Autohemotherapy

Autohemotherapy, known in German as Eigenbluttherapie, is a procedure in which a small amount of your own blood is drawn from a vein and then injected back into your body, usually into a muscle. In some versions the blood is first mixed with ozone or a homeopathic preparation, or exposed to ultraviolet light.

A session takes about 15 to 30 minutes. A clinician draws a few milliliters of blood, prepares it as chosen, and reinjects it using sterile technique. A course often involves one or two visits a week over several weeks. Mild soreness at the injection site is common, and a brief fever reaction can occur.

The procedure is used in German naturopathic practice, where practitioners describe it as stimulating a general immune response, and people have explored it for allergies, recurring infections, and long-term complaints. Ozone versions have also been studied for peripheral arterial disease and chronic hepatitis.

The evidence is limited. The research consists mainly of small German-language observational studies and case reports, plus some controlled trials of ozone versions, and systematic reviews have concluded that the evidence is insufficient to support clinical recommendations. Claims about immune benefits should be viewed with caution.

Because this is an invasive procedure, it carries risks including infection from blood handling, injection site reactions, and fever, and it is restricted or not permitted in many places outside German-speaking countries. Consider it only with a licensed clinician using sterile technique, check with your doctor first, and never use it in place of medical care for a serious condition.

Autohemotherapy entered the medical literature in the early twentieth century. In 1913 the French physician Paul Ravaut described injecting a patient's own blood for skin disorders in the Annales de Dermatologie et de Syphilographie, and the German physician Spiethoff reported comparable work with autologous serum in the same period. Some accounts date Ravaut's first use a few years earlier, so the exact year is not settled.

The approach was later taken up in German-speaking countries, where it became known as Eigenbluttherapie and was used in naturopathic settings, including by Heilpraktiker, the licensed non-physician practitioners found in Germany. Variants that add ozone, ultraviolet light, or homeopathic preparations developed from the 1950s and 1960s, mainly in Germany and Italy, and medical ozone societies in Germany have published guidelines for the ozone versions.

Conventional dermatology largely moved away from the procedure because controlled evidence of benefit was lacking. Today it is still offered in parts of continental Europe and Latin America, while regulators in some countries, Brazil among them, do not recognize it as an established medical procedure. Anyone considering it should check local regulations and speak with a licensed physician.