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CO2 is a Real Medicine and Keeps Us Alive, Healthy, and Heal Us

Published on October 10, 2025

There is much insanity in the world in general, but a special kind of insanity surrounds carbon dioxide, the most essential gas on the planet. More is beneficial. Without CO2, there would be no oxygen, as plants use carbon dioxide to produce oxygen. Totally insane people like Bill Gates make a big deal about CO2 and would like us to block the sun to cool the planet that is already cooling, not warming.

CO₂ is a natural product of metabolism and is normally removed by breathing. In the brain, CO₂ levels directly influence blood flow: high CO₂ (hypercapnia) dilates cerebral vessels, thereby increasing blood supply; low CO₂ (hypocapnia, often caused by overbreathing or anxiety) can reduce blood flow. Abnormal CO₂ regulation has been linked to changes in pH, neurotransmitter activity, and cellular stress, all of which may impact brain function.

Most people today have a deficiency of carbon dioxide in their blood, and a primary reason is overbreathing, which occurs when breathing too fast, lowering CO2 levels in the blood. Unfortunately, this also results in lower oxygen levels.

Circulation, oxygen delivery, inflammation control, and tissue regeneration must all align to maintain health and heal. Yet in many cases, healing stalls because tissues are starved of oxygen and nutrients while inflammation becomes chronic. When an injury strikes, the body’s ability to heal depends on more than rest. This is where carbon dioxide therapy offers a breakthrough.

Far from being just a “waste gas,” CO₂ relaxes blood vessels, improves microcirculation, balances the inflammation response, and helps hemoglobin release oxygen right where it’s needed — a mechanism known as the Bohr Effect. The result? The body can do what it is designed for: heal, repair, and regenerate. From chronic diabetic ulcers to elite sports injuries, research and real-world results show that CO₂ can dramatically accelerate recovery.

CO₂ Therapy Speeds Up Wound Healing


Three close-up images showing feet with severe tissue damage and gangrene affecting multiple toes.

For individuals struggling with non-healing wounds, CO₂ has proven to be a transformative treatment. Clinical studies in Europe and Japan show that CO₂ therapy — whether applied as foot baths, injections, or pastes — can restore blood flow, prevent amputations, and even reverse long-standing ulcers. In one trial, two-thirds of diabetic foot ulcers healed fully with CO₂ treatment, compared to none in the placebo group. Case reports also highlight dramatic recoveries: patients scheduled for amputations instead walked out of the hospital after just a few months of CO₂ foot baths. Beyond chronic wounds, research also shows that CO₂ reduces scarring, promotes muscle regeneration, and restores both function and appearance after severe injuries.

Remarkable Results On Diabetic Ulcers

In diabetic foot ulcers, the results are striking. In a double-blind randomized trial, 20 out of 30 wounds treated with transcutaneous CO₂ healed completely, compared with none in the placebo group. The authors concluded: “Complete healing was observed in two-thirds of patients, while the placebo group showed no comparable improvement.”

Two medical images of a foot showing healing after surgery or infection, with visible scarring and reduced inflammation.
A 66-year-old male with diabetes, PAD, and Charcot arthropathy had a persisting wound for 6 months (A). The wound was completely healed in 4 weeks with transcutaneous application of CO2 (B)

Another prospective study of 40 severe diabetic ulcers treated with subcutaneous CO₂ injections showed similarly dramatic results: not a single amputation was required, 31 patients healed fully, and the remaining nine improved significantly. These findings highlight CO₂ as a safe and effective method for reversing even advanced cases of diabetic wounds.

At Nagoya University, researchers followed 59 diabetic patients with critical limb ischemia after vascular surgery. Those given daily CO₂-enriched foot baths had far superior outcomes: 97% remained free from ulcer progression compared with 78% in the control group, and no amputations occurred in the CO₂ group. The researchers concluded that CO₂ immersion effectively prevents ulcer deterioration by restoring microcirculation.

CO₂ Therapy Helped Yankees Pitcher’s Remarkable Recovery

Top athletes are now turning to CO₂ therapy to recover more quickly, train more effectively, and achieve their peak performance. One striking example is New York Yankees pitcher Luke Weaver, who suffered a hamstring strain that MRI scans suggested would sideline him for six weeks.

With the support of performance coach Andy Clower, Weaver integrated a CO2 inhalation device with a Cardisuit CO₂ Bath into his daily rehabilitation routine. By boosting circulation, enhancing neural recovery, and accelerating tissue repair, CO₂ therapy helped him return to the baseball mound in just 15 days — feeling stronger than before his injury.

Book cover titled “Climate CO2 Hoax: How Bankers Hijacked the Environment Movement” by Mark-Gerard Keenan, with green grass and a foggy background.

“With a virtual monopoly on mainstream media as well as social media, the ‘climate change is caused by CO2 brainwashed much of the world into believing that we should eliminate hydrocarbons, including petroleum, natural gas, and coal. This bogus claim is a cover for an ulterior agenda. CO2 is not carbon or soot; it is an invisible, odorless gas essential to plant photosynthesis and all life forms on earth, including us.”

“The myth of man-made climate change due to CO2 emissions has become so normalized among all political parties worldwide and in the general population that, at times, it seems as if one is living in an entire society ‘blind to the truth’. Images of the apocalyptic movie and book ‘Day of the Triffids’ spring to mind. In this book, almost the entire population of the Earth has become physically blinded. In 2023, it appears we are living through a society that has largely become ‘mentally blinded’ to the truth.”

Combining the Three Essential Gases


Hydrogen Medicine - Combining Oxygen, Hydrogen, and CO2 - Dr. Mark Sircus book image

Carbon dioxide is the perfect medicine. It can be inhaled directly into the lungs. Using CO2 is not new, and in hospitals, one cannot receive oxygen without CO2 added to the oxygen bottles. CO2 makes oxygen safe, as does hydrogen, because hydrogen neutralizes the exhaust of life, the worst of the free radicals that come from oxidation, bringing down oxidative stress and inflammation. Using CO2 as a medicine is the practice of pH medicine. If it is strong enough to treat and cure gangrene, it is strong enough to help us with the coronavirus pandemic. Most ICU departments have carbon dioxide inhalation devices, but they hardly use them.

CO2 in the form of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) is widely available in nearly every drugstore and supermarket worldwide. With it, one can attack viruses at their most vulnerable point, which is their sensitivity to changes in pH. CO2 is produced inside the body because every cell creates it.

As any biochemist will tell you, the CO2 you exhale is not just a ‘waste gas.” It is just as essential to your health as oxygen. Your body not only produces CO2  but also maintains it at a concentration over 180 times greater than that found in Earth’s atmosphere. And it does this for a reason. If that concentration drops just a little lower (a condition known as mild respiratory alkalosis), serious health consequences can result over time — such as asthma, sleep apnea, stroke, heart attack, arterial sclerosis, chronic liver disease, and even cancer.

Over the oxygen supply of the body carbon
dioxide spreads its protecting wings.
Friedrich Miescherundefined
Swiss physiologist, 1885

More than 90% of carbon dioxide in your blood exists in the form of bicarbonate (HCO3). The rest of the carbon dioxide is either dissolved carbon dioxide gas (CO2) or carbonic acid (H2CO3). Your kidneys and lungs balance the levels of carbon dioxide, bicarbonate, and carbonic acid in the blood.

Taking sodium bicarbonate orally or bathing in a tub saturated with it results in a shift of the body’s pH to less acidic and more alkaline. That is because baking soda is an electron donor. As the pH rises, so do cellular voltage and cellular oxygen levels.

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Hi, I'm Dr. Mark Sircus, AC., OMD, DM (P), a doctor and writer of more than 23 books that have sold over 80,000 copies all over the world. My best-selling book is "Sodium Bicarbonate: Rich Man's Poor Man's Cancer Treatment" which has been translated into Chinese, Russian and Spanish.

On my website there are hundreds of free articles, but if you need some personalized help, you can make a consultation.

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