DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide) was discovered by Alexander Zaytsev, a Russian chemist, in 1866. DMSO can be derived from waste products in the production of paper from wood pulp. It is also formed in the earth’s atmosphere, and is a phytochemical present in many plants and trees, including garlic. DMSO is a clear, viscous liquid with a garlic-like taste and odor.

In 1978, the FDA (the Food and Drug Administration of the United States) approved the use of DMSO in a 50/50 mixture with water as an effective treatment for interstitial cystitis, an often painful condition involving inflammation of the inner lining of the bladder (as told in, DMSO the Universal Healer, by Kendra Nathan). The bladder may be irrigated with a DMSO solution, or the patient may apply it topically to the lower abdominal and pelvic area, or even take it orally, for instance one teaspoon of 99% strength DMSO in a glass of cranberry juice daily for two or three weeks. According to Kendra Nathan, this brings relief and healing to many, with or without the (often painful) bladder irrigation.

Since the discovery of the substance, it has been noted that getting some on one’s hand will result in a garlicky taste in one’s mouth a short while later. DMSO has many uses in veterinary medicine which taks advantage of DMSO’s ability to harmlessly travel within the body, either by itself, or conducting another medicine that is mixed with it. Since DMSO is a naturally occurring chemical, it cannot be patented. Therefore getting the FDA to approve DMSO for additional uses in human medicine is difficult, as long as the current corporate power structure maintains control of the government. Someone has to pay for expensive testing, and without a way to recoup their investment–like they might have if they could hold a patent on the substance–no one is likely to fund $800+ million of testing to “prove” safety and effectiveness. This is the reason for the bias in medicine toward patent medications and away from unpatentable natural substances like DMSO, or even from drugs for which the patent privileges have expired. Natural substances such as vitamins, minerals, herbs and phytochemicals (like DMSO) are not necessarily dangerous and useless, it is just that safety and effectiveness have not been “proven.” Of course those who benefit from the sale of patented medications want to eliminate competition for their overpriced products, and are bound to leverage their considerable fortunes to discredit anything natural, as discussed in, Natural Cures “They” Don’t Want You to Know About, by Kevin Trudeau, and many other books. The pharmaceutical giants even go to great lengths to discredit their own drugs after the patents have expired.

Regarding its use as a treatment for interstitial cystitis, or painful bladder syndrome, DMSO is said to be anti-inflammatory (reduces inflammation), antispasmodic (relaxing), analgesic (relieves pain), able to break down scar tissue, and aid in the transport of other medicines within the body. The fact that DMSO has FDA approval for painful bladder syndrome theoretically allows for other “off-label” uses. However with the current stranglehold the pharmaceutical industry has on doctor education and continuing doctor education, doctors are not likely to prescribe a substance that is not tested and approved for the use prescribed, unless the doctor has done his or her own independent research. There is, moreover, a fine line a doctor must follow in order to keep his or her medical license intact. The AMA won’t allow a doctor to digress far from FDA approved patent medications.

Most likely it will be left up to us to prove the safety and effectiveness for ourselves if we decide to use a natural substance such as DMSO. I can use myself as a lab rat, but I would not do that if I were pregnant or breast feeding, as there is a certain amount of risk involved. The first test that needs to be done, for any chemical we are curious about, is the safety test. The first safety test might be touching a substance that might be helpful, such as DMSO, to a small section of the skin of the person performing the test, and then watching for toxic reactions.

About a year ago I purchased a small roll-on container of 99% pure DMSO from an online supplier of veterinary supplies. The words, not approved for human use, are printed clearly on the container. Now that a year has passed, my time of gingerly applying a little to a small area of skin once in a while, then watching for reactions, has been completed, and I am applying to larger swaths of skin more frequently and watching for my hearing to improve, my arthritis to improve, and my complexion to improve. I’m just starting, so I don’t have much to report, except that I have come to the conclusion, that for me, the substance is harmless in small doses applied externally. These experiments of mine are kind of like mystical experiences in a way. I can tell you my story, but you still have to experience it for yourself. You can’t just take my word for it. You can’t benefit much from my experience, you have to have your own.

It didn’t take me the whole year just to perform a safety test on DMSO. I was also testing other substances, and was concentrating mainly on zinc chloride. A full strength solution of zinc chloride in water stings for a while, when applied to a carcinoma, in my experience. But with 2 or 3 applications over a few days time, the carcinoma will first get scabbier, then heal to a scar. That is what I have found for myself, on numerous carcinomas on me, over the past year, while, during the same time period, exploring the safety of DMSO by applying a little very infrequently. Now that my carcinomas have turned to scar tissue, I need something that will clear up the scars. DMSO has passed my safety test, so now it is time to start a real healing test, applying the substance several times a day (or at least daily), all the while watching for signs of toxicity, as well as evidence of healing.

DMSO, it is widely reported, will readily absorb into the body. My face was wet with aloe vera gel and DMSO earlier today. Very soon after applying, all the wetness either dried or was absorbed into the skin. Judging from what I have read about DMSO, I believe that the DMSO and the aloe were all absorbed. From past experience I believe the aloe by itself would have left behind a sticky residue for a while, No residue was left behind this time. Everything was absorbed completely. Others I have read have used aloe with DMSO with good results. But what if I topped off the brake fluid in the car and also added coolant to the radiator, then applied DMSO to my still grimy hands? Absorbing those toxic chemicals into my skin and blood might have resulted in toxicity within myself. That is one of the precautions for handling DMSO. Thoroughly wash before applying.

However I have not personally demonstrated that applying DMSO to dirty skin will have a bad result. The impurities might be conducted harmlessly through the body and eliminated. After all it has been claimed that DMSO has the ability to cleanse impurities from the body that were already present. That being stated, I am not interested in finding out if used motor oil and other grime can be conducted through my body, and whether or not that would cause a toxic reaction. I will continue to wash before applying DMSO.

According to Nathan, DMSO has a toxicity on the par with ethanol. It is harmless in small doses, although I would hope that, unlike ethanol, it won’t impair your judgement and trick you into taking more after you have taken a little bit! I am still reluctant to take it orally, but I do dab a little on a sore area I have on the roof of my mouth. It seems to help, and other than the garlicky taste–which my husband hasn’t commented about yet–it doesn’t seem to hurt.

DMSO is a sulfur containing compound with a similar chemical structure to MSM. The formula for DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide) is (CH3)2SO. The formula for MSM (methylsulfonylmethane) is (CH3)2SO2. Sulfur helps detoxify the body. According to Nathan, DMSO helps remove heavy metals such as, mercury, lead, aluminum, cadmium, arsenic, and nickel, from the body. DMSO bonds with the metals and escorts them through one or more of the body’s channels of elimination.

I have been spitting up phlegm lately. But I was doing that before I started the twice daily DMSO treatment (within the last few days.) Before I blamed it on the zinc chloride treatment I had been doing. I figured I was eliminating the waste products from the killing of the parasitic worms in my skin that were manifesting as carcinomas. A dermatologist called my itchy scaly areas carcinomas. I could feel biting in those areas. The worms fed on my blood and became engorged. I would scratch the itch and a whole lot of blood would come out, then immediately stop bleeding, like I had scratched through the creature’s stomach and the blood it had gotten from chewing on me came gushing out, then immediately stopped. I think that tiny parasites were there. Doctors call these kind of growths carcinomas and admit that they don’t really know what a carcinoma is. Thank God they are gone now, but scars remain, and I am trying to heal the scars with DMSO. I’m coughing up a lot of phlegm, and believe it is a cleansing, healing reaction to the therapy of the DMSO, not a toxic reaction to the DMSO itself. How do I know the difference? Intuition! I am still using zinc chloride, but I dilute it way down to just water with a little zinc salt in it. I also add a little magnesium chloride and sponge myself down with the slightly salty water.

I will continue to watch for signs of toxicity. Coughing up phlegm is a sign of toxicity. But I believe it is the cleansing that is freeing up toxins to be eliminated. The proof of that will come when my skin clears up. Until then I am going on faith. If after a while my skin doesn’t clear up, I’ll stop and try something else.

The freckles on my face are darker this morning. I spent a couple hours yesterday pulling weeds in the sun. I bit the stickers off the edges of the wide end of a leaf of aloe vera, then pulled the front and back peels apart, and rubbed the gel from each half, of about a square inch of leaf, on my face and neck. Then I applied 99 percent DMSO roll-on over the aloe. I figure I made about a 50/50 recipe of aloe and DMSO directly on my face and neck. Now I’m letting it dry. In a few minutes I’ll add a salve I have been using for the last few years made from MSM lotion, zinc oxide, calcium carbonate, red iron oxide, and a little yellow iron oxide to match my skin tone. I have a lot of healing yet to do and the salve hides as it heals. The scaly dry patches are now replaced with pink scars. I had to treat the carcinomas one or two at a time with zinc chloride. If I tried to do more than two or three at once, the pain was unbearable and I would rub or wash off the zinc chloride before it was through working. To have finally completed that process after years is a milestone! Before the zinc chloride, which I started about a year ago, I used Cansema from an Equadorian supplier. It worked, but only if I wore it day and night for several days, walking around, doing my business with dark brown stuff on my nose, cheek or forehead. That got tiresome. I wanted something transparent that would work with my flesh colored zinc oxide and iron oxide salve. I found that in the zinc chloride. Prior to the Cansema, I used trichloracetic acid. That worked too. All three methods of carcinoma removal hurt like the dickens for a few minutes after application and leave scars. The trichloracetic acid creates a huge scab that lasts about a week before it starts to get smaller then eventually heals. I have also been treated with liquid nitrogen at dermatologist offices. Liquid nitrogen also hurts when applied, makes a thick scab that eventually goes away, and often either leaves a scar or the carcinoma comes back. I saw a dermatologist a few months ago and then I started getting scary letters from Medicare that I could be billed as much as $1000. Therefore I have not arranged a follow up. The time before that, several years earlier, I had several squirts of liquid nitrogen (and a biopsy or two) and it took me a year to pay off the cost.

I’ve been thinking, this could be Paradise right here right now. If I look at it that way it becomes that way. Maybe we allow psychopaths to rule us because we find them entertaining in a buffoonish sort of way. There are plenty of lovely people to pay attention to, lovely plants and lovely animals, a wonderful world, and plenty of nice things in it.

THE MORAL ECONOMY AND THE IDEA OF AMERICA Most of this book is about what happens when markets are so concentrated and dysfunctional that monopolies overtake politics and courts and schools, crush people’s spirits, inflame racism, create more poverty and inequality, destroy journalism, and elevate a few men (and even fewer women) to powerful, unaccountable positions governing us. Obviously, it is urgent that we stop this trend, using antitrust, among other tools. But we should aim our sights higher than just creating not-terrible markets; we should seek to enable markets that are actually part of our freedom, spaces for creativity, compassion, and warmth. Anti-monopolism is not just a way station on a quest to get rid of markets altogether, but an essential component of a free society. Break ‘Em Up, Recovering Our Freedom From Big Ag, Big Tech and Big Money, by Zypher Teachout, 66% into the book.

Excellent book, but there are more areas than big ag, big tech, and the big banks. Teachout did have a short section on big pharma in which she tells of a very likable man in his 40s who died because he couldn’t afford his insulin. Big defence would be another, and there is some information about that in the book also. I think the next step after reading Break ‘Em Up, and becoming aware of the problem of monopoly, would be to formulate a plan for breaking them up. Where do we start? Monopolies are entrenched in every industry, squeezing out competition, wringing the life out of workers, cheating suppliers, overcharging customers, and sullying the souls of managers, owners, investors, and regulators. What is the first monopoly to break up? They are all so big that the repercussions from spinning off the acquisitions and mergers in one monopoly will affect everything else in the economy. Maybe they all have to be done at once. Reorganize every monopoly into its component parts on paper only and set a date for the real changes to take effect. Break them up. This has to be done!

They can do it themselves. They can be required to submit a plan to the attorney general by a certain date, then implement it by another certain date, maybe a year for the whole thing. Facebook has to spin off WhatsApp and Instagram. Google has to spin off YouTube. Amazon has to spin off Whole Foods. And that’s just the beginning.

The pharmaceuticals industry is monopolized around patents. It is time to stop the bias favoring patented products over natural products for healing and health. Natural products should also be tested and their benefits proven. The standard jargon that there is no scientific evidence for a natural product being effective for a health condition needs to change. The evidence needs to be investigated and documented, not swept under the rug. The government bureaus in charge of health and disease need to be cleared of personnel with ties to the pharmaceutical industry, and include people who have a healthy scepticism of pharmaceutical products. The censorship and propaganda needs to stop. This country was founded on freedom of speech, or so we were taught. What happened to it lately? Does the media serve any purpose other than selling pharmaceutical products? You gatekeepers should be ashamed of yourselves for keeping out the truth and amplifying the propaganda! How do you sleep at night?