Ozonotherapy and application of ozone as disinfectant

Unquestionable bactericidal activity of ozone has been known for over 100 years. The possibility of artificial production of ozone in the specially constructed generators allows for studying the activity of ozone against microorganisms. Medical application (ozonotherapy) of ozone (gas naturally occurring in nature) is nothing more than one more method of physical therapy. In Poland, ozonotherapy was applied for the first time by professor Hubert Antoszewski, who working in Silesia and being a strong follower of this method, set up the Polish Society of Ozonotherapy (PTOT) located in Katowice. Ozonotherapy is still, despite the appearing increase in the number of major scientific reports about its efficacy, treated as a method of alternative medicine and for this reason it is not refunded by the health systems of many countries. Ozone is toxic to humans and when inhaled, it can cause serious health problems - if its concentration in air exceeds a safe value. Toxicity of ozone depends on its concentration, time of exposure and route of administration. Despite its toxicity, bactericidal, fungicidal and virucidal activity, ozone is used in ozonotherapy in many medical fields, e.g. surgery, dermatology, laryngology, ophthalmology, gynecology and dentistry. Additionally, ozone is also applied for disinfection of water and air, and in food industry. The Department of Antibiotics and Microbiology at the National Medicines Institute in Warsaw, has performed studies concerning antimicrobial activity of ozonized water and oxygen-ozone gas mixture, according to the methodology developed in the relevant European Standards (EN). These studies were intended for evaluation of bactericidal and fungicidal activity of disinfectants and antiseptics. The present state of knowledge, taking into consideration the research related to ozone antimicrobial activity, allows us to treat ozonotherapy as an evidence-based method (EBM). Other applications of this physical method are still disputable despite many studies.