Phototherapy Treatment for Acne

The use of phototherapy is one of the widely known methods to treat and reduce the number of acnes growing all over the body, especially in the face. Phototherapy usually utilizes the properties of light to heal and prevent acnes from coming back. According to dermatology claremont centers, despite being considered as an in-office procedure and a far more expensive method, many patients still prefer phototherapy procedures because of the higher success rates compared to using topical bactericidals such as benzoyl peroxide cream. Phototherapy procedures include:

* Blue and red light treatment
* Laser treatment

Blue And Red Light

It has long been known that short term improvement can be achieved with light. Recently, visible light has been successfully employed to treat acne (phototherapy) - in particular intense violet light (405-420 nm) generated by purposely-built fluorescent lighting, dichroic bulbs, LEDs or lasers. Used twice every week, according to dermatology claremont centers, this has been shown to reduce the number of acne lesions by about 64%; and is even more effective when applied daily.

After treatment, clearance can last longer than what is typical with topical or oral antibiotic treatments. Several months of acne-free condition is not uncommon. The equipment or treatment, however, is relatively new and reasonably expensive to buy initially, although the total cost of ownership can be similar to many other treatment methods (such as the total cost of benzoyl peroxide, moisturizer, washes) over a couple of years of use.

In addition to basic science and clinical works, dermatologists Yoram Harth, Alan Shalita and several others have produced evidence that intense blue/violet light (405-425 nanometer) can decrease the number of inflammatory acne lesion by 60-70% in 4 weeks of therapy, particularly when the P. acnes is pretreated with delta-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), which increases the production of porphyrins. However this photodynamic therapy is controversial and apparently not published in a peer reviewed journal. A phase II trial, while it showed that improvement occurred, failed to show improved response compared to the blue/violet light alone.

Laser Technology

Laser surgery to reduce the scars left behind by acne has been in use for some time. Recently, however, research has been done on the use of lasers for prevention of acne formation itself. The laser is used to produce one of the following effects:

* to burn away the follicle sac from which the hair grows

* to burn away the sebaceous gland which produces the oil

*to induce formation of oxygen in the bacteria, killing them

According to a number of dermatology claremont centers, since lasers and intense pulsed light sources cause thermal damage to the skin, there are concerns that laser or intense pulsed light treatments for acne will induce hyperpigmented macules (spots) or cause long-term dryness of the skin.