Blue Light therapy, or photodynamic therapy, can be an effective treatment for severe acne. Blue Light therapy is an outpatient procedure that's also used to treat certain types of cancer.
How Blue Light Therapy Works
Blue Light therapy uses a blue light laser to kill P. acnes, the bacteria that cause acne. When too many of these bacteria grow in your skin, you'll suffer severe acne inflammation that could even lead to scarring. However, these bacteria are vulnerable to blue light, and it kills them.
The Blue Light Procedure Explained
Originally, Blue Light therapy was administered by dermatologists, who performed the procedure in their offices. When the procedure was new, dermatologists used a medication called Levulan, which contains ALA, to sensitize the patient's skin; this medication was applied about thirty minutes before the direct application of blue light. The patient then sat before a blue light lamp for several minutes, allowing the blue light rays to penetrate the skin and kill the P. acnes bacteria responsible for that patient's acne.
Drawbacks to this procedure called for the development of different techniques. The procedure was expensive and could be painful, so painful that many patients couldn't tolerate it. The sensitizing agent Levulan also makes patients very vulnerable to other types of light, leading to a high risk of severe sunburn. Finally, the effects of treatment don't last forever, requiring patients to return for future treatments when acne symptoms return.
Sometimes, in severe cases of acne, dermatologists still perform the procedure with the help of a sensitizing agent like Levulan to make the blue light rays more effective against P. acnes. However, it's been discovered that, in many cases, the application of a sensitizing agent isn't necessary, since P. acnes are naturally vulnerable to blue light. This means that Blue Light therapy no longer requires medical supervision. It's available in doctors' officesa and beauty spas; you can even buy your own hand held blue light device to use at home.
What to Expect from Blue Light Treatment
If you're receiving Blue Light therapy from a dermatologist who feels that you require a sensitizing agent to make the therapy more effective, then he will apply Levulan about half an hour before your treatment, though you may need to wait as long as an hour for the sensitizing agent to take effect. Then, you'll sit before a blue light lamp for six to ten minutes. The procedure will need to be repeated weekly for as long as two months. You may experience some pain and stinging during treatment.
If your acne isn't severe enough to require the use of a sensitizing agent like Levulan, then you can receive blue light treatments at a beauty spa or even administer them yourself at home. The procedure remains the same, except you'll skip the application of Levulan and sit in front of a blue light lamp for six to ten minutes. If you're using a hand held blue light lamp at home, you'll need to hold it over the affected area for three minutes.
