Clear Blue
Clear Blue
Blue-Light Therapy for Treating Acne - Terrible or Terrific?
Contemplating how to get that clear beautiful complexion? The latest advance in laser technology could make this more than a pipe dream for acne sufferers. The technique is called BLU-U for short, basically because it involves the use of visible blue light.
How does blue light affect acne?
To answer this question let us briefly recapitulate what acne really is. Acne is simply the term used to describe the clogged pores (pimples, whiteheads, blackheads or lesions) that occur on your face or on other parts of your body. The cause of acne comes from a disorder of the skin's oil glands. These oil glands produce a substance called sebum, which is constantly secreting through openings in the skin.
In some cases cells that are too close to the openings of these oil glands actually end up in the way and block the opening. As a result, oil builds up underneath the skin and provides a wonderful feeding ground for the nasty bacteria that simply multiply and cause acne.
What the blue light does is trigger the proliferation of photo sensitizers (so called porphyrins) in the acne causing bacteria. This creates a toxic environment, which destroys the acne bacteria themselves, thereby eliminating a major culprit in the process of producing acne.
What happens during a treatment session?
Blue-light therapy typically requires 16 minutes per treatment session. Patients sit in a chair while the therapeutic light is applied. Apart from an occasional, slight warming sensation, BLU-U light treatments are described as easy, even relaxing.
Typically, blue-light treatments are given twice a week for four weeks, then once a week for four weeks. Experts in photodynamic therapy generally recommend that patients do not miss any treatment appointments in order to see maximum results. BLU-U effectively clears 70% of moderate, inflammatory acne in 4-8 weeks, and best results are achieved when used with conventional treatments, such as topical creams and oral antibiotics.
BLU-U is FDA approved and is considered one of the safest acne treatments available. It has no known side effects. Some health care professionals like to say that teenagers can expect results to last for a year, while many grown-ups can expect them to last a life time. However, varying results should be expected from one person to the next and your skin type will play an important role in determining the results of blue-light treatments.
Can blue light cure severe acne as well?
In most cases of moderate to severe cystic acne the blue light itself is not enough to treat the condition. In those cases a prescription solution of a photosensitizing agent called Levulan (5-aminolevulinic acid) is applied to the affected skin. After the solution has been allowed time to absorb into the skin (it typically takes from 1-2 hours) the patient sits under a Blu-U light which activates the Levulan. The result is a reduction of acne lesions and oiliness and in turn produces skin rejuvenation.
This sounds exciting, and it is. However, do not forget to be critical. First of all, according to the FDA, a Levulan/BLU-U treatment does have some potential side effects. These include, but are not limited to: a tingling, stinging, prickling, or burning feeling of the treated areas. These feelings should improve at the end of the blue light treatment and should end within 24 hours.
Following blue light treatment, the surrounding skin, will redden. Swelling may also occur. These changes should reach a maximum the day after BLU-U treatment. However, these changes are temporary, should improve markedly by the end of the first week, and should be completely gone by 4 weeks after treatment. Other side effects at the treatment sites may include: scaling, itching, and changes in skin color.
Second, ask critical questions when you talk to your health care provider about Levulan/BLU-U. For example, the treatment regimen dramatically decreases the production of sebum, but is this really good for your skin overall? It may help relieve acne, but what if sebum is important for your skin in other respects? Does sebum help keep the skins elasticity? Does it play an integral role in the anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties of the skin? Does it prevent your skin from becoming to dry? Does it help protect your skin from the sun? Ask questions, and expect thorough answers. After all, it's your skin on the line.
An addition to the arsenal
Blue-light therapy, both by itself and in combination with Levulan, is a very exciting new approach to treating acne. Regardless of skin type or lifestyle, approximately 80% of the population will suffer from acne at some point in their lives. Acne is common in both teens and adults, and effective treatment solutions are in great demand.
BLU-U/Levulan is an exciting addition to the arsenal of those who battle acne regularly. At this point, however, it should not be considered the be all and end all of acne treatment, and both medical and alternative treatments should be considered as well.
About the Author
Martin Hansen is the author of one of the most up-to-date
acne treatment
review
sites on the Internet today. Find new ways to battle your acne and possibly ban
it forever at http://www.myacnetreatmentreview.com/.
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Blue Xenon Bulbs: A Guide to Upgrading your Headlight Bulbs
We have all been there, driving along the motorway at night when suddenly you see a vehicle approaching in your rear view mirror with intensely blue xenon headlights that seem to stand out from all the other cars around you. Once the vehicle has passed you by, you may find that it was the latest Range Rover, BMW or Mercedes, but is there a way to get that same blue xenon bulbs look for your own headlights?
The light you see from the headlights of these prestige cars are generated by HID xenon bulbs, the HID stands for High Intensity Discharge and it means that these xenon bulbs operate on a different principle to normal halogen headlight bulbs. Instead of using a metal coil filament to create light the HID Xenon bulbs use a very high voltage spark to ignite the xenon gas inside the bulb to create a much more intense and powerful light.
Although HID xenon bulbs generate a more intense light, the blue colour that you see as they loom up behind you is not necessarily due to the bulbs having a blue xenon tint. Often the colours you will see emitted from HID lights is due to refraction. If you can remember back to your school days, you may have seen a science experiment whereby a white light is split into to different colours by passing through a glass pyramid. The same principle occurs with HID xenon lights, normally the xenon bulbs emit a white light but as the light is refracted around the metallic reflector and glass lens it changes colour to give the impression of a blue xenon light.
It is possible to get a similar HID blue xenon light effect, even if your vehicle does not have HID xenon bulbs fitted as standard, by replacing your existing halogen headlight bulbs with the latest upgrade blue xenon bulbs. Importantly these upgrade headlight bulbs are a direct replacement for your standard halogen bulbs and so can be fitted without modifications or cutting wires.
Whilst there is a wide range of upgrade blue xenon bulbs on the market today, ECE regulations limit the maximum level of blue tint, so you will find that the amount of blue light emitted by street legal upgrade bulbs is very similar. Typical examples of street legal blue xenon bulbs include Osram Cool Blue, Philips Blue Vision and Ring Extreme Blue.
For vehicles not limited by street legal products, like rally cars and off-road vehicles, there are much darker high wattage blue xenon bulbs, like Ring Sportz Blue, which will really ensure that your vehicle stands out from the crowd. It is important to remember however that the darker the blue xenon tint, the hotter the bulb will get which will shorten the bulbs overall lifespan.
So there you are, fitting blue xenon bulbs will not only make your headlights look more stylish, you will also find that they help to reflect and illuminate road markings more clearly with a much crisper and more intense light.
About the Author
Jo Alexander is an online, freelance journalist and keen windsurfer. Jo lives by the sea in Essex.
