The sun’s rays are necessary for all life but could pose a threat often as well, as extreme amounts of sun exposure can be very harmful to our skin. Unprotected skin might lose its natural oil and dry out in the sun. The sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays can cause burning and permanently change the skin’s structure and even cause something severe and fatal, like skin cancer.
Blue light therapy is a promising way to lower the risk of skin cancer and improve the health and vitality of skin damaged by being in the sun for a long time. Several skin and subcutaneous problems can be helped by exposure to blue light. The process is totally painless. Blue light therapy changes into photodynamic therapy when photosynthesizing (or light-sensitive) drugs are mixed with a strong light source. The use of natural violet or blue light as an alternative medicine is being looked into.
The treatment area for blue light therapy is limited to the physical range of the light. Its usual target thus conditions on or near the skin’s surface. Furthermore, blue light therapy can be effective in reducing acne. In this article, we will learn more about blue light therapy and see how it can help deal with skin cancer.
What Conditions Does Blue Light Therapy Help With?
Blue light treatment can be used for a variety of purposes. Precancerous and cancerous growths on the skin can be treated with it, and it is also used for prevention. Actinic keratoses are changes to the skin that make it more likely to get cancer. Rough, scaly areas of skin can be any shade from pale to deep tan to red to white to the flesh. If you have more than one patch, you should get blue light treatment because it can treat them all at once.
Blue light therapy is used to cure sunspots, UV damage, and rosacea, and treat and prevent skin cancer. It can also be really helpful for acne sufferers who don’t want to keep applying creams all the time.
The procedure of Taking Blue Light Therapy
There are three stages to a blue light treatment session. They are-
- An external photosensitizing agent is used
- The medication is absorbed into the skin
- The blue light is applied
When applied to the skin, the photosensitizing substance increases the ability of certain skin tissues to absorb specific wavelengths of light. Aminolevulinic acid is a liquid that makes the skin less sensitive to light. It is put on the skin during the therapy visit. It requires some time for the product to absorb after application. The time required for this procedure can vary greatly depending on the size of the affected area. Blue light creates a reaction in the skin and kills the targeted skin tissue when applied to the treated skin. The medication’s effects are localized to the area of the skin that took it in.
Blue light therapy usually only takes a short amount of time and can be done outside of a hospital. Photodynamic therapy may be an exception to this rule if it is used to treat cancer in high-risk places.
Time spent in treatment ranges from 15 minutes to 90 minutes, depending on the size of the region being treated and whether or not a topical drug has been used. When treating a localized problem, like a single cancerous mole, the affected region may only need to be exposed to blue light for 17 minutes.
Blue light therapy devices are also available for purchase and can be used conveniently by people suffering from depression or seasonal affective disorder on a regular basis to alleviate their symptoms.
How Efficient is Blue Light Therapy?
Blue light therapy can be an effective treatment for skin disorders when used frequently and with follow-up sessions. Actinic keratosis (precancerous sun spots) require 1–4 sessions, with annual maintenance; acne requires 4–6 sessions, with maintenance sessions every 3-6 months.
Photosynthesizing medicines cause a stronger reaction, which makes photodynamic therapy a better way to treat skin cancer lesions and other cancerous areas. Depression can also be helped by exposure to bright light, but before trying this method, it’s important to discuss it with your doctor to determine the safest and most effective approach.
How Blue Light Therapy Deals with Cancer
When dealing with actinic keratoses, blue light therapy can be helpful for patients.
These pimples, sometimes called solar keratoses, are caused by prolonged exposure to the sun and can be anything from the size of a pinhead to an inch in diameter. If these precancerous lesions are not treated, 10% of them are likely to turn into squamous cell carcinoma.
It has been shown that treating actinic keratosis with blue light can assist in treating and reducing the number of precancers, which in turn may help reduce the number of fully developed skin malignancies and aid in photo rejuvenation. Photodynamic therapy also has some advantages over other types of treatment, such as the ability to treat large areas of skin with little pain for the patient. Candidates for the therapy include many people, including those with diabetes. However, the treatment is ineffective for those with extremely rare light-sensitive illnesses.
The affected area of the skin is treated with a chemical solution that makes the skin more sensitive to light, and then it is exposed to blue light. When precancerous or cancerous skin cells absorb photosensitive compounds, they react with a certain wavelength of blue light to make reactive oxygen radicals, which kill the cells.
Blue Light Therapy as a Substitute for Conventional Practices
Cryotherapy, topical chemotherapy, and resurfacing are all long-term therapies for actinic keratosis.
Cryotherapy, which freezes the skin, is a fast and very effective way to treat skin problems. However, it can be painful and impractical to apply on vast sections of skin, unlike blue light treatment. Inflammation is a common side effect of topical chemotherapy, which can treat a vast region of skin.
Layers of skin can be shed using chemical peels or laser resurfacing. Though effective, this technique isn’t often pleasant, especially when used in larger regions. Photodynamic therapy can save the lives of people with actinic keratosis when other treatments don’t work. It’s preventative and proactive, respectively.
Actinic keratosis is more common in farmers and people who spend a lot of time outside without adequate sun protection. Additionally, those with lighter skin tones, lighter hair colors, and lighter eye colors (blue, green, or gray) are at a higher risk. Still, people of all skin colors can have problems if they stay in the sun for too long.
Final Words
Blue light therapy has been used as an effective way of treating various skin-related conditions for quite some time now. While it is mostly used to treat conditions like acne and spots on the skin, it can also be used to deal with something as severe as skin cancer, especially during the early phases. Also, this therapy can easily be taken at home by using a light therapy device. So, if you face skin conditions that can be treated with this therapy, you can go for it. But make sure to consult your doctor before taking this therapy.
