Light Therapy Is Used For Many Areas

Where is Light Therapy Used

Light therapy has found many uses in different areas. For example, it is used to treat a variety of skin diseases and it is used to treat mood and sleep related disorders as well. Let us have a look at the various places where light therapy is being used.

Acne:

It has been known since a long time that sunlight helps cure the bacteria which cause acne. The visible violet light which is present in the sunlight activates a porphyrin that damages and kills the bacteria which cause acne. And this process does not cause any tanning or sunburn. However, during the course of this treatment, it is important to protect the eyes from the light as this may be harmful to the chemicals in the retina. This treatment has proved to be more effective than Benzoyl Peroxide which is often used to cure acne.

Psoriasis:

One of the common problems of people suffering with psoriasis is skin inflammation. Narrow band ultra violet B rays are given as a light therapy on the skin surface which is inflamed. The ultra violet rays help suppress the inflammation on the skin.

Wound Healing:

It has been found that infrared light releases nitrous oxide in the blood stream which increases the circulation of blood in the area where the light is directed. This is very helpful for people, who due to various diseases such as Diabetes find it very difficult to heal wounds on the surface of the skin. This is also helpful for patients suffering with Neuropathy, Ulcers and for patients whose blood circulation is improper.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD):

People with seasonal affective disorder go into depression like states during the winter months. This is seen in places where the amount of daylight is very less in these seasons (countries near the North Pole, for instance). The cure for these people is full sunlight. So, light boxes which replicate sunlight conditions are used for these patients. These use artificial illumination to re-create the fully lighted atmospheric conditions that are normally present in sunlight.

Depression:

This is a non-seasonal kind of depression. But light therapy has shown interesting results in the treatment of such patients as well. A similar kind of treatment method is followed for treating these patients as with the people affected with SAD. The results are faster compared to the use of anti-depressants.

Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome (DSPS):

People suffering with Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome (DSPS) have problems sleeping and often end up falling asleep way past midnight and thus have difficulty waking up in the morning. In these cases the light must be provided as soon as the patient wakes up. Light therapy is useful for the people suffering from DSPS because it causes dawn simulation.

Jet Lag:

It has been seen that exposing the person suffering from jet lag to light at appropriate times before, during and after the air travel can actually reduce the effects of jet lag and help the body to adjust easily to the time differences. This process has even been used by NASA to train its astronauts for late night launches.

Heliotherapy:

This is a very popular term which is used to describe light therapy, and is used in spas and such places. These places use various forms of light therapy to provide tanning beds and booths and even tanning lamps which use both ultraviolet and infrared rays of light for providing treatment to their customers.

When not to use Light Therapy

However advantageous light therapy may be, there are certain times when light therapy is not advisable.

It has been observed that exposure to too much light can cause skin damage as well as destroying the amounts of vitamins A and C in the skin, and it can damage the generation of free radicals in the body. It is for this reason that it is said that light therapy should always be taken in the presence of a licensed practitioner, qualified doctor or dermatologist.

Light therapy used for patients suffering from depression can also cause maniac states (which are the absolute opposite of depressed states) because of the mood alteration effect produced by it. As such, it can also be considered similar to taking mood-altering drugs. Hence, it is always advised to take such therapies under the consultation of a qualified medical practitioner only.

In some cases, where the patient suffers from phototoxicity (light can kill the cells), or has a photosensitive skin or is taking certain medicines which can create such conditions, light therapy is not advised. Also, with patients that have a tendency towards manic behavior, light therapy is not advised.

 

By Madhavi Ghare
Published: 2/20/2008

Cosmetic LED Light Therapy for Skin Rejuvenation

Light Sound Technology actively searches for skin care products that are natural alternatives to Botox™and expensive cosmetic surgery or risky antibiotics that you can use in the privacy of your home.  The LED Light therapy products, LST recommends are below, and  give you a choice in cost and method.  These LED Light Therapy products stimulate cellular regeneration and cellular production.

Cosmetic Lasers and LED Light Therapy have shown to reverse and control the visible signs of aging and help you look years younger. The FDA Approved LFT9000 is becoming one of our most popular LED Light Therapy Systems

LED Light therapy has been shown in over 40 years of independent research worldwide to deliver powerful therapeutic benefits to living tissues and organisms. Both visible and infrared light have been shown to effect at least 24 different positive changes at a cellular level. Visible light penetrates tissue to a depth of about 8-10 mm.
Depth of penetration is defined as the depth at which 60% of the light is absorbed by the tissue, while 40% of the light will continue to be absorbed in a manner that is less fully understood. Treating points with light can have a dramatic effect on remote and internal areas of the body through the stimulation of nerves, acupuncture and trigger points that perform function not unlike transmission cables.

Our LFT FRK Kit is a Cosmetic Infrared Light therapy system utilizing the energy of light, called photon energy, to stimulate the activity of certain cell components. By using photo energy, you have a simple, effective, non-pharmacological medical alternative. It is quickly effective, cost effective, and easy to administer.

Light is energy that moves in a wave pattern. Light is also characterized by its wavelength in the electromagnetic spectrum. There are components in the tissue and blood that absorb wavelengths and activate normal cell activity. The reason for this increased cell activity is the photon. The photon is the energy portion of the light wave. For this reason we often refer to this therapy as PHOTON THERAPY.

Once delivered, the light energy promotes the process of photobiostimulation. The positive effect of photobiostimulation on animal cells is analogous to photosynthesis in plant cells, whereby a chain of chemical reactions are set in motion. In human tissue the resulting photochemical reaction produces an increase in the cellular metabolism rate which expedites cell repair.