Hydrogen Peroxide
Health Benefits

Hydrogen Peroxide: Uses, Dosage, and Safety Guide

The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Fountain of Youth
Posted by Rhonda (San Antonio, TX) on 03/11/2007
★★★★★

Many years ago I met a man whom I mistook for a high school boy, he was actually in his 40's. He told me about a 6% hydrogen peroxide solution he made by mixing food grade hydrogen peroxide with aloe very gel. He told me how to mix it (I don't remember now) and to rub it onto the entire body (except face) 20 or 30 min before shower, daily. I did this for a while and noticed many improvements in my appearance as well as energy levels, however I got busy with life and forgot after a while. Now I'm told by the local health food store where I once bought it that they no longer sell the food grade hydrogen peroxide because it is illegal now? Is this true or is there still places this food grade peroxide can be purchased?

Gingivitis
Posted by Lucy (Racine, WI) on 01/14/2007
★★★★★

Thanks so much for the suggestions. Me and my husband use 3% h2o2in the ear whenever we feel the onset of a cold or flu. We have not had a cold in two years since using this method. Before my husband would get a flu that would keep him from work for 2-3 days in a week but no more. I had intestinal issues (loose stools). Went to Dr. diagnosed with IBS. Next went to homeopath. took saliva test, had sensitivity to wheat change eating habits improved but still loose stools frequently. This transpired over a year. After finding this site and reading about h2o2 had the courage to try h20s internally. I started with 5 drops in distilled water, the goal was three times a day I usually hit twice a day. By the tenth day my stools were consistently solid and well formed. It has now been over a month since the big improvement for me. Even when I eat wheat I do not get bloated or have the loose stools hardly ever. I still try to stay away from a lot of wheat but I now am the proud producer of solid log like stools!

Toothache and Tooth Abcess
Posted by Brandee (Longwood, FL) on 01/01/2007
★★★★★

Gargling with Hydrogen Peroxide cured my peritonsillar abscess. I would not have believed it if I read it on this site. But, I was facing a very painful procedure to drain a peritonsillar abscess and read on a different site that gargling with hydrogen peroxide sometimes helps. I did two gargles about 2 minutes apart. Less than 10 minutes later I coughed up (I know, GROSS) a whole bunch of blood and puss. Instantly my throat felt better.


Emphysema
Posted by S (Los Angeles, CA) on 11/28/2006
★★★★★

Hydrogen peroxide diluted with water and also the inhaling method cured my emphysema; wow what a difference in an hour and half or so... very chronic for about week, could hardly breath.

Earth Clinic Report
Posted by Baynurse (Sausalito) on 01/27/2017

Maybe she used chlorinated water instead of distilled. Chloride and peroxide are no Bueno! it causes a bad reaction, like bleach n ammonia!


Earth Clinic Report
Posted by Mahatma Muhjesbude (Wisconsin) on 02/18/2018

Straight 35% food grade h202 that you can only get delivered by UPS because it's considered a hazardous oxidizer as in 'rocket fuel' so the post office won't handle it... could kill you if you tried to drink a glass full of it. And would certainly put you in the hospital for a while with a burned throat and who knows what else internal organs?

If you buy a bottle of 35% food grade (the least tainted with other chemical additives made for different industrial uses) if you take a drop right out of the bottle and drop it on the top of your skin on your hand, it will turn white and begin to 'burn' the skin into a blister and then a wound, which will heal cleanly at least.

I believe there are some topical applications, for some kinds of warts or skin diseases/cancers where full 35% concentration is used... but NOT for ingestion.

You take a couple drops of the 35% right out of the bottle and into your glass of purified drinking water, stir it up and that should be a daily o2 bloodstream oxygen maintainer if you use the finger oxygen/pulse meter. Then for sicknesses, you work it up adding a drop a day until you reach about 25 drops which you stay on for a few days and then reverse the sequence cutting back slowly.

By then you should be feeling (they have a clinical name for this) a little tired and maybe flu-like for a few days which will be the dead illness bacteria cells/virus toxins being eliminated and flushed from your system.


Toothache and Tooth Abcess
Posted by Carolyn (Tx) on 01/13/2015
★★★★★

Use only 3%. Dilute by adding 5 tablespoons to 1 quart or 32 oz of distilled water. It works wonders for just about everything that ails you.

It cured my cat with feline aids.


Broad Benefits
Posted by Ricardo (Denver, CO)
★★★★★

I've been using hydrogen peroxide for oral hygiene my entire adult life with no mouth disease, cavities, and sparkling clean teeth. I was concerned because I was feeling a pain in my left ventricle (I think), perhaps from stress and/or lifelong consumption of animal fat although I'm in pretty good shape for 45 yrs old. I felt that 3% store grade was ok and began inhaling it using an old perfume spray bottle. After only one week of therapy, the pain in my heart has gone away, my joints feel better, my muscles aren't sore anymore, and I don't feel like taking a nap during the day.


Warnings
Posted by Susan (USA)

FOOD GRADE WARNINGS:
04/18/2006: John from Sault Ste Marie, MI writes, "I'd be very wary of recommending that anyone use 35% hydrogen peroxide unless they've had HAZMAT training or the equivalent. At that concentration H2O2 is extremely corrosive and causes severe burns; in other words, it's a very hazardous chemical that even professional chemists (and I am one) must handle using appropriate safety equipment (rubber gloves, safety goggles, protective lab coat). I know this from experience because I was badly burned by 35% H2O2 while carrying out chemistry research. It's irresponsible to imply that this stuff is harmless and to recommend it to people who have no experience handling hazardous materials."


04/10/2009: David from Tampa, FL writes, "I have used food grade H2O for years and if you do spill it on yourself just rinse with water for a few minutes - it will turn your skin white and it is temporary and there is no prolonged damage. Yes, you do have to be careful but not afraid."


EARTH CLINIC'S ADDITIONAL WARNING NOTE:
Please be very careful when transporting food grade hydrogen peroxide after the bottle has been opened. Make sure you keep the bottle upright. Once the seal has been removed upon opening, these caps can leak. Food grade will cause the skin to burn and turn white. Yes, we learned the hard way! Luckily, skin will return to normal after 30 minutes or less if you rinse off the peroxide quickly. By the way, the same whitening of skin effect happens when you dip your fingertips in drugstore 3% H202 for a minute or more. It too goes away within 30 minutes...

Warnings
Posted by Maria (London, Uk) on 04/24/2012

I would recommend to take enormous amounts of a wide spectrum of probiotics daily when taking something that kills off bacteria in the gut.

A low gut flora, or an imbalanced gut flora can cause pretty much any health problem you can imagine. I just finished reading a book about it, written by a professor in Immunology at University of Michigan Department of Immunology (top 10). It's called The Probiotic Revolution. Author Dr. Huggnagel. It makes you never want to take antibiotics ever again, unless it's a matter of life and death.

Since hydrogen peroxide kills off your gut flora, it could cause horrific problems, especially if you had a vulnerable gut flora to begin with.

Always take probiotics 2 hours after taking something that kills your intestinal good bacteria.


Warnings
Posted by Swhit (Los Angeles, Ca) on 06/04/2012

To Yannick, This site http://drinkh2o2.com/ has very good info about H202 and will explain what is going on.


H2O2 Side Effects
Posted by Art (California) on 02/18/2023 2891 posts

Diane,

Regarding your question of whether inhalation of hydrogen peroxide(HP) can cause opacities of the lungs, the answer is yes, HP inhalation can cause them as outlined in the following research paper link below. I know it is not a popular opinion on EC and I have not previously brought it up for that reason, but you specifically asked the question and HP is a potent oxidant and when inhaled, it can do damage and much more than just opacities as further described in this 2019 research link about case reports :

https://pesquisa.bvsalud.org/global-literature-on-novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov/resource/pt/covidwho-1277219

Here is a relevant quote :

' Chronic inhalation of hydrogen peroxide is described in case reports as causing interstitial lung disease with radiographic images demonstrating septal line thickening, honeycombing, and traction bronchiectasis with associated ground glass opacification. '

I think it is important not to use too strong of a percent of HP solution and not to do it for too long because of the potent oxidative potential of HP. In the case report described, the patient had only used the HP inhalation for about a week.

Art


Sinus Infection
Posted by Lorel (WA) on 04/10/2022
★★★★★

I caught a sinus infection (stuffy nose was the only symptom) when my husband was in the hospital and so I couldn't visit him. A family friend reminded me of H2o2 that he's been taking for years so I used the recommended dose in the book "the One minute C--e" by Madison Cavanaugh:

Take 35% food-grade H2o2 and dilute it to 3% (one oz of food-grade 35% H2o2 + 11 oz of distilled water = 3% of Food Grade H2o2). Then put the 3% in a spray bottle. Spray into your nose and mouth every 2 hours and when spraying into the mouth breathe in deeply.

My sinus infection and all related symptoms were gone in 48 hours.


Colds and Flu
Posted by Rob (Kentucky) on 04/10/2021

Nebulized Peroxide — Dr. Mercola

Source video: https://vimeo.com/517836362


Molecular Hydrogen
Posted by Bachcole (Colorado Springs, Colorado) on 12/06/2015

I wish that you had a thread about molecular hydrogen.

EC: Here it is!

Once the thread gets more information on it, we can start a new page... For now it's a topic on our Hydrogen Peroxide page.


Allergies
Posted by Joanvirginia (Chantilly, Va) on 11/04/2014
★★★★★

I read somewhere that hydrogen peroxide helps seasonal allergies. When my ears get plugged or my nose gets stuffy in the change of seasons, I put a drop of H2O2 in a glass of water, three times a day. I increase it by a drop until I'm taking 3 drops 3 times a day. It's amazing and prevents me from needing OTC decongestants.

General Feedback
Posted by Mymindisnotme (Spain) on 07/12/2014

I'm taking H2O2 Peroxide 35% Food Grade, 25 drops in juice for 12 days, going into 13. Where I live there is no distilled water.

My problem is that I struggle to keep it in my stomach for the last 5 days, my body...? or my stomach doesn't want it and I spend all day agonising as I think of it and my stomach turns.

I started taking it due to a debilitating allergy that kept me congested 24/7, itchy sticky eyes, constant sneezing, perhaps sinus problem...? Doctors prescriptions didn't work, and they put it all down to hay fever. Since taking the Hydrogen Peroxide, I have noted a slow but definitive improvement, my eyes are not itchy but somehow still irritated, hardly any sneezing, less congested than before.

What can I do? I don't want to stop but this is weighing on me all day long and I feel I can't continue. Any advise will be greatly appreciated.

General Feedback
Posted by S (Australia) on 06/04/2016

@Timh: Suddenly I understand why Copper supplements are illegal in Australia (where politicians and lawmakers aren't too bright), yet zinc supplements can be bought off the shelf.

The soil is so depleted of nutritional value, that people are dropping like flies with all sorts of long term illnesses as they age (which means more profits for drug companies).

This is all big pharma's doing - and I see a day approaching where they will be held accountable, with no way for them to wriggle out of it.


Dilution
Posted by Richard (California) on 02/03/2016
★★★★★

Always use 35% food grade hp which can be bought at a health food store, dilute with 8 oz. of distilled water. start with 3 drops of hp in 8oz. water three times daily. I had copd, emphyzema, and other lung problems, they are all gone my dr says he can't believe it.


Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide Warning
Posted by Scott (Denver, Co) on 08/24/2013
★☆☆☆☆

WARNING!

A few months ago, after much research and hesitation on my part, I decided to begin hydrogen peroxide treatment. I began with inhaling 3% food grade H2O2, as it seemed the least likely to induce any harm. And indeed, I noticed that I was able to breathe more deeply, and had more energy, particularly when ascending stairs or doing cardiovascular exercise. I increased the dose, and saw more pronounced results. (On the negative side, I noticed that my tongue began getting a thick brown coating, which concerned me... but apparently not enough.)

Because I had seen such positive results, I decided to begin ingesting diluted 35% hydrogen peroxide, starting with one drop in a cup of distilled water, 3 times a day. I increased the dose by one drop each time (i.e., 2 drops 3 times a day on the second day, and so forth.)

On the second day, I felt great. But as the days proceeded and I increased the dose, I became more irritable. I simultaneously felt more tired, yet my body felt as though it could not handle the energy I seemed to have. By the sixth day, I was dragging horribly.

Not five minutes after I had my second dose of 6 drops diluted in about 6 oz of distilled water that day, I suffered a grand mal seizure... The eighth one I've ever had, and the first one in eight years. It was very traumatic for me (and my partner, who witnessed it for the first time ever). I am now not driving for 3 months, and my medication has been increased as a precaution.

I spoke with my homeopath about it. Every epileptic patient she has worked with suffered at least one more seizure as a healing crisis before they were healed. (Naturally, we are addressing this. ) My parents believe it is due to the fact that I have gained about 60 pounds since I began this medication. I believe that this seizure was because of the hydrogen peroxide, mainly because stress and exhaustion tend to precede my seizures, and there was too much correlation for the incident to be a coincidence. Still, I honestly believe that all three scenarios are possible, and my hope is that this was indeed a healing crisis.

In retrospect, I should have listened to my body, and kept the dose at a minimum until I felt well enough to increase it. Still, I write this post as a strong warning for anyone who has suffered seizures in the past that they may have another seizure if they take hydrogen peroxide internally. I had great hope for hydrogen peroxide therapy, but despite what many people have said, this is not an entirely safe therapy, and it must be approached with a great deal of caution. If nothing else, I strongly recommend that anyone who takes hydrogen peroxide internally should listen to their body; if you feel worse, at least stay on the same dose until you feel better. Don't hesitate to decrease a dose or discontinue this therapy altogether if you don't feel so good.

How to Purify Peroxide
Posted by Annie (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) on 06/08/2013
★★★★★

I am so grateful to have found this 3% food grade H202. I prayed and prayed for healing and suddenly I came across this valuable piece of info. Before going on H202, my pee stunk like it had garlic or iron in it. The toilet was so smelly even I could not stand the smell. Now after a few days taking the H202, there is no smell at al. I used to suffer from horridly painful cramps in my thigh and calf, now they are a thing to the past. I sleep better and have a bit more pain to clear in my legs, hopefully that too will be gone as the days go by.

I heard that so long as the Hydrogen Peroxide has no stabilisers, you can pour it into a food grade plastic bottle and freeze it. Then when the water in it is frozen, pour the pure liquid, which is 35%, into a smaller containers and keep it frozen. Just take out enough and put that amount into a smaller bottle with a dropper in the fridge. Replenishing it as you use it up. Hope that helps.

Careful, this pure form will and can burn your skin on contact.

Annie Low

Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide Dosage
Posted by Dcgirl (Topsham, Me Usa) on 06/03/2013

I bought the cure off of a site and the method of administration; use ONLY food grade 35% H202 diluted for all steps to only 8 oz (1 cup) of Distilled water, DO NOT use tap water (the metals in tap water do not mix well! ) First day: 3 drops, 3 times a day
second day: 4 drops, 3 times a day
Third day: 5 drops, 3 times a day
Fourth day: 6 drops, 3 times a day
Fifth day: 7 drops, 3 times a day
Sixth day: 8 drops, 3 times a day
Seventh day: 9 drops, 3 times a day
Eighth day: 10 drops, 3 times a day
Ninth day: 12 drops, 3 times a day
Tenth day: 14 drops, 3 times a day
Eleventh day: 16 drops, 3 times a day
Twelfth day: 18 drops, 3 times a day
Thirteenth day: 20 drops, 3 times a day
Fourteenth day: 22 drops, 3 times a day
Fifteenth day: 24 drops, 3 times a day
Sixteenth day: 25 drops, 3 times a day

After day sisteen you need to begin slowly decreasing your dosage by 1 drop a day, 3 times a day (for example count down from 25 drops a day all the way too 3 drops a day 3 times a day) Keep the water amount the same (1 cup for all dosages) stay at the maintenance level of 3 drops, 3 times a day for 30 more days. ALSO eliminate everything that contains white flour from your diet. And Yes, I have tried it and I have had no more herpes outbreaks and I was just diagnosed with it!!!!

H2O2 Side Effects
Posted by Ali (Swansea, Wales, Uk) on 09/08/2012

Yes, you have a toxic build-up - but it's not caused by the H202. The H202 is triggering detox of toxins your body has accumulated over the years.

It is best not to stop the H202, but maybe reduce it for a while just to let your body continue to detox. Having been reading through the whole area on HP, time after time people post that the HP made them sick.

We have been brainwashed into believing that anything that makes us feel rotten is an 'illness'. No, it's just the body's way of off-loading what it doesn't want. The body will use any outlet it can to detox - coughs (lungs), colds (sinus/throat/nose), rashes, sores, boils, spots, zits, eczema, psoriasis (skin), diarrhea (bowels), cystitis (bladder) conjunctivitis (eyes), and will often send the toxins out through the nearest or best available outlet.

Because our lifestyles often prevent our bodies from being able to detox properly - the first sniffle gets us running to the Doc for a 'suppression' tablet - the toxins are often driven deep into the body rather than out of it.

HP gets the cells working far better - and far more able to detox. If people were to read far more information before jumping in to this, they would then understand what to expect.

It will pass, and keeping on with the HP, even a lower dose, will help it to detox faster. Stopping the HP can often just prolong the detox.


Cancer
Posted by Tracie (Mi) on 03/01/2018

Hi. I did extensive research before starting this therapy and wanted to answer your questions.

Here is a website that give clear instructions for ingesting 35% FGHP. This site should help you. Take it on empty stomach or you could get sick and throw up-because of the oxygen reacting to the food in your stomach. So, at least an hour before you eat or at least 3 hours after you eat.

http://educate-yourself.org/cancer/benefitsofhydrogenperozide17jul03.shtml

If you have lung problems, like my aunt did, you can also add a 1% solution to a vaporizer and use it at night next to your bed.


Gout
Posted by Calgary1979 (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) on 03/06/2012
★★★★★

Long story short... Add 5 or 6 drops of H2O2 to one glass of water everyday. Long story starts here.

I am generally a healthy person, but I've had gout since my High School days. It comes and it goes. My dad has also had gout for a number of years. It is the same for both of us. It comes, we stop drinking beer, cut out red meat and take some of the prescribed pills from a doctor and then it comes back in 4 - 6 months when we start drinking beer and eating red meat. I was diagnosed with Cancer a few years ago (long story, gone now, all's good) but a friend of mine recommeded I start taking H2O2. He said it will help get rid of the cancer and help with general health. I didn't really look into it until after I was given a clean bill of health, and came back to work and started talking to this friend again. He had this H2O2 at work and would add 4 or 5 drops of it to his morning glass of water. I got on board and starting doing the same, but not all the time. I'd go months with out taking it, and then I'd remember oh I should take it. So off and on for a year I was taking H2O2. On one of my "off" cycles I had a brutal case of gout. I just wanted to cut my foot off to make the pain go away. I was mad, the pills took too long to kick in(days), so I decided to try the H2O2. Took it every morning 3 days in a row. After the first day the pain was still there but not as bad, by the third day the pain was gone.


General Feedback
Posted by David (Dublin, Co. Dublin, Ireland) on 12/22/2011
★★★☆☆

BETTER BUT WITH SIDE EFFECTS

I've been taking Ted's borax water (plus two half-glasses of baking soda separately) remedy for demodex mite infestation for 12 days now without a break and only now do I read Bill's advice to take it for five days, then take a two-day break (Bill from San Fernando, Philippines). This is not mentioned anywhere on the mite infestation section here at EC as far as I can see.

(Ted is a saint and his remedies work wonderfully but he can sometimes tend to omit important details like treatment durations, frequencies, and proportions of ingredients).

His mite remedy is working for me, but because I'm impatient to be free of these pests ASAP, I started the 35% food-grade internal hydrogen peroxide therapy yesterday - specifically, the 21-day detox program which starts out with three drops of 35% HP in 150ml (5oz) of distilled water.

I took it as soon as I got out of bed (11am - I have chronic insomnia) and there was no overt taste. However, within five minutes I started to feel nauseous. I waited an hour and five minutes, then had breakfast (bran flakes and milk, yoghurt drink with plant stenols). I started sipping my borax water, took my half-glass of baking soda, plus my half-glass of warm water with three tablespoons of ACV.

I waited till 2pm, still nauseous but OK, then had lunch - an apple, a clementine, and a banana. The nausea immediately got worse and I started to get really uncomfortable stomach pain. But I had to go out to get some homeopathic remedies to try for my chronic insomnia. This took some time and my next HP dose wasn't until 6pm.

This time, it tasted very strongly of hydrogen peroxide and was difficult to drink (it took me an hour of tiny sips). Nausea and stomach pain increased to the point where it hurt if I bent over. I waited till 7pm, then forced myself to have four small slices of pizza because my appetite was practically non-existent.

At this stage I was starting to become frightened, so I went back and re-read the booklet that came with the hydrogen peroxide. And I found I had somehow overlooked this:

"Never take hydrogen peroxide with food in your stomach. Always leave at least an hour before or after food to be on the safe side. Vitamin C, Iron and fats in the stomach change hydrogen peroxide into super-oxide free radicals. THIS CAN SEVERELY DAMAGE THE LINING OF YOUR STOMACH. The same is true of iron, copper, silver, or manganese so if you are supplementing on these DO NOT TAKE HYDROGEN PEROXIDE INTERNALLY."

I've been taking a supplement every day with dinner for two months. I looked up what it contains and it includes: 200mg of Vitamin C (as Ascorbic Acid), 10mg of iron (as Ferrous Fumarate), 5mg of manganese (as Manganese Sulphate), and 1mg of copper (as Copper Sulphate).

I failed to take account of two vital factors: my supplement is the slow-release kind, and I've been taking baking soda as part of Ted's remedy - which acts as an antacid. So an unknown quantity of these compounds were still in my stomach the following morning when I started the hydrogen peroxide. Plus, the yoghurt and the clementine also contain Vitamin C which was still undigested due to the baking soda when I took the second dose.

Needless to say, I didn't take the third dose of hydrogen peroxide.

Today, I'm feeling slightly less sick and the pain is slightly less, but now, for the first time, every sip of borax water makes me nauseous, so I'll have to stop it and the baking soda for a few days. I pray this will not affect the significant progress I've made with the mites.

The moral of my story is: before you start taking hydrogen peroxide internally, KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE ALREADY PUTTING INTO YOUR BODY BOTH FOOD AND SUPPLEMENT-WISE AND MAKE ANY NECESSARY CHANGES WELL IN ADVANCE OF STARTING - three to seven days before would seem safest to me).

You will also have to live by a strict timetable and ensure you keep track of it carefully.

Vitamins in food: http://www.healthalternatives2000.com/vitamins-nutrition-chart.html

Minerals in food: http://www.healthalternatives2000.com/minerals-nutrition-chart.html

Hydrogen peroxide is wonderful and very powerful stuff but it can bite you in the a** if you don't know exactly what you're doing. And - always - RTFM (Read The Fine Manual) carefully.

Fortunately, I don't think I've done significant damage to myself (no vomiting or bleeding, but all I passed this morning was a lot of clear liquid with a few small flecks of solids and I have to force myself to eat even small amounts of food).

I do intend to ingest HP again but not until this pain and nausea subsides completely and I've done all the preparations I should have done in the first place.

By the way, the two homeopathic remedies I bought for chronic insomnia didn't work and they cost me a fortune - Dr. Bach's Night Rescue (contains Rock Rose, Impatiens, Clematis, Star of Bethlehem, Cherry Plum, and Rescue with White Chestnut), and the homeopathic store's own brand, Peaceful Sleep (contains Chamomilla, Arnica, and Kaliphos).

So if anyone can point me to a remedy for severely disturbed sleep (caused by the anti-psychotic injections of Risperidone I received for my so-called delusional parasitosis), I'd be very grateful indeed.

I'd also appreciate any comments or insights on my experience.

Stay well and take care.


Acne
Posted by Philiplamb (Warri, Delta State, Nigeria) on 09/03/2011

pls can I use the hydrogen peroxide found in drug stores for acne. thank you earth clinic for the wonderful info.


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