Power of Light Therapy
The Healing Power of Light Therapy
The benefits of light are many but to most people exposure to sunlight has only one benefit associated with vitamin D. however there is much worse views that have been propagated in relation to exposure to sunlight and while the fact that the UV rays exposure may cause skin cancer and harmful sunburn, the cosmetic industry has blown this issue out of proportion and the reality however is the intensity of the UV rays that causes such harmful effects is rarely achieved. The benefits of exposure to light have been overlooked perhaps clouded by the negative comments that had been propagated in the past. Exposure to light has many benefits.
Ultraviolet light as a medical treatment has been used since the beginning of the century. The technique is merely using UV light to stimulate the immune system and various enzyme systems. It is a tested and proven therapy that has accomplished incredibly miraculous cures with absolutely no side effects, and yet until recently it has been suppressed and ignored by American medicine.
UV light for disinfection
The use of UV light in infection isn’t new; it has been used for several years and is still being used for the same purpose. The approach to use of UV light in disinfection requires use of little sophisticated equipment and works by stimulating the body’s own immune response and various enzyme systems. When this UV light is used for disinfection, a small amount of blood is drawn from the body and is treated with UV light (photoluminescence) and then the blood is reinjected into the bloodstream. When this is done the body’s defenses are rapidly organized to destroy all invading organisms whether viral, bacterial or fungal. According to William C. Douglass, M.D, an author of a book entitled; Into the Light, a husband and wife, who both had a flu one treatment completely, reversed the system in both patients within two hours. The author however states that in case of serious infections, marked reduction in toxic symptoms is observed in 12 to 48 hours.
Another doctor, Dr. Jonathan V. Wright, MD believes that the benefits of the UV light far more outweigh its risks. He believes that UV rays from the sun are the best source of the vitamin D your body needs to ward off cancer and dozens of other health problems. But that’s just the beginning of what ultraviolet light can do. Not only is it an extremely effective disinfectant with the ability to kill bacteria, viruses, and fungi in the air and on surfaces but UV light also has the potential to prevent and even cure infections and diseases that other treatments are powerless against.
to many people the use of UV light in medical treatment may sound as a new technology but the reality however is that this treatment has been used since 19th century in prevention and treatment of diseases and hence isn’t a fresh area of research. The first experiment on the medical applicability of the UV light was done on the patients with lupus and sepsis. A breakthrough in the use of UV light saw a Danish physician named Niels Ryberg Finsen win a Nobel Prize for his work with UV light and the treatment of the disease in 1903.
Now that the benefits of light is known to you, there is a concern, why do we need light therapy when we can get all the benefits from the sun source UV light?
To answer this, I won’t dispute that the sun sourced UV light is the best but there are places or seasons when the sun isn’t seen and therefore there is need for a light therapy to help people in times of these times to evade dangers of deficiency of light. This is where light therapy comes in.
Light therapy also known as bright light therapy involves the use of light boxes emitting full-spectrum light similar in composition to sunlight. Daily exposure to this bright light is the treatment method most often recommended for patients with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). SAD is a form of depression that occurs as a result of reduced exposure to sunlight in the fall, winter and spring. When the SAD symptoms become more severe doctors recommend the light therapy to help reverse the condition.
Normally, during the treatment the patient will sit in front of a light box for thirty minutes a day during the season when light is inadequate. The treatment works best when the patient goes for it immediately after waking up. The patient can read, write or eat when sited before the light but it is advisable for the patient to stop looking directly at the light box. Light therapy is believed to work by its effect on brain chemicals that play a role in regulating mood. This treatment can relieve symptoms within a few days, but sometimes takes as long as two weeks or more.
Conditions that can be treated with light therapy
The light therapy can be used for the following disorders; skin disorder psoriasis and some other skin conditions, as well as for a type of cancer called cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. This light therapy is also effective in treatment of depression, insomnia, anxiety and can also be used to counter the effects of antidepressants.
Eating disorders like bulimia have been also treated by light therapy. However this treatment is still being studied for treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorders, premenstrual syndrome, jet lag, Parkinson’s disease, dementia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Finally, Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) is an experienced doctor who has been in the frontline in pursuit of integrative medicine that works best. He runs a website that equips readers of better ways to overcome not only drug addiction but also serious health problems that have caused nightmares to the world population. Get in touch with her today and learn more.
The Healing Power of Light Therapy
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