Light Therapy

Other Name : Phototherapy
See also : Chromotherapy
Light therapy or phototherapy (classically referred to as heliotherapy) consists of exposure to daylight or to specific wavelengths of light using polychromatic polarised light, lasers, light-emitting diodes, fluorescent lamps, dichroic lamps or very bright, full-spectrum light, usually controlled with various devices. The light is administered for a prescribed amount of time and, in some cases, at a specific time of day.

Special Precautions of Light Therapy

Before beginning treatment, discuss any questions or concerns you have regarding this procedure and any related side effects with your physician.

• Erythema : Exposure to UV light during phototherapy may cause reddening of the skin, a condition called erythema. This is a common occurrence and will typically resolve within several hours or days following initial treatment. Prolonged exposure to UV light during phototherapy treatment may burn or damage the upper layer of skin. If this occurs, you may experience sensitivity, pain or itching at the site of treatment. Such symptoms will resolve within several days following exposure. If your skin is severely irritated, speak with your doctor to discuss the use of over-the-counter products that may alleviate these symptoms.
• Headaches : Phototherapy may cause certain people to develop a headache during or following treatment. The headache may be mild or moderate in severity and will typically resolve within a few minutes or hours after treatment is completed. Over-the-counter pain medications, such as acetaminophen or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may be recommended to help alleviate headache symptoms.
• Fatigue : After you receive a phototherapy treatment, you may feel excessively tired or fatigued. If this occurs, you may benefit from having someone accompany you to your appointment so that you do not need to be concerned about driving home while you are fatigued.
• Cataracts : If you receive phototherapy near or on your face, you may be at an increased risk of developing cataracts. This eye condition can cause double, blurred or cloudy vision to develop in certain people. Your doctor will provide you with protective eyewear to use during treatment to prevent potential damage to your eyes.
• Diarrhea : Certain people---especially infants and children---may experience diarrhea following phototherapy treatment. Diarrhea is a condition that results in the excretion of loose or watery stools; it can also cause abdominal cramping or bloating in certain people.
• Premature Aging of the Skin : Recurrent or prolonged phototherapy treatment may cause premature aging of the skin in certain people, reports the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts. You may develop dry or itchy patches of skin at the site of phototherapy treatment. Wrinkles, age spots or freckles may also appear on the regions of skin that have been exposed to UV phototherapy.
• Other side effects of light therapy for sleep phase disorders include jumpiness or jitteriness and nausea.

The benefits of Light Therapy are

Though the popular consumer understanding of "light therapy" is associated with treating seasonal affective disorder and skin conditions like psoriasis, other applications include the application of low level laser, red light, near-infrared and ultraviolet lights for pain management, hair growth, skin treatments, accelerated wound healing.

• Psoriasis : Three percent of the population suffer from psoriasis, and UVB phototherapy has been shown to effectively treat the disease. A feature of psoriasis is localized inflammation mediated by the immune system. Ultraviolet radiation is known to suppress the immune system and reduce inflammatory responses. Light therapy for skin conditions like psoriasis use UV-A (315–400 nm wavelength) or UV-B (280–315 nm wavelength) light waves. UV-A, combined with a drug taken orally, is known as PUVA treatment.[citation needed]
• Acne vulgaris : Sunlight was long known to improve acne, and this was thought to be due to antibacterial and other effects of the ultraviolet spectrum which cannot be used as a long-term treatment due to the likelihood of skin damage.It was found that some of the visible violet light present in sunlight (in the range 415–430 nm) activates a porphyrin (Coproporphyrin III) in Propionibacterium acnes which damages and ultimately kills the bacteria by releasing singlet oxygen. A total of 320 J/cm2 of light within this range renders the bacteria non-viable.
• Other skin conditions : Phototherapy can be effective in the treatment of Eczema, Atopic Dermatitis, Polymorphous light eruption, Vitiligo, Lichen Planus and Mycosis Fungoides.
• Tanning : Tanning is caused by the effects of two different spectrums of ultraviolet radiation: UV-A and UV-B.
• Wound healing : Some case studies have found low-level laser light to be possibly helpful as an adjuctive treatment in wound healing, although a review of the overall scientific literature does not support the use of low-level laser therapy for this purpose.
• Seasonal affective disorder : While full sunlight is preferred for seasonal affective disorder (SAD)[citation needed], light boxes may be effective for the treatment of the condition. Light boxes for seasonal affective disorder are designed to filter out most UV light, which can cause eye and skin damage.[15] The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved the use of light boxes to treat SAD due to unclear results in clinical trials,[16] but light therapy is still seen as the main form of treatment for SAD.Direct sunlight, reflected into the windows of a home or office by a computer-controlled mirror device called a heliostat, has also been used as a type of light therapy for the treatment of SAD.It is possible that response to light therapy for SAD could be season dependent.
• Non-seasonal depression : Light therapy has also been suggested in the treatment of non-seasonal depression and other psychiatric disturbances, including major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder[21] and postpartum depression.[22][23] A meta-analysis by the Cochrane Collaboration concluded that "For patients suffering from non-seasonal depression, light therapy offers modest though promising antidepressive efficacy."
• Circadian rhythm sleep disorders : In the management of circadian rhythm disorders such as delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS), the timing of light exposure is critical. For DSPS, the light must be provided to the retina as soon after spontaneous awakening as possible to achieve the desired effect, as shown by the phase response curve for light in humans. Some users have reported success with lights that turn on shortly before awakening (dawn simulation). Morning use may also be effective for non-24-hour sleep-wake syndrome, while evening use is recommended for advanced sleep phase syndrome.
• Neonatal jaundice : A newborn infant undergoing white-light phototherapy to treat neonatal jaundice.Light therapy is used to treat cases of neonatal jaundice[30] through the isomerization of the bilirubin and consequently transformation into compounds that the newborn can excrete via urine and stools. A common treatment of neonatal jaundice is the Bili light.
• Parkinson's Disease (PD) : Bright light therapy may ease Parkinson's disease by reducing patients' tremors.
• MRSA : (Blue) Light Therapy: an average of 90.4% strains of MRSA were killed within minutes of exposure to simple blue light. These significant levels of photo-destruction at low dosages indicate that irradiation with 470nm LED light energy may be a practical, inexpensive alternative to treatment with pharmacological agents, particularly in cases involving cutaneous and subcutanious MRSA infections that are susceptible to non-invasive types of radiation.
• Tuberculosis (TB) : Heliotherapy has been around for centuries as a treatment for tuberculosis.