Oxygen TherapyOxygen therapy has quickly become one of the most controversial, yet effective, forms of alternative medicine to enter the medical spotlight as the turn of the millennium approaches. It has many potential uses, from relieving headaches to a possible cure for AIDS and cancer, and the treatments appear simple and inexpensive. However, oxygen therapy remains an unclear area in the medical community. Despite all the claims that have been made, little evidence has been presented to the public to confirm or deny the validity of these reports. It will be shown, however, that like many other scientific claims, it is easy to separate fact from fiction. Many proponents of oxygen therapy believe its potential uses are limitless. This is because: For many years, health sciences have sought to identify the primary physical cause of all disease, as well as the panacea that this basic principle could provide. Today both have been found, but their extreme simplicity makes them difficult to accept at first, because it seems that if it were that simple we would have had to use them from the beginning. This fundamental cause of all disease, according to Forest, is the lack of oxygen. This is made evident by the fact that the body is "composed mainly of water, which contains eight-ninths of oxygen", and that "only oxygen is in such constant demand that its absence results in death within minutes" ( http://www.oxytherapy.com/oxyfiles/oxy00009.html). The reasoning behind the particular methods of O2 therapy: Oxidative Therapy: It should be understood that oxygen therapy can be administered in many forms, but the basis behind the treatments is essentially the same. For example, hydrogen peroxide...... middle of paper ....... (1975). Hyperbaric hydrogen therapy: a possible treatment for cancer. Science, 190, 152-154. Tarpy, S.P., Farber, H.W. (1994). Chronic lung disease: when to prescribe home oxygen. Geriatrics, 49, 27-28, 31-33. Teicher, B.A. & Rose, C.M. (1984). Perfluorochemical oxygen-carrying emulsion as an adjuvant to radiotherapy in mice. Cancer Research, 44, 4285-4288. Tibbles, P. & Edelsberg, J. S. (1996). Hyperbaric oxygen therapy. The New England Journal of Medicine, 334, 1642-1648. Vassa, N., Twardowski, ZJ and Campbell, J. (1994). Hyperbaric oxygen therapy in skin necrosis induced by calciphylaxis in a patient on peritoneal dialysis. American Journal of Kidney Diseases, 23, 878-881. Weitzenblum, E., Kessler, R., Oswald, M. and Fraisse, P. (1994). Medical treatment of pulmonary hypertension in chronic lung diseases. European Respiratory Journal, 7, 148-152.