Weekly Health News 06 Leave it for the hair

FACT VS. FICTION
Claim that hydrogen peroxide aids healing fizzles out
July 17, 2007


The claim: It is a staple in medicine cabinets everywhere, a first-line
treatment for the small cuts and scrapes that a hazardous world can inflict
upon our skin. But does hydrogen peroxide really make a difference?



The facts: According to most studies of its effectiveness, not really.
Parents and school nurses might insist otherwise, but researchers have found
that hydrogen peroxide has little ability to reduce bacteria in wounds and
can actually inflame healthy skin cells that surround a cut or a scrape,
increasing the amount of time wounds take to heal.

In a study published in The Journal of Family Practice in 1987, scientists
compared the effects of various topical treatments by taking a group of
volunteers, administering several small blister wounds on each of their
forearms, and then infecting their wounds with bacteria. After applying a
different treatment to each wound, they measured bacterial amounts and rates
of healing. They found that hydrogen peroxide did not inhibit bacterial
growth and that wounds treated with the antibiotic bacitracin healed far
more quickly.

Another study, in The American Journal of Surgery, looked at more than 200
people who had appendectomies and found that hydrogen peroxide did not
reduce the risk of infection at the site of their incisions. But according
to the American Medical Association, hydrogen peroxide does have at least
one benefit: It can help dislodge dirt, debris and dead tissue in some
wounds.



The bottom line: Studies show hydrogen peroxide is not a very effective
treatment for small wounds.




.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Red Clover - Picking
    ... It will kill all the bacteria and molds and make your vegetables and ... Add white or apple cider vinegar and ... cleaning vegetables or fruits, spray them well, first with the vinegar ... and then with the 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide, ...
    (misc.health.alternative)
  • Re: Iodine.
    ... catalase comes in contact with hydrogen peroxide, ... Granulocytes are a category of white blood cells characterized by the presence of granules in their cytoplasm. ... The intra-cellular granules of the human neutrophil have long been recognized for their protein-destroying and bactericidal properties. ... Primary granules contain cationic proteins and defensins that are used to kill bacteria, proteolytic enzymes and cathepsin G to breakdown proteins, lysozyme to break down bacterial cell walls, and *myeloperoxidase* ...
    (alt.support.diabetes)
  • Re: Oxygenated Water
    ... C.H. Physiological and Biochemical Responses to Intravenous Hydrogen Peroxide in Man. ... Ozone and Other Photochemical Oxidants: A Medical and Biologic Review of Environmental Pollutants. ... Majchrowicz, M,A. Ozone/Oxygen- Treatment Education Program-AIDS Project. ... Hooker, M.H. and Gazzaard, B.G. Ozone treated blood in the treatment of HIV infection. ...
    (misc.health.alternative)
  • Re: effectiveness of sodium bicarbonate gargle
    ... > Hydrogen peroxide solution is much more effective. ... It actually kills bacteria. ... > rinse out with an ounce of hydrogen peroxide. ... The oral bugs will release and be rinsed down the drain. ...
    (sci.med.dentistry)
  • Re: Kathleen, since youre from CT, what is your take on this account?
    ... Only a treatment with Colloidal Silver, Hydrogen Peroxide, Salt, ...
    (sci.med.diseases.lyme)