my glutes and thighs. It was as brutal as it gets.
Rocephin is so painful it’s mixed with straight lidocaine, and it still feels like someone hit you with a hammer. I am a tough man. But those shots made me want to cry. The volume is so large it has to be split into two syringes of material with the viscosity of motor oil. I sit in an infusion center every week surrounded by very sick people, many with Lyme, mold, cancer or a combination.
Sleeping through the night
I have been getting weekly procaine IVs with vitamin B12. The results have been amazing! I am sleeping through the night for the first time I can remember – albeit I am still taking Clonazepam before bed. And I find myself in a calmer, more relaxed state in general.
Procaine helps reset the central nervous system. In combination with the daily microdose of ketamine I take per my psychiatrist, it has greatly improved my quality of life and my outlook on fighting Lyme. And at least now I can make sense of why I’ve had three total joint replacements, a foot of colon removed, shin pains, foot tumors, insomnia, anxiety, overall fatigue and brain fog, etc.
I am convinced there are many people like me who are suffering from vector-borne illness and have tried everything with no results. They need to know there is hope.
This week the 25th annual conference of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society is being held in San Antonio, Texas, and my doctor is one of the featured speakers. I hope healthcare professionals in the audience listen and learn from her.
DMSO can often significantly improve one’s vision, treat conditions such as macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa, and at times allow blind individuals to regain their sight. It is also often very helpful for sore and strained eyes and relieves excessive irritation and inflammation, along with many other eye conditions (e.g., cataracts).
DMSO frequently treats a variety of ear conditions such as tinnitus, hearing loss, airplane ear, and a variety of infections inside the ear (e.g., otitis media).
DMSO often is very helpful for sinusitis and a variety of infections of the nose and throat. Likewise, it is extremely helpful in dentistry, both for cleaning the mouth (e.g., by preventing bleeding gums), and by allowing the mouth to rapidly heal after dental surgeries.
In this article, I will review the evidence supporting each of those uses, along with the data demonstrating the safety of these methods of DMSO administration and instructions on how to do them.
DMSO is a phenomenally effective medicine that can treat a wide variety of common, debilitating, or incurable conditions, which allowed it to rapidly take the country by storm (as both the public and the medical community saw its results and rapidly embraced it). Unfortunately, the widespread enthusiasm behind something that completely changed medicine and allowed people to care for themselves independently was unacceptable to the FDA. For the next two decades, the agency went to incredible lengths to suppress it (e.g., it actively defied Congress for over 16 years) and eventually made DMSO become a Forgotten Side of Medicine.
Note: extensive data shows that DMSO is a very safe substance with negligible toxicity.
In turn, one of the truly ironic things about this was that many of those who attacked DMSO later needed it. For example, the pioneer of DMSO discusses how Former President Lyndon Johnson sought his help in 1971 —after his FDA commissioner had just spent almost three years weaponizing the FDA against anyone wishing to use DMSO (which in turn set the stage for many of the police-state tactics the FDA would illegally use against natural medicine in the decades to come).
Note: in the previous article I erroneously stated this conversation took place in 1981 not 1971 (at which point LBJ was deceased).
I have now received hundreds of unbelievable reports from readers (which can be read here) of what DMSO did for them—many of which are almost identical to what people reported fifty years ago before the FDA wiped DMSO off the map.
For context, the majority of those reports were for the most common uses of DMSO, such as chronic pain, acute injuries, and arthritis (discussed further here). However, as discussed here, DMSO is also immensely valuable for a variety of circulatory and neurological disorders (e.g., varicose veins, hemorrhoids, Down Syndrome, and Parkinson’s)—all of which readers here reported significant improvement from. Likewise, (as discussed here) DMSO also helps various autoimmune conditions.
In this article, I will focus on another group of conditions DMSO was found to be extraordinarily effective—those within the head.
Note: headaches were covered in a previous article and will not be discussed here. (See link for article)
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**Comment**
Another very in depth article about the power of DMSO to help eye, ear, nose, throat, and dental conditions.
Madison Area Lyme Support Group 