Ultraviolet Blood Irradiation is a Whole Body Antibiotic Therapy : Renewed interest in this FDA-approved treatment stems from ineffective drugs, antibiotics and unwanted side effects, says Dr. Bridget Walsh.

Ultraviolet (UV) blood irradiation (UBI) is a simple, non-toxic U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved treatment, also known as biophototherapy, photoluminescence, photopheresis, hemo-irradiation and photodynamic therapy, that exposes blood to ultraviolet light to stimulate the immune system and destroy pathogens in the body including bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa, cancerous cells and parasites while rapidly clearing biological toxins.

Ultraviolet blood irradiation therapy has been used since the early 1900s to treat specific diseases and infection. Dr. Neils Ryberg Finsen, the “father of UBI therapy”, was awarded a Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1903 for successfully treating people with lupus and other skin conditions using UV light. It was shown to treat diseases such as septicemia since the 1920s by American researcher Dr. Emmet Knott, and clinical studies in the 1940s showed UBI to be an effective treatment for polio virus, but was soon replaced by vaccines. UBI therapy was so well accepted that it was used in many hospitals across the U.S. for decades.

Unfortunately, this treatment was largely abandoned with the discovery of penicillin, and went out of favor as huge advances in antibiotics, vaccines and corticosteroids were discovered in the 1950s. It was thought that antibiotics would cure infections, and steroids would treat allergies and autoimmune diseases, but today we know that steroids have dangerous side effects and antibiotics only treat bacterial infections, not viruses. Also, many bacterial infections have become antibiotic-resistant, the so-called “super bugs” created by the antibiotics themselves.

These developments are piquing new interest in UBI, and light therapy is being revisited due to increased medical costs, ineffective drugs and antibiotics and a plethora of unwanted side effects attached to modern prescription medications. Dr. William Campbell Douglas, M.D., has written, “It [UBI] is a thoroughly tested, proven therapy that uses the healing power of light to perform almost miraculous cures. This remarkable treatment works its incredible cures by stimulating the body’s own immune responses. That is why it cures so many ailments and why it has been especially effective against AIDS. Yet, 50 years ago it virtually disappeared from the halls of medicine.”

The actual treatment is very simple and relatively quick, taking only half an hour. Blood is drawn with a butterfly needle and tubing and travels through a small glass chamber called a cuvette, which is then exposed twice to ultraviolet light through Knott’s hemo-irradiator device and returned to the patient’s body using a sterile, closed-loop system. Many patients will feel significant improvement after just a few treatments, and usually only three to five treatments are sufficient. Severe and chronic conditions may need 10 or more treatments, which are greatly enhanced in combination with other oxidative therapies such as ozone and hydrogen peroxide IVs.

According to the Foundation For Blood Irradiation, in research and clinical trials around the world, UBI therapy has been effective in treating viral diseases, bacterial infections, fungal infections, inflammatory conditions, autoimmune conditions, poor oxygen, poor circulation, cancer, lymphoma and more.

Although largely ignored by the conventional medical community, UBI therapy has been well-documented, thoroughly tested and proven to work. Individuals may contact a naturopathic physician that has experience working with UBI to determine if this therapy is appropriate.

Dr. Bridget Walsh is a naturopathic physician at Chelation Care USA, in Scottsdale. For more information, phone 480-998-9232 or visit ChelationCare.com.