By Adam
Inflammation, especially chronic inflammation, is something that everyone will deal with.
And while they may deal with inflammation, it doesn’t mean that they necessarily have to deal with the harmful effects of inflammation.
Fortunately, 4 drops of this liquid miracle” can help to relieve inflammation instantly.
No, this isn’t an empty promise, either.
How DMSO Helps Relieve Inflammation
Chances are you’ve never heard of DMSO. It’s not a well-known supplement even though it has powerful healing properties.
DMSO stands for Dimethyl Sulfoxide.
Dr. Stanley Jacob discovered DMSO in 1961 while looking for a solution to preserve organs while working at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland.
Using DMSO for organ preservation caused Stanley to notice DMSO penetrated the skin/tissue barrier.
DMSO acted like a solvent and moved through the skin and into tissue with incredible ease; as if the skin were a volleyball net and DMSO molecules were marbles.
As he continued to study DMSO, he noticed its ability to penetrate skin did so without causing damage to the skin or the tissue beneath.
This property of DMSO was novel in and of itself.
His continued research on DMSO showed that dissolving into the skin and into the skin was also what helped fight inflammation in the body.
Despite not being well-known, DMSO is a well-studied compound. ResearchGate.com writes this about DMSO “More than 40,000 articles on its chemistry have appeared in scientific journals, which, in conjunction with thousands of laboratory studies, provide strong evidence of a wide variety of properties.”
In addition to observing DMSO’s ability to cross through the skin into the tissue, Stanley also realized that DMSO could transport other compounds from outside of the body into the tissue.
More on how DSMO works with other anti-inflammatory agents in a moment.
Adding to that strange power is the fact that DMSO is an antioxidant.
Research indicates that antioxidants are one of the best-known compounds for fighting inflammation.
They do this by neutralizing one of the main inflammation agonists in nature: free radicals.
By running DMSO on an area of the body, the antioxidant effect of DMSO can target free-radical damage and mitigate the damage it creates.
Additionally, DMSO even helps heal already damaged cells, which can stop inflammation in its tracks.
When cells are damaged, their membranes can cause microscopic leaks to form which are triggers for your body’s immune system to mount an inflammatory response.
Not only will this keep chronic inflammation at bay, but DMSO application will also keep localized swelling of an injured body part down.
This is the same effect NSAIDs have, only without the side effects.
DMSO + Other Antioxidants = Ultimate Anti-Inflammatory Package
As mentioned above, Dr. Stanley observed when he combined DMSO and other chemical agents DMSO caused those agents to cross the skin/tissue with the greatest of ease.
While that could be dangerous (i.e., if DMSO was mixed with hazardous chemicals), Stanley marveled at how DMSO combined with therapeutic agents could benefit the human body.
DMSO.org, an online library dedicated to documenting Stanley’s work, wrote the following:
“In addition, DMSO can carry other drugs with it across membranes. It is more successful ferrying some drugs, such as morphine sulfate, penicillin, steroids, and cortisone, than others, such as insulin. What it will carry depends on the molecular weight, shape, and electrochemistry of the molecules. This property would enable DMSO to act as a new drug delivery system that would lower the risk of infection occurring whenever skin is penetrated.”
Today, people use DMSO mixed with an assortment of anti-inflammatories (like frankincense essential oil, pure arnica, magnesium) to help relieve localized inflammation.
How to Use DMSO
Because DMSO is so effective at penetrating the skin, it’s essential to use it correctly for maximum safety.
That’s why Dr. Wiggy Saunders of Robinhood Integrative Health in Winston-Salem, NC advises his patients to seek professional help, or do serious research about DMSO before using it.
As he wrote in an article:
“A word of warning concerning DMSO is when it’s mixed with other substances, it will take those substances straight past the skin and into the body.
That’s why you really have to be careful when using it.
If you were to mix DMSO with other, ordinarily safe, ingredients, they can have some pretty severe side effects.
For example, while it might seem like mixing DMSO with menthol (a common ingredient in topical analgesics) is a good idea, doing so could hurt your kidneys and other organs, because undiluted menthol in the body isn’t good for you.
Same thing with diluting it. Most DMSO solutions are a 3 to 1 mix of DMSO and water.
Mix the DMSO with regular tap water, and that means the DMSO will be taking whatever chemicals are in the water and moving that into your body.
Not good.
But, at the end of the day, it’s still a great solution to start using if you want to avoid reliance on your normal pain killers and inflammatories. 4 drops or so on the spot of pain can knock out inflammation easily.
Most physicians aren’t all that familiar with DMSO. So while you’ll want to inquire of a physician before using DMSO, it might be a tough battle to find one knowledgeable on it.
I recommend trying to find a doctor practicing functional medicine and getting their professional recommendation so you can understand its most proper and best uses.”
