Acne Laser Cure

Acne is a disease that affects teenagers and adults alike. While many teens simply grow out of it, there are some who are lifelong acne sufferers. Either way, acne can be an emotionally devastating experience for anyone. While there is no cure that works for everyone, there are still some things a patient can do to clear up his acne.

Laser and light therapies have only been used for a few years on acne, but lots of patients have seen good results, some better than others.

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.

Your doctor may decide to use laser heat rather than laser light therapy. The heat treatments can sometimes be done during a lunch hour, or in several short sessions. There may be a little discomfort, but it is mild. Getting rid of acne early, rather than letting it do more damage can be a good idea.

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.

In some cases, Photodynamic therapy might reduce acne by around 50%. It may smooth out acne scars, too. The light therapy can be used in conjunction with more well known and even natural treatments. Sometimes a patient may have microderm abrasion before the light therapy to get rid of old, dead skin cells. This gives the photosensitizing medicine a better chance of getting to the live cells.

Another consideration before electing this type of treatment is how you feel now and how you will feel after the therapy. You will almost certainly feel better about yourself after the treatment, if it works. Check with your doctor to make sure your expectations aren’t set too high or too low. Consider whether you are willing to put up with the inconvenience of perhaps 3 or 5 therapy sessions. There may be some pain and redness. Possibly some discoloration, depending on your skin tones. Are you willing to bear the cost? Laser or light treatments will be worth it for you if you are willing to overcome a few obstacles and really want to leave the embarrassment of acne behind you.

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