For Mother’s Day, I want to recognize all the mothers—their struggles and sacrifices—and share how ozone therapy may help in the next few emails.
Mother’s milk is the best food for new infants… but for many new moms…
Between the milk supply issues, the infections, the pain, latching issues, and clogged ducts…
The courses of antibiotics, warm compresses, sleep deprivation, and incessant troubleshooting…
And the guilt that you may not be able to give your baby your best…
It’s one of the worst emotional rollercoasters and a source of real physical discomfort.
Now, I won’t claim that ozone therapy can fix all breastfeeding issues. It’s not a panacea.
But I’ll share studies on ozone therapy for mastitis, so you’re aware of a possibly safer and more effective option.
And because the ethical barriers to study any medical intervention in pregnant or breastfeeding women are very high, I’m sharing animal studies.
Study 1: Nineteen Holstein cows with acute mastitis received ozone-oxygen mix on the inflamed mammary quarters through the teat canal. Then the animals were monitored for 21 days [1].
The results included:
Significantly reduced clinical symptom scores by Day 3 (from 10 ± 0.97 to 4.55 ± 0.83), with continued improvement through Day 21.
Effective treatments against certain bacteria including Staphylococcus aureus, certain coliform bacteria, and Bacillus spp., but less effective against chronic infections such as S. uberis and A. pyogenes.
60% (9/15) of ozone-treated cows recovered fully without requiring antibiotics.
Excretion of large clots within 12–24 hours, suggesting a decongestant effect on the mammary tissue.
Study 2: Twelve dairy cows with grade 3 subclinical mastitis were randomized to ozone or antibiotics and steroids via injections into the mammary ducts [2].
Mammary quarters were randomly assigned to four treatment groups: 20 μg/mL ozone gas, 40 μg/mL ozone gas, a negative control (12.5 μg/mL ozonated saline), and a positive control (Antibiotic mixture of 100 mg cephalexin + 100 mg neomycin + 10 mg prednisolone).
Ozone treatment resulted in:
Effective, though less potent effects than antibiotics (both 20 μg/mL and 40 μg/mL).
Continued normal milk composition and quality.
No harmful residues left in the milk, indicating no need for withdrawal periods.
So, in summary, the pros of ozone therapy for mastitis included:
No antibiotic residue left on the breast or the milk.
No effect on the gut flora.
May have a decongestant effect on the mammary tissue.
Maintaining milk composition and quality.
Significant symptom relief.
Ozone gas infusion for mastitis is effective, although not 100% of the time, so in some cases antibiotics are still needed. As with various inflammatory conditions, it’s often beneficial to combine conventional treatments with ozone therapy under medical supervision.
For humans, aside from topical treatments with ozone gas, ozone oil and ozonized glycerin may be a helpful non-invasive option for similar benefits. Animal studies demonstrate some effectiveness [3].
In the next [blog], I’ll share some studies on birth recovery.
In health,
~The Ozonaut
1 Ogata, A. and Nagahata, H. (2000) Intramammary application of ozone therapy to acute clinical mastitis in dairy cows. J Vet Med Sci 62, 681–686
2 Fuentes, E. A., Achy, J. A., da Silva, D. F., Graboschii, A. C. G., Bernardo, J. de O., Joaquim, J. G., et al. (2023) Ozone use in the treatment of subclinical mastitis in dairy cows. J Dairy Res 90, 382–386
3 Raimundo, L., Souza, V., Belas, A. and Dâmaso, Â. (2025) Preliminary results of ozone therapy in 6 cases of bovine mastitis. Revista Lusófona de Ciência e Medicina Veterinária 18, 6–6