Dimethyl sulfoxide is an organosulfur compound with the formula (CH₃)₂SO. This colorless liquid is the sulfoxide most widely used commercially. It is an important polar aprotic solvent that dissolves both polar and nonpolar compounds and is miscible in a wide range of organic solvents as well as water.
DMSO helps medicines get through the skin and can affect proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and water in the body. People use DMSO for bladder inflammation (interstitial cystitis), limb pain that usually occurs after an injury, and leakage of an IV drug from the vein into surrounding skin and tissue. used topically to decrease pain and speed the healing of wounds, burns, and muscle and skeletal injuries. DMSO is also used topically to treat painful conditions such as headache, inflammation, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and severe facial pain called tic douloureux.