How DMSO treats Asthma, COPD, Pneumonia, ARDS and Pulmonary Fibrosis

Story at a Glance:

•Chronic respiratory diseases, while quite profitable, remain an area that medicine struggles with, and as such many with them are subjected to a life of healthcare expenses, impaired stamina, and in many cases, a painful decline until they succumb to the illness.

•DMSO is an “umbrella remedy” capable of treating a wide range of challenging ailments due to its combination of therapeutic properties (e.g., reducing inflammation, improving circulation, and reviving dying cells).

•Many of these properties (e.g., reducing fibrosis and inflammation, restoring damaged organs, improving circulation) are uniquely suited to address the underlying causes of chronic respiratory diseases.

•DMSO is also quite useful for addressing the infections that frequently accompany these disorders, as it has antimicrobial activity, reduces damaging lung inflammation, and potentiates many antimicrobial therapies (e.g., many untreatable resistant respiratory infections rapidly respond to DMSO mixed with an antibiotic and many individuals have cured a chronic illness by combining DMSO with a natural antimicrobial).

•A large volume of published data and many user reports show that DMSO often produces remarkable results for a wide range of respiratory disorders, of which asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pulmonary fibrosis, pneumonia) will be covered here.

• This article will review the data demonstrating DMSO’s efficacy for lung diseases, along with an examination of the most common protocols used for them and other natural approaches that also aid in their treatment (e.g., for asthma, COPD, and pulmonary fibrosis). It will also provide guidelines for general DMSO procurement and use.

Since childhood, I have known numerous smokers who had slow agonizing deaths from COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), which were often quite traumatic for their family and friends, particularly as they became increasingly disabled from their loss of respiratory function.

Once I entered medicine, I saw the other half of this and lost count of how many COPD patients were subjected to the same medical protocols (which they often could not refuse as people will do anything to be able to not suffocate), and then be hospitalized either for a COPD exacerbation or pneumonia (a common COPD complication) making them unable to breathe, and before long enter a cycle of ever more frequent repeat hospitalizations until they die.
Note: steroids are frequently used to manage COPD and slow the destruction of the lungs. Steroids have a variety of side effects, including suppressing the immune system, which coupled with the reduced respiratory turnover seen in COPD (which reduces their ability to clear bacteria from the airway), makes them much more vulnerable to pneumonia.

As such, when I later learned that the lungs concentrate a coating of glutathione (at levels 100 times that in other parts of the body) to protect them from damage, and that restoring this coating with nebulized glutathione could (without side effects) prevent further progression of COPD, I was overjoyed (e.g., see this study and this study or the even more dramatic results when used for a COPD exacerbation).
Note: in chronic lung diseases, the lung’s glutathione tends to be depleted.

Unfortunately, this idea never caught on, and most of my conventional colleagues were not open to it (although I’ve come across many integrative doctors and naturopaths over the years who offer it for both COPD and chronic damage from wildfire inhalation).

To some extent, this is to be expected, as, like many businesses, medicine revolves around recurring sales, and COPD is one of its core markets (as COPD patients are on medications for life and often need more of them as the disease progresses). This in turn, helps to explain why chronic diseases of the respiratory tract are the fourth most common cause of death in the United States, and in the United States alone, 24 billion dollars was spent on COPD in 2023. In short, this is not a market that the medical industry will ever willingly relinquish, regardless of the suffering that is created.

Note: pneumonia and COPD are two of the most common reasons for hospital admissions. Asthma is in a similar situation, as while not fatal or anywhere as likely to send one to the hospital (admissions for asthma exacerbations are around 0.7% of hospital admissions), it requires the chronic consumption of similar medications, makes over 40 billion a year (and increasing at 4.4% annually), is a frequent source of hospital admissions (for asthma exacerbations), and despite all the money that’s been poured into it, asthma rates keep going up (e.g., in 1999 9.1% of Americans had ever been diagnosed with asthma whereas in 2022 44.2 million Americans had).

Umbrella Remedies

In medicine, there are a few therapies (e.g., ultraviolet blood irradiation) that have the ability to cure a wide range of diseases, and as such are referred to as “umbrella therapies.” This is because, amongst other things, they address the root causes of many illnesses such as poor circulation throughout the body, inflammation, and cells entering a state of shock where they stop functioning and eventually die.

DMSO, in turn, has repeatedly been shown to be remarkably effective for a wide range of disorders including:

Strokes, paralysis, a wide range of neurological disorders (e.g., Down Syndrome and dementia), and many circulatory disorders (e.g., Raynaud’s, varicose veins, hemorrhoids), which I discussed here.

A wide range of tissue injuries, such as sprains, concussions, burns, surgical incisions, and spinal cord injuries (discussed here).

Chronic pain (e.g., from a bad disc, bursitis, arthritis, or complex regional pain syndrome), which I discussed here.

A wide range of autoimmune, protein, and contractile disorders, such as scleroderma, amyloidosis, and interstitial cystitis (discussed here).

A variety of head conditions, such as tinnitus, vision loss, dental problems, and sinusitis (discussed here).

A wide range of internal organ diseases, such as pancreatitis, infertility, liver cirrhosis, and endometriosis (discussed here).

A wide range of skin conditions, such as burns, varicose veins, acne, hair loss, ulcers, skin cancer, and many autoimmune dermatologic diseases (discussed here).

Many challenging infectious conditions, including chronic bacterial infections, herpes, and shingles (discussed here).

Many aspects of cancer (e.g., many of cancer’s debilitating symptoms, making cancer treatments more potent, greatly reducing the toxicity of conventional therapies, and turning cancer cells back into normal cells), which I discussed here.

Note: most of the above have also been shown for ultraviolet blood irradiation. Likewise, similar data exists for ozone, another umbrella remedy that I plan to focus on once the DMSO series is finished.

Additionally, DMSO possesses a unique ability to enhance the absorption of medications and natural therapies by facilitating their passage into the body. This property has transformed the way conventional and natural medicine is practiced, opening up nearly limitless possibilities for incredible therapeutic combinations (discussed here), and most importantly, DMSO is extremely safe (provided it's used correctly).

As such, a wealth of data (detailed in the above articles) has accumulated, showing DMSO has a high rate of efficacy in a wide range of conditions. Since DMSO was widely available, it quickly spread like wildfire across America in the 1960s (particularly due to how rapidly it alleviated “incurable” pain). Regrettably, the FDA then stepped in and went to war with DMSO to protect the status quo. In the decades that followed, despite the public, the scientific community, and Congress petitioning the FDA to rescind their prohibition on DMSO, it all fell on deaf ears.

In turn, this continued until the 1994 DSHEA act (passed in response to the public outrage over the FDA raiding supplement providers at gunpoint) simply took away the FDA’s ability to regulate natural medicines that DMSO was able to re-enter the marketplace. Still, sadly by this time, despite thousands of studies supporting its use, many American pharmaceutical products using DMSO and it being widely used outside the United States, DMSO had become another forgotten side of medicine.

As what they did to DMSO has always really bothered me (particularly due to its ability to rescue people from a life of debility after strokes or spinal cord injuries), I decided to try publicizing it here and do all that I could to give the strong case for its use. Due to the trust this publication has created, many readers here were willing to try it. Much like the 1960s, when it first emerged, it rapidly caught on (e.g., despite my best efforts to prevent this, there have been numerous DMSO supply shortages—a few of which have led to my colleagues being quite upset with me) since that time.

Just as miraculous, I've received numerous testimonials from readers around the world about the life-changing effects DMSO has had on them. Recognizing the importance of not letting these stories become forgotten, I’ve devoted a significant amount of time to compiling them all here. While I know I’ve missed a lot (since they appear in so many places), there are now over 3,000 of them.

The majority of those testimonials match the well recognized functions of DMSO, but at the same time, I’ve received many astonishing ones I had not anticipated, and come to realize that in many cases, DMSO is a better (particularly in regards to cost) therapy than what I had long been using to treat many different conditions. Put differently, since there are so many different applications of DMSO, I would have never become aware of some of them had I not unearthed and reviewed tens of thousands of pages of literature in the process of compiling this series, and for that reason, I’m immensely grateful I did!

In those testimonials, one of the things that caught my eye was that numerous people shared that DMSO had either improved or reversed their COPD (or pulmonary fibrosis). These chronic, debilitating lung conditions are very difficult to treat within the standard medical paradigm. One reader for example, Rebecca Cunningham, shared that DMSO had saved her beloved neighbor from COPD (“I am LITERALLY watching a miracle happen”), and after an X post I made about it went viral, decided to make a short and to the point video about what had happened and how profound it was to both her and her neighbor. I was deeply moved by it and realized I needed to write an article on this topic, as it encapsulates what many are suffering through and what those close to them experience.

The Forgotten Side of Medicine is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. To see how others have benefitted from this newsletter, click here!

His experiences were not unique, and I have received many similar stories (most of which can also be viewed online where they were posted). To make this as concise as possible, I condensed these details to their essentials (e.g., many readers expressed their sincere appreciation and valued their subscriptions, which I appreciate; however, I removed these comments from the article’s body). One of the things I find noteworthy about these is how often they had not intended to cure their lung issue, but rather it happened incidentally while using DMSO for something like pain (which mirrors how the early DMSO investigators incidentally discovered DMSO restores lost eyesight).

I was also told I had emphysema in the upper part of my lungs. I had 2 strokes due to a clogged left carotid. I had purchased DMSO to apply on my scar the scar diminished pretty quickly. I also rub it on my chest. Then I purchased a nebulizer, added 70/30 DMOO. Did the treatment everyday for a 1 week, now on maintenance a twice a weekly. This is how I cured my COPD. I also apply a drop to my ear to lessen the noise from tinnitus, it didn't get rid of it completely, but the noise went from 35 decibels to five, I can live with this. I also take it twice a week orally to deal with stomach issues which I alternate with CD.

Is it possible that continual application of DMSO cream to my husbands bad back could be helping his lungs? He seems to have more energy, is doing more, and I'm wondering! I cover his whole back, shoulders and side ribs down to the bottom each morning.

It’s amazing...he's 85, with pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema and he's getting stronger, refused his wheelchair to go to church yesterday, makes the coffee for me before going to bed, and ONLY DMSO back rub and sunlight are different. This was unexpected, and the docs around here don't seem to have ever heard of DMSO!!! Thanks so much. I don't want to lose him!

I am using DMSO via a nebulizer, (as well as topically) and it seems to be showing significant improvement in my lungs! I was on 4 liters and now use NO supplemental Oxygen or any other medicine for my lungs, (I was also taking Trelogy). Despite decades of excessive smoking and drinking) and I am seeing remarkable results.

DMSO helps my husband's lungs when I rub his back and rib cage.... And helps with his chronic pain from failed back surgery! We are old, but we don't take or need NSAIDS anymore! It's a miracle!

We started DMSO gradually to make sure there were no bad effects [for COPD]. First topical 50/50 DMSO & aloe Vera on his chest for a week, then a 50/50 mix with distilled water in his nebulizer 1x a day. after 3 days, he was so blown away by the positive results…he is in his late 70's.

Okay, decades of smoking and drinking ruined my lungs - I knew it, but I was unable to stop at that point in my life. I'd had an operation to cut off some of the ruined parts of my lungs, (____ Univ Hosp) and that did not go well - Bullous Emphysema. Long and short, I was bedridden and on 4 liters of supplemental oxygen. Trying to get upstairs in my home to shower was the biggest impediment in front of me at that time. I had gained weight, (I've lost 45 lbs and still need to lose about 5 lbs more) and my muscles had atrophied tremendously. I was tremendously depressed and ready, (in my mind) to die.

Then, my motivation to get better was put into overdrive as [my wife was] diagnosed with Stage IV cancer…I was all she had and I had to learn to cook and manage all other duties in our household. I was lugging around physical tanks of O2 and this simply was not a possibility - even with help from friends and family. Through various exercise programs focused upon breathing, I was able to get off the supplement, but I knew I would not be able to continue without the extra O2 unless I did something else [and over the next two years tried everything I could but nothing worked].

I had joined an online group, where folks were talking about alternative medicine approaches. On this forum, it was suggested drinking DMSO which I tried; unfortunately, it left a scent on my breath that seriously bothered my wife.

Then, I realized I had a nebulizer packaged up and sitting in storage. Wise or stupid, I decided to try it as everything I'd heard, read, or experienced led me to believe this solution would benefit me more than harm me [and through trial and error figured out how to do it correctly].

[Before long] I was finally able to make it to our basement, (we had purchased an elliptical back when we were healthy) and "walk" for 30 minutes [on an elliptical]. I can, slowly, accomplish most any household chore as well as shopping, light yard work, etc. [and] do see my blood O2 increase to 100% which I could not achieve before and a lower heart rate accompanying that.

I had a patient with scleroderma and interstitial lung disease (which had put them on the transplant list) but after receiving DMSO, the lung recovered and they no longer need a transplant. I also just saw a patient with sarcoidosis treating himself with dmso nebulized. He said it made a big difference—James Miller MD