Light Therapy

What is Light Therapy

Light therapy is the exposure to light – whether it is daylight or light using different kinds of lights for a specific amount of time or at a specific time of the day.

The types of light used for providing light therapy include lasers, fluorescent lamps, LEDs and dichroic lamps etc.

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.

In Conclusion

Thus, we can see that this therapy, though useful can also have some dangerous effects, if one is not careful about it. This is the case with anything in life – if overdone or not properly done, it can be harmful.