Print Article
| BLUE Light At A Glance |
| Treatment for: |
 |
Acne and actinic keratoses |
| Expected Results: |
|
Clearer skin, minimized or eliminated lesions |
| Treatment Time: |
|
1hr, every other week x 3 - 4 treatments |
| Recovery Time: |
|
1 week of redness and peeling |
| For Best Result: |
|
Follow doctor instructions and protect skin from sun exposure |
|
What is BLUE Light and how does it work?
BLUE Light PhotoDynamic Therapy is a FDA approved treatment
for acne. It kills the bacteria in the sebaceous (oil) glands, which are responsible
for causing acne inflammation. The BLUE Light can be administered alone or in conjunction
with a topical application of Levulan® (aminolevulinic acid, ALA.) This is called Photodynamic
Therapy (PDT) and reduces sebaceous glands.
What kind of treatments should I expect?
Patients being treated sit in front of the BLUE Light delivery
system for about 16 minutes. The number of treatments,
treatment time and the treatment intervals vary with the severity of the acne.
Patients receiving the topical application of ALA with their BLUE
Light treatment sit with the ALA solution on for
about 30 minutes, and will then sit in front of the BLUE
Light delivery system for an additional eight minutes.
Are there any side effects?
Unlike other topical treatments, BLUE Light and
ALA have shown minimal adverse side effects or patient discomfort. The BLUE
Light treatments are gentle and do not harm surrounding tissues. Patients
receiving ALA will be sensitive to the sun for the remainder of the day
following treatment.
What results can I expect?
After two to four weekly treatments, most patients
experience a marked decrease severity of their acne and a reduction in the
number of acne pimples.
Studies have shown that the application of ALA,
in conjunction with BLUE Light treatments, provides long term suppression of
hyperactive sebaceous glands.
For more information, please download the BLUE Light pamphlet.
ACNE TREATMENTS
