Well, I have had a couple of Blue Light Photodynamic Therapy for pre-cancerous lesions.
One on my face 2wks ago and yesterday on both forearms.
I’ve had innumerable burn-offs using liquid nitrogen to get rid of barnacles on my hands and face/neck. I worked in the field most of my life in sunny So-Cal and had a three wheel M-Cycle with which we toured pre-helmet laws. Fishing was the primary choice for vacation venues. Lots of sun…not so much sunscreen. I quit smoking in time to dodge that bullet, butt now I’m fighting this contender for my mortality.
The first facial treatment was like getting a suntan….sorta. Wiped my face with acetone,(now that is some serious oil remover), then she shook up a vial of $735 lotion that she applied all over my mug. Wait one hour, then activate the magic elixir with the blue light 3/4 enclosure around my head which attacks any cancerous/pre-cancerous lesions. I’ve had better days on the beach, butt it was only mildly prickly/itchy/burning.
The arm session was a bit more intense. She wiped the elixir from two vials on my forearms and I waited 2hrs this time. When she started the 15 min 40 sec treatment I knew this one was different. I truly expected my hands/arms to look like lobster claws. I endured the burn only by twitching/shaking and not wimping out with my wife right there. Displaying a bit of sun-poisoning, one forearm is like Popeye, the other like Olive Oyl.
The second day is much better. Not hurting at all, just some itch. I would definitely advise this over the ointment which produces lesions which take weeks sometime to heal. More like a bad sunburn. Just one more treatment on my face and one on my arms.
More info from American Cancer Society on treatment of actinic keratosis which are considered pre-cancerous lesions.
My arms/hands are pretty much healed of the treatment and already look much improved with fresher looking skin and way fewer bumps and barnacles. My 2nd & last facial was last week and has peeled like my worst sunburn. My 2nd & last arm treatment is scheduled on the 24th. I recommend this over the Chemotherapy or Cryosurgery which can miss quite a few of the small ones which then show up later. This covers the whole area that the liquid is applied.
They say no exposure to sunlight for a few days. I knew better and I had my hat on and I just needed to run the riding mower up to the new shed our contractor is building so he could adjust the ramp for proper clearance for the cutting deck. Wow, I paid dearly for just a few minutes off side exposure to the early morning sunlight. Pay attention to their instructions!
I hope for a little continuation within the thread of blue light. I see no reason to open new one though, so allow me to blend into this one.
I got really interested in blue light contribution since I’ve learnt it has more meaning than I first thought.
Just summing up what I’ve learnt so far:
- blue light is the factor that attracts insects. Its lack makes a light neutral for insects (and probably also some other living forms)
not sure about its night vision preservance capability
So my first thought was to search for light without content of blue wavelenghts which turned out not to be so easy. So far I’m falling in love with the red light (mainly for above mentioned reasons) since I know it has many advantages. But there are also some other choices. Wiser than me say a warm light contains quite a little of blue but even 2000K contains some. And here’s the question: which white LED would have least blue? What factors decide of amount blue emmited? I think besides the color temperature a tint should have a meaning too?
I’d really like to know if good pretenders (like E21A 2000K, XP-E2 red 620/660, XP-E2 amber, XP-E2 green, XP-L 3000K, SST-20 2700K etc.) are in fact so “blueless” as one might thought.
At least I have two good reasons to search for such led: 1. Insects, 2. good health
Will you contribute your knowledge? Please.
It is absolutely essential during the day. Sunlight has a high blue content. It is the natural light source that humens are adapted to. It makes you more awake during the day.
If you want good lighting at home, just make it as natural as possible (=> similar to the sun). Bright cool-white light during the day and dimmer, warm light in the evening.
All “white” light will have some blue. The lower the CCT, the less blue it will contain. You’d need to check the datasheet for any particular emitter for its emission frequency range and compare to the frequencies that you consider “blue” to see how much blue spectrum light it emits.
Any monochromatic LED that isn’t blue should contain no blue spectrum light, except for maybe some “green” emitters, such as Cyan. Again, you should be able to check the datasheet to see if it has any blue spectrum light emission. Monochromatic emitters of red, orange, amber, and some greens should be completely blue-light free.
There have been conversations on here and elsewhere about blue-light free nighttime lighting. IIRC, the recommendation is to use just red, orange, and amber lights at night. This works whether you’re talking about human melatonin production or just trying not to attract bugs. But, for most of us, simply using “less” blue light seems to be enough.
The intensity is important, too. One of the main studies I’ve found on the effects of light of different CCT’s (where higher CCT’s have more blue present) on melatonin suppression was conducted in a room lit to 200 lux.
That’s not necessarily easy to compare to a flashlight beam where the illumination around you will be uneven, but I think it’s safe to say we’re talking about several hundred lumens of illumination up close, and significantly more further away to cause equivalent melatonin suppression to cause comparable levels of suppression.
I have an observation that the modern imbalance of omega 6 to omega 3 (ideally, 1:1) (the well known, by the food chemist’s who are highered by food processing industry, hne byproduct is very bad, especially) will replace the body natural lipid balance, allowing unstable oxidation (leading to atherosclerosis), skin cancer, premature skin aging. Likewise, susceptibility to daylight that our ancestors, before 10,000 years ago would not have been affected by. It does not help that in the last 100 years, formerly industrial oils have become partially hydrogenated to allow some semblance of ediblibilty and stability.
So, take this near sighted article with a gram of fish oil to balance out your modern overdose of “heart healthy” hydrogenated omega 6 vegetable oils.
I am rather unhappy with the whole flashaholic community who taught the police how to build low profile light racks. Life was easier in the days when police drove around, roofs adorned with easy to spot, and yummy looking, bubble gumball machines. (Also, I heard they drove at night, slightly lit, by a pilot light, in my parent’s day. )
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