ACNE
What
is acne?
Acne
is a common facial rash that occurs in teenagers and young people
with up to 80% of young people suffering from some signs of acne.
It is more common in young men than in young women. Acne is characterised
by the appearance of spots on the face, upper chest and upper back.
The spots called whiteheads, blackheads and pustules are caused
by blockage and infection of the oil glands in the skin called sebaceous
glands.
If
the infection is severe a pustule forms which may cause the skin
to scar during healing. Some cases of acne can be extremely severe
and cause major disfigurement.
Who
gets acne? Any
young person can develop acne but it is far more common in young
men. The spots gradually resolve over time but some cases can persist
long into adulthood. Adults rarely suffer from acne unless they
have been exposed to certain drugs such as corticosteriods or chemicals
such as hydrocarbons in the oil industry.
What
are the common symptoms of acne? Acne
presents as a rash of spots on the face, chest and/or back. The
affected skin is often greasy and may be inflamed. Damage to inflamed
areas of skin can result in deeper infection and scarring. In addition
to the physical problems acne can also cause psychological problems.
Puberty and adolescence are often difficult times for young people
and have a severe facial acne can result in loss of confidence and
in some people depression.
What
causes acne? An
acne spot forms once the sebaceous gland becomes blocked by a plug
of sebum. Sebum is normally white yellow in colour so the first
spots to appear under the skin appear white (whiteheads). If the
plug of sebum is pushed up onto the skin surface it comes into contact
with air and change colour to become dark black-brown for a black
spot called a blackhead.
The
blockage allows the skin bacteria to collect and multiply in the
sebaceous gland, causing an infection to develop. The infection
causes the surrounding tissue to become inflamed making the skin
red and sore. If the inflamed areas rupture the bacteria can get
deeper into the skin and cause more severe infection which is likely
to result in scaring.
What
treatment is available?
Conventional
medical treatment for acne attempts to prevent skin scaring by decreasing
any infection and reducing skin irritation. Treatment must continue
for at least 2 to 3 months before any improvement can be seen.
General advice includes regular washing with special acne soaps
to remove excess oil from the skin and not squeezing the blackheads
or pustules as this make them worse.
Many patients have mild to moderate cases and treatment applied
directly to the skin (topical therapy) is usually sufficient. Topical
therapy consists of creams or ointments containing antibiotics to
fight the bacterial infection, agents to reduce blackhead formation
and vitamin A derivatives to promote skin healing.
More
severe cases require antibiotic tablets and/or phototherapy with
ultraviolet light.
Very
severe cases need to be treated in hospital with powerful vitamin
A derivative's such as isotretinon and acritretin however these
drugs have potentially serious side effects and the patient must
be monitored carefully.
BIOPTRON
Light Therapy in Acne
BIOPTRON
Light Therapy may help to treat acne by reliving pain and inflammation,
by promoting a healing response in the skin and by stimulating the
immune system to fight of any skin infection.
How
do I use BIOPTRON Light Therapy if I have acne? It is simple! BIOPTRON
Light Therapy is complete safe and easy to use. The BIOPTRON Light
Therapy device can be easily positioned so the BIOPTRON light shines
on any areas where acne is present such as the head, face, upper
back, upper chest. Treatment should be applied to each affected
area for 4 to 10 minutes per session for up to 1 or 2 sessions per
day as long as is required.
Herpes
skin infections
The herpes family of viruses
cause many types of condition with the main characteristics being
their ability to hide within the human body, establishing a silent
infection for the rest of a persons life. Herpes viruses are very
difficult to eradicate. The two main forms of herpes virus that
cause common skin infections are herpes simplex, which causes cold
sores, and varicella zoster, which causes chickenpox (mainly in
children) and shingles (also called herpes zoster) in adults.
Herpes simplex and varicella zoster
can infect anyone
at any age, although infection is usually during childhood. People
with weakened immune system are particularly vulnerable to herpes
infections.
What are the common symptoms of herpes skin infections:
The
initial infection often has no signs or symptoms although in some
cases the patient may feel generally unwell. The herpes simplex
virus then goes into hiding in the body nervous system.
Approximately 30% of people infected are not able to kills the virus
in their immune system. Reactivation is often triggered by common
factors such as stress, mouth trauma, and illness. The virus travels
down the nerve into the skin around the mouth or nose area resulting
in symptoms of itching or burning sensations before small, painful
blisters appear on the skin area which are termed cold sores. Some
cold sores can weep fluid before eventually forming a scab usually
lasting between 7 to 10 days before healing.
BIOPTRON Light Therapy is an effective treatment
in reliving the symptoms of skin infections by promoting a healing
response. Treatment should be applied to each area for 4 to 10 minutes
per session and either or two sessions a day for as long as required
until improvement is observed.
Eczema
in children
The
main symptoms of allergic eczema is intense itching, which when
severe can disturb sleep, scratching or rubbing the skin often causes
further irritation making inflammation and soreness even worse.
The majority of children who have allergic eczema will spontaneously
improve as they get older with 50% of children free of the condition
by the time they are 6 years old and more than 75% will be clear
as teenagers. However, a minority will suffer from recurrent disease
during their teenage and adult life.
Bioptron Light Therapy is an effective treatment for relieving the
symptoms of allergic eczema in children by relieving pain and inflammation
and promoting a healing response. BIOPTRON Light Therapy is completely
safe and easy to use given the BIOPTRON Light Therapy device can
be positioned so the light therapy can be applied to head, face,
arm, leg, chest, groin area etc. Treatment should be applied to
each area for 4 to 10 minutes per session and either or two sessions
a day for as long as required until improvement is observed.
Psoriasis
is a common skin disease
that affects approximately 3% of the general population. It is unpredictable
with some people having an outbreak once or twice and then going
into permanent remissions whilst other people experience it as a
life long condition.
Psoriasis occurs equally in men and women and can develop at any
age bus onset usually occurs in people between 15 and 40 years of
age.
The outer skin layer (the epidermis) is made up of several layers
of cells which move out towards the skin surface as they grow and
mature. The cells eventually fall off and replaced by younger cells
from the next skin layer. This process is continuous and normally
takes around 4 weeks for a new skin cell layer to reach maturing
and be shed. In psoriasis the skin cell turnover rate is dramatically
accelerated and often only takes about 4 days.
What does psoriasis look like? Psoriasis
usually present as well defined, red scaly lesions (called plaques)
that appear on various parts of the body. There are several forms
of psoriasis:
Chronic sable psoriasis this
is the most common type of psoriasis where skin lesions occur on
the outer surface of the knees and elbows and also my form on the
lower back, ears and head.
Guttate psoriasis is
a type which commonly occurs in children and young adults where
the plaques are small (around 1 cm diameter) and often appear when
the child has a sore throat.
Flexural psoriasis occurs
in older adults and is characterized by plaques in the groin, button
cleft and under the breasts.
Erthrodermic and pustular psoriasis is the most severe form of psoriasis
where the plaque lesions are large, severely inflamed and may fuse
together. Pustules can form on the hands and other parts of the
body.
Bioptron Light Therapy
is an effective
treatment for relieving the symptoms psoriasis by relieving pain
and inflammation and promoting a healing response. BIOPTRON Light
Therapy is completely safe and easy to use given the BIOPTRON Light
Therapy device can be positioned so the light therapy can be applied
to head, face, arm, leg, chest, groin area etc. Treatment should
be applied to each area for 4 to 10 minutes per session and either
or two sessions a day for as long as required until improvement
is observed.
Atopic
dermatitis occurs
in people who have allergies to common items found in the environment
such as grass pollen, animal hair and certain types of foods. Such
allergies may result in the development of conditions such as hay
fever, asthma and atopic dermatitis.
Atopic dermatitis is also know as stopic eczema or andeogenous eczema
and presents as itchy, red, scaly skin patches that can occur anywhere
on the body. The condition has a variable progression where some
people have it for a few years and then their skin clears up whilst
other people have more sever long term skin allergy.
Atopic
dermatitis is also known as atopic eczema or endogenous eczema and
presents as itchy, red, scaly skin patches that can occur anywhere
on the body. The condition has a variable progression where some
people have it for a few years and then their skin clears up whilst
other people have more sever long term skin allergy.
People
who have the condition have an overactive immune system which means
their body results in over reacting when they come into contact
with certain triggers such as grass pollen, animal hair or certain
foods. Some external factors also make this form of dermatitis worse
such as detergents, certain chemicals, woolen clothing and cat /
dog hair. Certain types of food such as dairy products along with
feeling unwell or getting stressed may also cause the condition
to flare up.
Common
areas of the body affected by atopic dermatitis include the front
of the knees and elbows and around the neck. In infants and young
children the lesions often appear on the face and neck. The first
sign of atopic dermatitis is the appearance of small blisters which
leak a water fluid and make the skin wet. The skin them becomes
inflamed and sore with the appearance of patches of red scaly skin.
The affected areas often become very dry.
The
main symptom of atopic dermatitis is intense itching which cab be
extremely severe in many cases and may interfere with sleep. Scratching
or rubbing of the skin causes further damage worsening inflammation
and soreness and making the skin thicken. Broke skin can become
infected by viruses or bacteria.
What
happens to people with atopic dermatitis? The majority of children
who have atopic dermatitis will spontaneously improve as they get
older and 50% will be free of the disease by the time they are 6
years old and more than 7%% will be clear bas teenagers.
Bioptron Light Therapy is an effective treatment for relieving the
symptoms atopic dermatitis by relieving pain and inflammation and
promoting a healing response. BIOPTRON Light Therapy is completely
safe and easy to use given the BIOPTRON Light Therapy device can
be positioned so the light therapy can be applied to head, face,
arms and legs. Treatment should be applied to each area for 4 to
10 minutes per session and either one or two sessions a day for
as long as required until improvement is observed.
Mild
and Moderate - Common Acne - Acne Vulgaris - Acne comedonica - Acne
papulopustulosa - Acne conglobata
A
common skin disorder which both doctors and beauticians are presented
with is common acne or acne vulgaris.
Common
acne is one of the most widespread skin disorders. It typically
begins during puberty, often - but not always - subsiding when patients
are in their thirties. Depending on the severity of the disorder,
acne vulgaris can appear in three different forms:
Acne
comedonica which is characterized by the predominant presence
of open and closed comedones appearing in varying numbers and
intensity but mainly around the facial region.
Acne
papulopustulosa with the inflammation progressing painful papules
tend to appear, often leaving behind visible scars after healing
and therefore creating considerable emotional distress.
Acne
conglobata is the most severe form of common acne. Acne conglobata
is characterized by the concurrent presence of comedones, pustules,
indurated papules and abscesses with the interconnecting sinuses
that affect large skin regions. Often developing on the nape of
the neck and back and in the latter the conditions is termed acne
inversa. Patients are generally more stigmatized by the numerous
pronounced and even disfiguring scars.
Acne
and BIOPTRON Light Therapy Acne is a dermatological disease that
affects about 40% of the population between the ages of 12 to 30
years. As part of its reproduction and metabolic process, the Propionilbacterium
Acnes (P.Acne bacteria) releases the pigment porphyrin. Porphyrin
molecules,on absorbing the light therapy photon, become chemically
active and transform into a state of aggregations that results I
several formations. One of the formations is a free oxygen radical
that attacks the cell membrane and leads to the destruction of the
P.acne bacterium.
Like
any photochemical reaction the efficiency of the process is determined
by the production rate of excited porphyrin molecules, influenced
by the concentration of porphyrin, concentration of photons and
the wavelength of the photons and BIOPTRON Light Therapy systems
have specially designed for the treatment of acne by providing the
correct spectrum and power density of photon energy.
Acne
scale and reasons for accelerated acne development
|