Blue light therapy for severe skin diseases

New therapy option for severe skin diseases

09.03.2012

New therapy option for severe skin diseases: the blue light therapy. Eczema, itchy or scaly skin: unpleasant changes in the gossamer protective layer of our body occur more frequently. Many sufferers are ashamed, suffer greatly from their external blemish and feel significantly impaired in their quality of life. Creams and tablets often help only conditionally and worsen the condition of the skin in the long term even more. Who wants to break this vicious circle, now finds in the so-called pulsed blue light therapy, a gentle and sustainable alternative to the usual conventional medical treatment with UV light or cortisone. According to a study of the University Dermatological Clinic Mainz, 75 percent of the patients said that this new form of therapy was the best method to date. It relies on the stabilizing power of UV-free rays in the blue spectral range.

„The pulsed blue light therapy is particularly suitable for the treatment of inflammatory and allergic diseases of the skin and shows good results especially in atopic dermatitis and psoriasis“, reports med. Marcella Kollmann-Hemmerich, Specialist in dermatology at the Lichtklinik München. „And usually over many months or even years.“ Their successes are based on the effect of intense blue light on misdirected immune cells - a cause of many skin diseases. The action of light leads to their decay, reduces the inflammation and restores the complex equilibrium. As a result, the skin recovers and heals. In addition to the type of light, the timing plays an essential role in the positive effects of this blue light therapy. Because the organism is particularly susceptible to pulsed stimuli - that is, stimuli that do not occur continuously but at regular intervals. Accompanying the better appearance of the skin, during treatment it is also common to attenuate systemic side effects such as food allergies. In addition, the tissue-sparing and side-effect-free therapy is an option for conventional school medical measures, especially for infants and toddlers. Studies have shown that the majority of patients experience marked improvement in eczema and itching after only one or three treatment cycles.

„Experience shows that thanks to pulsed blue light therapy, the need for anti-inflammatory drugs usually drops significantly,“ knows Dr. Kollmann-Hemmerich. Especially in very severe cases that do not or only insufficiently respond to common treatment methods, it achieves good results. As a rule, health insurance companies also pay for the nationwide therapy offered here. (Pm)