I Had a Dream

The other day I told Li over at Tao Talk about my dream and she felt that I had a moral obligation to tell somebody else about it, just in case it could save some lives.  In my dream I saw a ward of sick Covid-19 patients all hooked up to ventilators, which was seen as the final measure of care for these patients.  Then I thought that maybe all of these people could be saved if they were given O3 ozone to kill the coronavirus that they were infected with.

My CPAP cleaner uses activated oxygen O3 (ozone) a naturally occurring gas, that is supposed to be extremely safe and it kills 99.9% of bacteria, germs, and other pathogens and it has been used to purify water since the 1800s.  In my dream it was added to the ventilators of the people that were being treated for Covid-19 and they all recovered after a few treatments.  Ozone generators are able to make ozone from normal air and they are normally used as room disinfectants.  Ozone is at least ten times stronger than chlorine as a disinfectant.

I am not a medical professional and I would never suggest that anyone should inhale ozone, or drink Clorox, or inject Lysol, especially since ozone is dangerous to humans.  It can destroy your cells lining in your mouth, nasal pathways and be harmful to your lungs.  It has the ability to cause cell mutations and cause cancer.  When inhaled, ozone can damage the lungs.  Relatively low amounts can cause chest pain, coughing, shortness of breath and throat irritation.  Ozone may also worsen chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma and compromise the ability of the body to fight respiratory infections.

However, ozone gas is a remarkably versatile molecule.  The medical and disinfecting uses of ozone are vast and still being studied today.  Ozone has been particularly helpful in treating Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA).  These bacteria can cause infections across the body, and it is referred to as a “superbug”, because it is highly resistant to most antibiotics.  Ozone breaks down the cell walls of the bacteria, destroying it when other treatments fail.  Ozone not only destroys the bacterial cell, but it does it without leaving a residual effect after its oxidative reaction.  Ozone gas has been proven to kill the SARS coronavirus and since the structure of the new Covid-19 coronavirus is almost identical to that of the SARS coronavirus, it is relatively safe to think that it will also work on this new coronavirus.

The antipathogenic effects of ozone have been substantiated for several decades.  Its killing action upon bacteria, viruses, fungi, and in many species of protozoa, serve as the basis for its increasing use in disinfecting municipal water supplies in cities worldwide.  Typically, viruses are small, independent particles, built of crystals and macromolecules.  Unlike bacteria, they multiply only within the host cell.  Ozone destroys viruses by diffusing through the protein coat into the nucleic acid core, resulting in damage of the viral RNA.  At higher concentrations, ozone destroys the capsid or exterior protein shell by oxidation.

The chemical formula of ozone is O3.  It consists of 3 oxygen atoms and is very reactive.  Two atoms of oxygen form the basic oxygen molecule, becoming the oxygen that we breathe which is essential to life.  The third oxygen atom can detach from the ozone molecule, and re-attach to molecules of other substances, thereby altering their chemical composition.  It is this ability to react with other substances undergoing chemical reactions, which makes it an effective cleaning agent.  When it comes to disinfecting, the oxidation reaction targets microorganisms and destroys them on contact.

We typically think of ozone as a molecule in the ozone layer called the stratosphere.  The formation of ozone occurs when sunlight breaks apart an oxygen molecule (O2).  These two oxygen atoms then collide with another oxygen atom to form ozone.   It actually forms only 0.000004% of the earth’s atmosphere but it protects the planet from harmful sunlight, by filtering out harmful UVB radiation.  This radiation directly harms skin and causes skin cancer and cataracts.  Ozone at ground levels acts as an air pollutant.  It forms smog and causes breathing issues and other respiratory ailments.

Ozone can also be artificially created by using a high voltage electric current which acts as sunlight to convert oxygen gas to ozone.  Ozone generators are just a few of the machines that generate ozone.  These machines can be used as an air and water purifier by destroying bacteria and other toxins.  Ozone generators that are sold as air cleaners intentionally produce the gas ozone.  Often the vendors of ozone generators make statements and distribute material that lead the public to believe that these devices are always safe and effective in controlling indoor air pollution.  For almost a century, health professionals have refuted these claims.

In other countries is medical grade oxygen ozone therapy is being used to treat the coronavirus.  This is something very unique whereby a certain amount of blood is removed from the patient’s arm, then oxygen is introduced to the blood in an IV bag and then the blood is re-infused into the patient’s arm.  Sometimes they add ultraviolet light to the treatment plan as well.  This can help kill viruses and bacteria.  Studies being done now on these treatments.  In the US, a federal judge barred a Texas company from making claims that this treatment could be used as a cure for the coronavirus.

As far as my dream goes from what I learned today, ozone added to ventilators will most likely kill the people that are attached to them, but as Li said I had a moral obligation to do some research on this, just in case it turned out to be the cure that we are all looking for.  It is not my duty to save the world, but it never hurts to discuss your dreams with others.  Life goes on and today is like any other day and as I look at the sinking moon, I realize that even a rose has thorns.

Written for Go Dog Go Devereaux Frazier and Beth Amanda’s Tuesday Writing Prompt Challenge – Even a rose has thorns, for May Writing Prompts – Sinking moon and for Linda G. Hill Life in progress What Day is it Anyway? Sunday, May 10th, 2020.