Inhaled Glutathione & Hydrogen Peroxide for Lung Inflammation, Pneumonia, Emphysema, Infection

You may have heard about glutathione’s beneficial effect on the immune system, but did you know that you can inhale it directly into your lungs and receive it’s beneficial healing action?

Likewise, you can use food-grade hydrogen peroxide to directly affect healing of lung issues from viral flu bugs, to pneumonia, COPD and asthma.

Personally, I have used both substances in a nebulizer and had positive experiences with each of them. Let’s start with glutathione…

Inhaled Glutathione via a Nebulizer

Glutathione reduces oxidative stress, decreases inflammation, and modulates T cell responses in lungs. Hence it is an excellent natural substance for treating conditions of lung inflammation, pneumonia, emphysema, cystic fibrosis, etc. and it can also work well with asthma.

I used it myself following a bout of severe pneumonia, where it hurt to take a deep breath or inflate my left lung fully. I felt a marked difference after the first session, but after a while, it wore off.

However, as the treatments continued, the expansion in my lungs remained for longer and longer periods. You will also get the overall boost to your immune system by inhaling it through your lungs as well.

At one point, I had a bout of the flu and having had pneumonia, I didn’t want to take any chances.

So I went to my naturopath for intravenous vitamin C, B complex and magnesium, along with 20 minutes of inhaled glutathione. My cough was gone the next day.

A few years later, my son had a cough that just wasn’t clearing up. By that time I had purchased my own nebulizer, so I went to my Naturopath and bought a vial of glutathione (needs to be kept refrigerated) with a syringe to measure the dosage for the nebulizer.

Again, after a week of daily treatments, my son’s lungs were clear.

Note: Please take the time to read through the many comments posted below as we have nurses and others who know WAY more about this than me, contributing their valuable information.

Know the Scientific Research

Here are some good articles giving some solid scientific research behind this effective natural therapy:

You can see lots more articles by entering this search term into your browser: inhaled glutathione for lung inflammation

Liquid glutathione, suitable for use in a nebulizer, can be quite hard to find as it is usually sold through Naturopathic or Functional Medicine doctors, or some other licensed professional.

Wellness Pharmacy has the option to reach out to their team if you’d like to discuss the potential benefits of Glutathione with one of their pharmacists, or if you are looking for a physician in your area that is familiar with the use of glutathione and can prescribe/sell it to you. They are selling liquid glutathione for $60 for 5 ounces (which is much cheaper than I paid in Canada from my ND) but you need a prescription to order it.

Now let’s look at a much cheaper, but perhaps equally beneficial option…

Hydrogen Peroxide & Colloidal Silver in a Vaporizer for Lung Infection

Another therapy recommended by some, is to put hydrogen peroxide into your vaporizer at night. However, I prefer using a nebulizer for short, concentrated administration, rather than a vaporizer.

I also used intravenous hydrogen peroxide to clear up my pneumonia – but intravenous treatments are expensive and take about 2 hours to administer. So this is a home remedy you can try and see if it improves your situation.

Some sources recommend using 15 ounces of 3% hydrogen peroxide (MUST be food grade hydrogen peroxide) to every one gallon of water in a vaporizer and just let it run all night. But personally, I would not do that.

I prefer to just inhale the H2O2 for 10-15 minutes at a time, via a nebulizer (see instructions below). You can also turbo-charge this remedy by adding colloidal silver to your nebulizer (or vaporizer).

Some sources report some risk factors to using colloidal silver for lung infections, so here’s a little more info for you on that:

Dr. Axe has a great article on pros/cons with links to studies in the article. This article has detailed nebulizer instructions for colloidal silver. And lastly, here’s a rare medical study mention of colloidal silver used to treat the lungs of a child with Cystic Fibrosis:

“Whereas sputum samples had consistently isolated B. multivorans [bacteria infection] before receiving silver, there had only been one further positive isolate during the year when he received it. He has remained well for a further six months after resuming colloidal sliver, with no other changes in his routine care.”

How to Make a 3% H2O2 Food Grade Dilution

Food-grade H2O2 is often sold in a 35% concentration. Although more suppliers are now carrying 3% food-grade hydrogen peroxide. But if you can’t find some, then a 3% solution of food-grade hydrogen peroxide can be made quite easily from a 35% bottle, by first pouring 1 ounce of food-grade 35% hydrogen peroxide into a glass pint jar.

To this add 11 ounces of purified water (NO tap water!). This will make 12 ounces of 3% hydrogen peroxide.

You can make a larger amount if you wish by using this formula:
1 part 35% H2O2
11 parts purified, or, distilled saline water*

*see below for how to make a saline water solution

Be VERY careful when handling 35% hydrogen peroxide as it will burn your skin instantly on contact. If it’s in a plastic bottle, then direct the opening away from you when you open it, in case it spits some out from the pressure build-up.

This video will show you exactly how to make your 3% hydrogen peroxide dilution from a 35% food grade dilution. Do NOT use common drugstore or grocery store hydrogen peroxide – it MUST say, “FOOD GRADE” or you will be putting all kinds of contaminants into your lungs as well:

Hydrogen Peroxide in a Nebulizer

Once you have your food-grade 3% H2O2 dilution, you can then dilute it further for use in a medical nebulizer. A nebulizer is a machine with a compressor that turns liquid substances into vapor that you can then inhale through a breathing spout or face mask.

You can use food grade hydrogen peroxide in a nebulizer 1 – 3 times per day (takes about 10 minutes with a good quality nebulizer), to resolve all kinds of lung issues. There are reams of testimonials on the Internet (EarthClinic, Curezone, etc) from people who’ve used inhaled hydrogen peroxide with fantastic results for viral infections, COPD, emphysema and asthma.

You may have heard of the Bill Munro protocol – it is the one most people reference.

Effect on Sleep

Medical nebulizer machine – then you attach the tube and face mask to the machine

A friend of mine used food grade hydrogen peroxide in a nebulizer for her nine year old son – who has suffered respiratory issues since he contracted RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) as an infant, and it worked so well he would ask for it every night before bed, for about 3 weeks.

It dramatically improved the quality of his sleep and he was able to sleep through the night (without waking due to coughing or lack of oxygen).

I have used food grade hydrogen peroxide in a nebulizer – on myself and my kids when needed. I suspect hydrogen peroxide actually works as well as inhaled glutathione – but I would have to get pneumonia again to test it and be sure!

However, it is much cheaper than the glutathione, so definitely worth a try. Post below and let me know your results.

Here’s the nebulizer I use. And for a killer cough one winter, I used food grade hydrogen peroxide three times per day and within 2 days was no longer coughing at night (I had not been able to lie down to sleep for 2 weeks!). I started with nebulizing the hydrogen peroxide once per day, but that did not have much effect.

As soon as I ramped up to 3x/day the effect was immediate. I used a 0.54% concentration – so 20 drops of 3% H2O2 in 5 ml of distilled saline water (see the chart below).

How much Hydrogen Peroxide Should You Use in a Nebulizer?

The best information I’ve been able to find on a safe, yet effective concentration of hydrogen peroxide to use in a nebulizer was from this person who had severe asthma for 30 years until he nebulized with hydrogen peroxide at 0.142% – 0.272% concentration (5-10 drops of 3% Food grade hydrogen peroxide in 5 ml of distilled saline water). Thankfully, he has done the math for us and figured out the hydrogen peroxide concentration of the various dilutions:

5ml Neb 1 Drop 3% H2O2 = 5.05ml Total 0. 0015ml or 0.029% H202
5ml Neb 2 Drops 3% H2O2 = 5.10ml Total 0. 0030ml or 0.058% H202
5ml Neb 3 Drops 3% H2O2 = 5.15ml Total 0. 0045ml or 0.087% H202
5ml Neb 4 Drops 3% H2O2 = 5.20ml Total 0. 0060ml or 0.115% H202
5ml Neb 5 Drops 3% H2O2 = 5.25ml Total 0. 0075ml or 0.142% H202
5ml Neb 6 Drops 3% H2O2 = 5.30ml Total 0. 0090ml or 0.169% H202
5ml Neb 7 Drops 3% H2O2 = 5.35ml Total 0. 0105ml or 0.196% H202
5ml Neb 8 Drops 3% H2O2 = 5.40ml Total 0. 0120ml or 0.222% H202
5ml Neb 9 Drops 3% H2O2 = 5.45ml Total 0. 0135ml or 0.247% H202
5ml Neb 10 Drops 3% H2O2 = 5.50ml Total 0. 0150ml or 0.272% H202

Remember, it’s best to start slowly and see how your body responds, rather than to risk irritation. So start with only 1-2 drops and see how your body/lungs feel. Only increase if needed.

How to Make a Saline Solution for Nebulizing

Many doctors insist you must use a saline solution in your nebulizer, so that what you are inhaling matches the tissue salt level in your body (0.9% salt), thus preventing any cell rupture. So you can either buy sterile saline water solution and add your hydrogen peroxide drops to that, or you can make your own saline solution.

Dr. Mercola gives you easy instructions on how to make a pint of 0.9% saline solution in this video (start watching at 5:08 minutes). Simply mix together:

  • 2 cups (1 pint) of purified or distilled water
  • 1 level teaspoon or 4.5 g of sea salt or Himalayan salt

Dr. Sircus also has a great article here on nebulizing a number of different substances – including magnesium.

You can also put baking soda (change pH and many bacteria die), magnesium (relax tissues/muscles), or nascent iodine (NOT potassium iodine as this could kill you!) into your nebulizer or vaporizer and this article has good instructions for using baking soda, magnesium, or nascent iodine for respiratory issues.

What’s the difference between a vaporizer and a nebulizer?

A vaporizer is like a plug-in humidifier – it releases a soft, diffuse vapor into the room. A medical-grade nebulizer delivers a concentrated stream of specifically-sized tiny vapor droplets at a standardized flow-rate, directly to your nose/mouth via a face mask or inhalant mouthpiece.

Magnesium Deficiency & Asthma

If you suffer mostly from asthma and bronchial spasm. Then you definitely should add an EASILY ABSORBED form of magnesium to your daily regimen.

There are two really effective forms of magnesium that do not affect the bowels – so if you’ve avoided magnesium due to it’s laxative effect, you no longer have to!

My friend, Dr. Carolyn Dean MD, ND wrote in her book The Magnesium Miracle.

The following six reasons why magnesium is important in the treatment of asthma:

1. Research shows that many patients with asthma and other bronchial diseases have low magnesium.

2. Both histamine production and bronchial spasms increase with magnesium deficiency.

3. Many drugs used in the treatment of asthma cause a loss of magnesium, only making symptoms worse.

4. Magnesium is an environmental detoxifier reducing the triggers for asthma.

5. Magnesium relieves stress to alleviate the emotional triggers for asthma.

6. Patients treated with simple magnesium supplementation report marked improvement in their symptoms.

Know Your Body’s Sensitivity to Magnesium

Are you super sensitive to Magnesium and find that even nano-sized magnesium can loosen your stool?

In that case, the best thing to do is to start with half a dose and put it into a bottle of water (16 ounces or more) that you sip throughout the day. Once your body has adjusted to that, increase the dosage to the full amount, in 16 ounces+ of water or herbal tea and sip throughout the day.

If you dilute the dosage and spread it out over the course of the day… It gives your body lots of time to gently utilize the mineral and not trigger any reactions.

Note: These instructions can apply to ANY QuikPlus mineral other than Iron. Because Iron has the potential to stain the teeth, it would need to be diluted in 16-32 ounces of water and ideally drink it through a straw (you can get glass or stainless steel straws on Amazon) so the liquid goes to the back of your mouth and doesn’t get swished around your teeth.

If instead you tend towards constipation and would like a little help with your bowel movements, you can take magnesium citrate, 300 mg per day. But if you want to bypass the digestive system (or take a larger dose), then take your magnesium in nanoparticle (angstrom-sized) form, or topically as transdermal magnesium oil – this oil can either be applied directly to your skin, or added to your bath or footbath. For complete details and instructions, see my blog post all about easily absorbed forms of magnesium.

Since our soils have become depleted of minerals, it is estimated that up to 60% of the population is deficient in magnesium. So likely ALL people would benefit from adding this essential mineral to their daily intake. I even give magnesium daily to my kids and it prevents them from getting cramps or ‘growing pains’ as they’re both competitive athletes (aged 9 and 11).

Is Magnesium Deficiency Related to Asthma in Dogs?

Here’s a story from one of Dr. Dean’s clients who even used magnesium to cure her dog’s asthma!

“The dog owner said that she’d read that asthma is caused by a magnesium deficiency. Since her dog has asthma attacks she decided to start spraying magnesium oil on the dog’s belly and it worked. It prevented attacks and it also stopped an attack if she applied it as soon as one occurred. She said the best way to apply the magnesium is to spray it on your hand or a cotton ball and rub it on the dog’s skin keeping it from running into the private parts. The magnesium is salty and oily so it can be irritating and if that’s the case, it would need to be diluted with water.”

So personally, I would use BOTH a substance (like glutathione, or hydrogen peroxide) in my nebulizer. AND supplement aggressively with atom-sized (nano) magnesium.

Originally published in July 2008. Updated December 2023