Image via WikipediaAcne breakouts can affect people of all ages. Teens seem to be the most susceptible to the emotional rollercoaster that acne brings with it. Some people suffer with acne all their lives. Whatever happens, acne can be an emotionally devastating disease for anyone. There is no permanent cure that works for everyone, but there are some things you can do to find relief.
Many people have seen good results with these relatively new laser and light therapies. But these treatments don't work 100% of the time.
Acne can be treated with light therapy, and there are several different colors. Your doctor will determine which is right for you. Acne causing bacteria can be destroyed by using blue light treatments. A chemical reaction is caused in the skin. This is deadly to the bacteria. Red light therapy is used by doctors to decrease or eliminate inflammation and blemishes.
Acne may be severe enough that it doesn't respond to more traditional therapies. In this case you and your doctor may turn to laser treatments. While there are many kinds of laser light, very few have proven effect in treating acne. And, there seem to be very few side effects associated with laser treatments. Patients often experience some swelling and redness, but those usually go away in a matter of hours.
Some laser treatments use heat rather than light. Laser heat treatments are usually short with minor pain or discomfort, if any. You may have to see the doctor several times. If you want to eliminate acne early, rather than wait for acne to do more damage, this may be a treatment to consider.
When you have laser therapy, it is considered to be cosmetic surgery. You may have 3-4 therapy sessions to attend to get the results you want. Your cost could total out to be about $1500. If you have great health insurance, the cost, of course could be lower.
The sebaceous glands are targeted by Photodynamic therapy. This treatment kills cells by the use of light focused on cells treated with a photosensitizing drug. There may be some burning or pain felt during this treatment, and, in darker pigmented people, discoloration of the skin. Photodynamic therapy was used initially to treat cancer of the skin, so a benefit may be that cancer is prevented when you have this treatment. The good thing is that this is a non-invasive therapy. However, it is also fairly new, so there are not many stats describing long side effects. Per session, you may be paying about $600.
Some patients report that their acne cleared up by 50% after having Photodynamic therapy. Scars can also be softened and smoothed by this procedure. Light therapy can be combined with natural and traditional treatments. They don't have to exclude each other. Sometimes, a doctor may remove dead skin cells using microdermabraision before they do the light treatment. This gives the live skin cells a better chance of being sensitized to light by the photosensitizing drug, giving the therapy a better chance at working.
You should also consider how you might feel if you undergo the treatment vs not doing it. If the laser or light treatment is successful, then surely you will feel better about yourself and your health. But are you willing to put up with possibly 3 to 5 appointments, pain and redness, or discoloration of your skin(if you are darker skinned). Can you afford the cost? If you feel that overcoming embarrassment and a boost in self confidence is worth the obstacles you may have to overcome, then laser or light treatment may be worth it for you.
Many people have seen good results with these relatively new laser and light therapies. But these treatments don't work 100% of the time.
Acne can be treated with light therapy, and there are several different colors. Your doctor will determine which is right for you. Acne causing bacteria can be destroyed by using blue light treatments. A chemical reaction is caused in the skin. This is deadly to the bacteria. Red light therapy is used by doctors to decrease or eliminate inflammation and blemishes.
Acne may be severe enough that it doesn't respond to more traditional therapies. In this case you and your doctor may turn to laser treatments. While there are many kinds of laser light, very few have proven effect in treating acne. And, there seem to be very few side effects associated with laser treatments. Patients often experience some swelling and redness, but those usually go away in a matter of hours.
Some laser treatments use heat rather than light. Laser heat treatments are usually short with minor pain or discomfort, if any. You may have to see the doctor several times. If you want to eliminate acne early, rather than wait for acne to do more damage, this may be a treatment to consider.
When you have laser therapy, it is considered to be cosmetic surgery. You may have 3-4 therapy sessions to attend to get the results you want. Your cost could total out to be about $1500. If you have great health insurance, the cost, of course could be lower.
The sebaceous glands are targeted by Photodynamic therapy. This treatment kills cells by the use of light focused on cells treated with a photosensitizing drug. There may be some burning or pain felt during this treatment, and, in darker pigmented people, discoloration of the skin. Photodynamic therapy was used initially to treat cancer of the skin, so a benefit may be that cancer is prevented when you have this treatment. The good thing is that this is a non-invasive therapy. However, it is also fairly new, so there are not many stats describing long side effects. Per session, you may be paying about $600.
Some patients report that their acne cleared up by 50% after having Photodynamic therapy. Scars can also be softened and smoothed by this procedure. Light therapy can be combined with natural and traditional treatments. They don't have to exclude each other. Sometimes, a doctor may remove dead skin cells using microdermabraision before they do the light treatment. This gives the live skin cells a better chance of being sensitized to light by the photosensitizing drug, giving the therapy a better chance at working.
You should also consider how you might feel if you undergo the treatment vs not doing it. If the laser or light treatment is successful, then surely you will feel better about yourself and your health. But are you willing to put up with possibly 3 to 5 appointments, pain and redness, or discoloration of your skin(if you are darker skinned). Can you afford the cost? If you feel that overcoming embarrassment and a boost in self confidence is worth the obstacles you may have to overcome, then laser or light treatment may be worth it for you.
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