BISBEE — It was an idea borne out of a science fiction movie, “The Angry Red Planet.”

In the 1959 movie, space explorers on Mars bring back an amoebic-type critter and, of course, it wreaks havoc until electricity zaps it and kills it.

That led Bisbee-ite Byington Sims to a conclusion that electricity can work on a host of microscopic bugs that move into our bodies and make us sick.

Sims developed and built the Electrolytic Therapeutic Aqua Machine,

or ETAM for short, with the intent of helping people recover from persistent

and chronic infections by establishing a low-amperage current that can kill

pathogens. It’s a portable machine with no bells and whistles, and there is little to do but enjoy yourself in a hot bath.

“It will do nothing to healthy tissue, but if you have an infection or an injured

area you will feel a stinging or burning sensation as you move the anode across your body,” Sims said.

Electrical stimulation to promote healing is not a new concept as a trip in

the way-back machine shows. Imagine being stuck in a tub with a bunch of

electric eels as the Mesopotamian healer Scribonius Largus did in A.D. 47. It was the first recorded use of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation and was said to provide relief for arthritis.

In the 1800s, more experimentation was done and the Faradic Electrifier was born. Move forward to the 1920s and the Electreat reportedly produced positive results for pain reduction and other maladies.

Before you say, “This is quackery,” consider this: 30 years ago, medical manufacturers began building solid-state electronic stimulation machines for therapeutic use. And today’s medical specialists do surgically implant electrodes to help stimulate bone growth in certain fracture cases when the patients do not heal.

Sims said Dr. Robert Becker, who pioneered research of the effects of electric currents on regeneration of tissues back in the 1960s, determined in a study that only a very small current of electricity was needed after he fried a few cells with too much. Upon reducing the current to nanoamps (one-billionth of an ampere) and even picoamps (one-trillionth of an ampere), he found that over a period of a few days cellular regeneration occurred.

“It was a revolutionary treatment,” Sims added.

So, just how does his electrolytic machine work?

An electrical current of 20 to 30 miliamps (a miliamp is one thousandth of an ampere) that is produced through battery power runs through the body from the cathode, which acts as a ground in the water, to the anode that you hold in your hand. The cathode emits the electron flow and the anode collects the electron flow. You have to be submerged in water, or the affected area needs to be immersed, and place the cathode under a foot or other body part. With the anode in your hand underwater you move it across the affected area.

The current affects tissue on a cellular level and apparently can bust up those

microscopic colonizing invaders that have taken up residence in a wound or even in an organ, Sims said.

Sims had some sort of an infectious sore that had a pimple-like head on his leg. He believes it was MRCA, methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, which is a particularly bad, anti-biotic resistant bug. He built his first Electrolytic Therapeutic Aqua Machine and went to work on it.

“When I first treated it, I couldn’t hold the anode near the sore. It hurt too much. But, as time went on, I was able to bring it closer and closer as the infection went away,” Sims said. “Small amounts of electricity applied through the right techniques can do wonders. The electricity emitted can kill unwanted microbes.”

What Sims surmises is the small electrical charge also may provide a catalytic or even a direct boost to the body’s immune system.

He makes his ETAM’s in his home workshop that is covered with spools of special electric wire, soldering tools and the like. His first ETAM’s were contained in wooden boxes he made himself. But he quickly realized the wooden boxes were too fragile and prone to break if dropped. So, he moved in a more modern look with vinyl cases sized to fit the components and batteries that power the ETAM’s.

The rechargeable batteries can be supplied by Sims, or you can buy 12-volt or 24-volt rechargeable batteries at local stores. The power of the battery needed for optimum conduction relies on the type of water you have. If it’s on the soft side, the 24-volt battery — or two 12-volt batteries — need to be used. Table salt can be added to soft water to promote conductivity. With hard water, one 12-volt is generally enough.

There have been a few people who have used the ETAM and say they received benefits from it.

One of those people was Brenda Mazziat, who lives in New Mexico, but wants to move to Bisbee. She had an infected wound on the back of her leg that looked like “a volcano.” It remained just under the skin, but kept increasing in size. Even after two surgeries on it, the wound did not heal and the doctors thought it had attached to her bone. The infection also caused swelling in her leg and ankle and there was a time she was not able to even walk on it.

“A dermatologist looked at me and asked me why I was doing this to myself. Like I had  created this thing by picking at it,” she said. “I just walked out of his office. I was crying.  It’s so frustrating. You expect sores to heal like they normally do. When they don’t, it  gets scary.”

She is a friend of Sims’ partner, Dorit Amber, who told her to come give the ETAM a try. Mazziat did and as soon as the current was started the “volcano” erupted and stuff that looked like the snow in a snow globe burst out. She bought an ETAM and took it home with her.

“When I first did it, I couldn’t even bring the anode close to my leg. It hurt and burned. But now, it feels tingly and warm,” she added.

Now, two months later, the volcano is nothing more than a small mound surrounded by healthy tissue where it had been red and swollen. She credits the healing to the  electrical current breaking up the infection. She is continuing to use it until the wound is completely gone.

She’s not the only one who has given positive feedback.

John Fleisch said it helped pull the infection out of a particularly stubborn wound on his hand that became infected. Nothing was working, so he gave Sims’ machine a shot.

“It helped a lot. It seemed to help speed up the healing process,” he said.

He also gave it a try when he had congestion from the notorious bug that seems to be hanging around lately.

“I moved it across my chest and immediately felt a strong sensation over my lungs. I did it for a few minutes and it felt like I could breathe easier. It seemed to break that congestion up,” Fleisch added.

Martha Gurbach, who lives in Denver, also has been using the ETAM, but for

fibromyalgia, an auto-immune system affecting connective tissues such as tendons and ligaments that causes bodywide pain and chronic fatigue.

“The symptoms disappeared after a few treatments. I just stay in the hot tub for a couple of hours and use the machine. Now I can sit down and stand up without a lot of pain. I’m continuing the treatment and I feel so much better than I did,” she said.

A physician, who asked to remain anonymous, also purchased 50 of the machines to use on patients.

Since this type of therapy is out of the norm for the American Medical Association, the doctor will be using the ETAMs for research, gathering data to find out if it really works.

And that’s what Sims is doing — gathering data.

“I can’t say this will heal anything. It healed me and has worked on some others, but we need a lot more information on what it works on and what it doesn’t,” Sims said.

There are also a few cautions he gives his “guinea pigs.” There have been instances of people feeling ill or nauseous after treatment. That, he believes, is from the breaking up of infections and the release of toxins in the body. It is somewhat similar to the way one feels upon changing diets, fasting or going through a body cleansing, which flushes toxins from the body.

“This device also creates electroporation, a temporary state in which cells can absorb substances dramatically faster. This is a temporary condition and it dies down quickly after the treatment is over, generally in about 15 minutes. If you are in a compromised immune condition, on medication or are being treated for cancer or other chronic diseases, please do not use this device,” he said.

It may take awhile before Sims knows if his ETAM will be a viable alternative therapy for nasty or chronic infections or auto-immune diseases such as arthritis and fibromyalgia. In the meantime, people who need relief are volunteering to take part in the trials.

HOW TO CONTACT THE INVENTOR

“This is an experimental device. It is not intended for medical use or for the

replacement of medical treatment.” said Byington Sims, inventor of the Electrolytic Therapeutic Aqua Machine. His device has not undergone testing by the Food and Drug Administration.