The History of Ultraviolet Blood Irradiation
and
The Importance of Sunlight
One of the oldest “proven” therapies was having people bathe in sunlight. It was one of the few things that actually succeeded in treating the 1918 influenza.4 Prior to antibiotics, it was one of the most effective treatments for tuberculosis5 and was widely used for other diseases (e.g., erysipelas and mumps).6 One UVBI pioneer noted that low doses of externally applied UV light stimulated general resistance to infection in animals and humans.7
- Once ultraviolet blood irradiation (UVBI) was discovered in the 1930s, it produced miraculous results for patients on the verge of death and was quickly adopted by hospitals throughout America, demonstrating remarkable efficacy for a wide range of diseases
- To neutralize this competition, the American Medical Association published a doctored study that “debunked” UVBI, and it became a forgotten therapy. Russians and Germans recognized its value and have produced decades of research showing UVBI’s remarkable utility
