Alternative Medical Treatments Blog » Light

Light Therapy as an Acne Treatment

Andrew — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 21:45:29 +0000

For those with severe acne problems, there are limited treatments. Some dermatologists prescribe certain acne drugs or acne facial soaps or other external treatments. But many dermatologists have taken to using blue light or red light therapies to treat acne.

Besides these two types of light, sunlight is the best acne treatment; but the UVA and UVB rays in sunlight are extremely damaging to the skin, especially during prolonged exposure. Since artificial UV didn’t work as well as real sunlight, blue and red visible rays were found to be effective and safer. These two lights actually have the ability to destroy the bacteria that cause acne in the skin. The prescribed therapy is generally 3 days of exposure; this can get rid of almost all (99.9%) of the bacteria in the skin. The only real precaution dermatologists need to take with this treatment is appropriate eye protection.

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Let the Sunshine in

Andrew — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 19:34:09 +0000

The number of diagnosed and treated cases of depression and seasonal affective disorder has grown over the last few years. This has, of course, brought about the development of new treatments for all types of depression. One of the newer alternative depression treatments is light therapy. The use of “light boxes”, which provide 10,000 lux of artificial light, not only has been proven to help persons with Seasonal Affective Disorder, but recently they have been shown to help all types of depression.

Though these light boxes do not cause any skin damage the way other types of light therapies � like ultraviolet light therapies � do, there has still been research into other types of light therapy for depression. The use of blue light to treat depression is just as effective as the use of light boxes for younger patients; however, it is not effective in older patients.

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Theories on Light Therapy Safety

Andrew — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:43:21 +0000

Light therapy uses ultraviolet and other types of light to treat a wide range of illnesses and medical and emotional problems. Almost anything from skin problems to emotional distress and depression can be at least helped by light therapy. But as with most medical and alternative therapies, there are some disadvantages to light therapy.

It is widely known and acknowledged by the medical community that ultraviolet light is damaging to the skin. It breaks down vitamins A and C in the skin, and can damage the skin’s collagen. Some genetic damage has also been seen with extended exposure to UV. Blue light is also used in some light therapy; unfortunately, blue light can cause breaks in cellular DNA. While the cells can usually repair themselves, research has shown that cancer can easily develop in damaged cells like those injured by blue light exposure.

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Herbal Medicine Usage Theories

Andrew — Sun, 17 May 2009 21:44:40 +0000

When you use herbs, you probably don’t think about why you are using them the way you are. Most herbal medicine practitioners subscribe to one of several different theories about the proper use of herbal medicine. One of the oldest theories is the Chinese theory that states that herbal medicine is divided into two categories that produce yin-yang balance: pro-oxidants and anti-oxidants. Another, slightly more recent theory about herbal medicine is derived from Native American uses. Native Americans used herbs according to their physiological effects and spiritual uses.

A modern theory combines some of these older theories to create the use of herbal combinations to treat illnesses. According to the Triune formula, there are nine herbal combinations that nourish, supplement, or drain the main organ systems of the human body. This formula was derived from ideas in Chinese herbal medicine.

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The Usage of Homeopathy Here and Abroad

Andrew — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 15:46:17 +0000

Because most practitioners of Western medicine view homeopathy in a negative light, there are not many homeopaths in the United States and other Western countries. This negative opinion of homeopathy comes from the fact that homeopathic medicine is not scientifically proven to work, nor is it tested thoroughly by the governmental agencies � like the Food and Drug Administration in the United States – that regulate medication in Western countries.

In the United States, for example, homeopathic medicine and treatments are only practiced by about 2% of the population. In Great Britain there is also a very small few who practice homeopathy: again, approximately 2% of the population. However, in countries like India, the numbers are much higher. Because homeopathy makes up a large part of the standard medical practices and traditional medicine in India, approximately 15% of the population uses homeopathic treatments and medicines.

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