Phototherapy is also going by the name or “light therapy”.
This is a medical treatment for diseases that are made by exposing skin to a specific kind of light.
It can be natural sunlight or artificial light with special wavelengths.
In this article, you are going to learn everything important about light therapy.
What is phototherapy?
This kind of medical treatment has been used in ancient times for curing skin diseases by Egyptians and Indians.
It has been also used by other peoples who have worshiped the sun.
Modern technology is believed to have been founded by Niels Finsen.
He has invented a shortwave lamp to treat a skin infection, believing that UV rays kill bacteria.
At the beginning of the twentieth century light therapy has been used for curing diseases like varicose ulcers and many more.
Technology and medicine today are modern enough to say that light therapy can treat diseases like cancer, psoriasis, and even sleep problems.
Light therapy can be considered even the UV tan one can achieve from a solarium.
And the blue light that is radiated from the screens of all digital devices is also phototherapy.
How is phototherapy working?
You can start light therapy on your own if your illness isn’t that serious.
So there is no need to consult with your doctor, but doing so is always a wise move.
And what is important to know about light therapy are three things: the intensity of the light; the treatment duration; and the regime of therapy.
These three vary from illness to illness and you should know the specifics of your own case.
This is of course only if you are using self-therapy. Otherwise, your medics will know better.
Some diseases can be cured after some period of time, but others cannot.
And light therapy is only helping to ease the symptoms of cases like, for example, disorders affected by seasons or depression.
Also, sometimes light therapy has to be accompanied by special pills and medicaments.
What can be treated with phototherapy?
Some kinds of skin irritations
They include illnesses like eczema, itchy skin, vitiligo, and psoriasis.
The methods of treatment include UV light that is part of the natural sunlight.
And it is actually the kind of light that is responsible for the tan you get on the beach.
It cannot pass through a glass window, though.
The UV light reduces cell growth and relieves the itching.\
Sleep problems
Some light therapies can make an influence on hormones.
Which is also why phototherapy can be used for mood problems and depressions.
Many people suffer from circadian rhythm disorders, most commonly caused by blue light from computers.
This means that the natural clock of the body is malfunctioning and cannot decide when it is day and when it is night.
This plays with the hormones of sleep, reducing their healthy levels.
Some cancer conditions
With some kinds of cancers and precancers, light therapy is used along with a medicine called photosensitizer.
This chemical element can kill nearby cells when it gets exposed to certain light.
However, the photosensitizer has to be absorbed by the whole body in order to reach the diseased cells.
Thankfully, normal and healthy cells clear themselves faster than diseased ones and thus they do not get infected.
Phototherapy cannot help with widespread cancers and ones that cannot be reached by light.
Babies
Newborns cannot produce vitamin D, which we naturally get supplied by the sun.
It is of a great need for the little children in order to grow healthy and with strong bones.
Therefore, babies have to be exposed to sunlight, which is some kind of light therapy, too.
Beauty procedures
There are many beauty procedures that involve light therapy.
Many people go to solariums for the perfect tan despite the risks.
And there are some developments of hair loss treatment with light that the scientists are working on over these days.
Are there any risks from light therapy?
All in all, there are very rare occasions of something gone wrong.
And if there are any side effects, they would be in result of improper light therapy without precautions.
They can affect your eyes and cause eyestrain and eye irritations.
Also lightheadedness, nausea, and headaches.
This is why such therapies should be done with great caution and consistency.
Make sure that your sensitive organs – like your eyes – are protected from the light.
Computer exposure to light and blue light damage
We are all exposed to some kind of phototherapy even if we do not acknowledge it.
And it happens every day thanks to our electronic devices.
This includes our phones, computers, TVs, artificial lightning, and so on.
However, blue light exposure is very far away from therapy to a human being.
The blue light is surrounding the modern person from every angle and slowly damages him.
The blue light can affect not only your eyes but your sleep and moods.
It can cause headaches and depression.
There are several methods to decrease the blue light impact on you.
You can get proper eyewear, like blue light glasses.
They are different from the ones with diopters and have a special film that covers the lenses.
Or you can install a blue light filter like Iris.
Iris is a blue light filter program that will block the blue light from any device.
It can be installed on your phone, computer, or tablet.
Iris can be used by everyone who wants to protect his eyes and to be healthy.
The effects of Iris will be visible in a short time after installation and you won’t feel any eye strain or have another sleepless night anymore.
Last words
Phototherapy is a very painless and useful way of treating certain diseases.
If you are not sure whether this is for you, then always ask a medic to help you make the best decision.
Invest in preserving your eyes from the bad things in everyday life.
With Iris on your computer, you are going to have so much more time to be productive and motivated.
Also, make sure you have a pair of nice sunglasses that are going to protect you from the harmful UV rays from the sun.
Author: Yoana Borisova
