Hypochlorous acid was first identified as a distinct chemical entity more than 150 years ago by the French chemist Antoine Jérôme Balard in 1834. Balard was studying ways to use chlorine and water to alter dyes when he concluded that there had to be a distinct acid in his solutions under specific conditions. It reacted in a very special way, and he knew that nothing else would be able to do that — not elemental chlorine (Cl) itself, nor hypochlorite bleach (NaClO). He didn’t know what the structure was, but he named it Acide Hypocloreux (Hypochlorous Acid), and his intuition proved right; fortunately for us, it is a compound with remarkable abilities that work to our advantage inside living cells every day. 

Following this discovery, Balard's work would be heavily utilized by armies in World Wars I and II to treat chemical burns and to cleanse wounds. Before the use of common antibiotic medications, Balard's discovery of HOCl allowed for the successful irrigation and disinfection of wounds during World War I.

Later, HOCl solutions developed for environmental sanitation and therapeutic use in gangrene, diphtheria, and scarlet fever. With a firm knowledge of how HOCl contributed to disinfection and sanitation, aerosolized solutions of acidified hypochlorite were being used in London hospitals by the 1940s as an infection control measure against airborne dispersion of pathogens.

Several decades later, it was discovered that activated human neutrophils and other tissue-resident phagocytes naturally produce HOCl. Despite this discovery, scientists found that physiologically-produced HOCl has a limited lifespan despite its strength and rapid response to pathogens.

Today, a body of scientific research supports the use of hypochlorous in a diverse range of applications. Multiple studies have been published detailing the performance of HOCl in dermatologic and surgical practice² ⁷.

These reports provide compelling evidence that HOCl is a viable option for wound care⁹. Studies also support the usage of topical hypochlorous for a number of skin related inflammatory conditions, including atopic dermatitis¹ and acne vulgaris⁶.