(Couldn't find a more suitable category for this one; help?)

Ozone (O3) is, as (most) everybody knows, what filters out the UV rays from the sun and keeps up happy and non-cooked down here on earth. Ozone, however, is also highly toxic to anything that breathes, and in high concentrations can result in death.

From what I've been able to pull up, however, I haven't found any evidence (I might be wrong - if so inform me and I'll put the mfd on this myself) that ozone actually contaminates the skin. Therefore I propose that ozone be used to remove lice, crabs (yech), and any other critters that tend to exercise their parasitic whims on us humans on a dermal level. Would also be useful for removing fleas from animals. The idea here is to:

A.) Either put a person in an ozone-enriched environment with a respiratory mask to allow them to breathe or

B.) Have a small, plastic type of 'bag' that would fit over a person's hair (in the case of lice) but remain tight enough to keep ozone from spilling out. I don't think cutting off circulation would be a huge problem as ozone kills things pretty quickly.

Anybody able to disprove me on whether this would work? I know ozone is difficult to get, but if you can reuse the same bunch of it (either in the A version it is kept in the same environment, or in B you just pump it out of the bag and then back in once you're done with it) I don't think it would be a huge problem. (?)
-- Pseudonym #3, Sep 08 2003

Ozone for fishies http://qualitymarin...drygoods/ozone.html
[squeak, Oct 06 2004]

I stopped reading this idea when I reached the "remain tight enough to keep ozone from spilling out" part. Can anyone tell the rest if it's worth reading the whole thing?
-- Pericles, Sep 09 2003


don't know much about ozone except that its good up there ^ but bad down here. the thing to do with nasty little nits is to comb your hair with hair condiioner and break their little legs thereby stopping them from having much of a sex life. the first person to call me "nitty norah" gets a slap.

peri, pseud is always a useful read.
-- po, Sep 09 2003


nitty norah
-- Gulherme, Sep 09 2003


there's always one! :)
-- po, Sep 09 2003


Apart from the asphixiation niggle, it may well work. Ozone is widely used in water treatment/aquariums to kill bugs and fungus etc.
-- squeak, Sep 09 2003


This would work. My understanding is that ozone donates oxygen radicals, oxidizing the poo out of what it touches. So it may leave the hair blonde. Nits are really tough. I wonder what the skin toxicity of oxone is? I did recently read that liquid ozone is bright blue, and explodes violently on contact with any organic substance. Which I like.
-- bungston, Sep 09 2003


Just supporting nature, [UB].
-- Pseudonym #3, Sep 09 2003


//I know ozone is difficult to get//

Nope, Ozone is easy to get. Just climb on a tall building and wait for the next lightning strike. Lightnings make lots of Ozone. They are also very efficient at killing critters of all kind. You don't even need a bag.

[bungston] got me wondering, do so many girls dream about being blond because that makes it easy to hide lice treatments?
-- kbecker, Sep 09 2003


"I did recently read that liquid ozone is bright blue, and explodes violently on contact with any organic substance. Which I like."

Heh, what's *not* to like about that?
-- RoboBust, Sep 10 2003



random, halfbakery