Prescription medications used to treat acne include topical treatments, antibiotics and, for young women, the combined oral contraceptive pill. However they all can have unwanted side-effects such as stinging, redness, peeling of skin and increased skin sensitivity.
With acne now affecting children as young as 12, sufferers could be using these treatments for many years, and this is a concern for parents and health professionals alike.
Consultant dermatologists like Dr Rakesh Patalay are particularly concerned about the overuse of antibiotics for acne treatment: “The long-term use of antibiotics is not good for you and increases the risk of resistance. I would like to see more awareness of alternatives to antibiotics. Light therapy is particularly useful and can be used successfully on mild to severe acne.”
In clinical trials of red and blue light therapy, all participants saw a 76% improvement in the appearance of their skin in less than 12 weeks compared to 30% using benzoyl peroxide. Furthermore, the study found that this light combination had no adverse effects.
Lumie Clear is the only home light therapy treatment to use a combination of blue and red light at the levels determined by this study.
Blue light destroys the bacteria that cause acne and red light soothes the skin.
Many parents discover that prescription medication has not changed since they were teenagers. The mother of 13 year old Annie posted this comment on the Lumie acne forum.
“Both myself and my husband suffered with bad acne and went through various treatments with varying degrees of success until our 20s. Not wanting the same for our daughter, we went to the doctors as soon as aggressive looking spots and scarring appeared (over a year ago).
“Nothing much seems to have changed since we were teenagers and her skin showed little improvement until we moved to Switzerland!
“The daily sunshine from April cleared her skin almost completely but within 2 weeks of our return to the UK in July, it was as bad as ever. Therefore we decided to try Lumie Clear.
"We can’t believe the difference this has made in only 2 months….we are all very pleased.”
Lumie Clear is a non-invasive method to treat acne and can be used on its own or alongside existing treatments, although GP advice should be taken about any photosensitivity or use by children.
Lumie Clear retails at £149 and is available from www.lumieclearskin.co.uk on a 45-day money-back guarantee or from leading high street retailers such as Boots.
Possible side-effects of acne prescribed medications, according to the NHS:
- Benzoyl peroxide – dry skin, a burning or stinging sensation, redness, peeling of the skin
- Topical retinoid – mild irritation and stinging of the skin
- Azelaic acid – burning or stinging skin, itchiness or dry skin and redness of the skin
- Antibiotic tablets – photo-sensitivity and makes contraceptives less effective
- Combined oral contraceptive pill – headaches, sore breasts, mood changes, weight gain or weight loss, increased risk of blood clot and breast cancer.
References:
1 - NHS website (2014), Acne, [Online], Available: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Acne/Pages/Introduction.aspx [5 Jan 2015].
2 - NHS website (2013), Combined pill, [Online], Available: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/contraception-guide/Pages/combined-contraceptive-pill.aspx [5 Jan 2015].
3 - Clinical trials conducted by Dr Chu and his dermatology team, at Hammersmith Hospital, showed that blue and red light at specific bandwidths were most effective at treating bacteria that cause acne. Lumie worked with these dermatologists to design Lumie Clear as a medically certified home treatment device. (Papageorigius P, Katsambas A, Chu A, Phototherapy with blue (415 nm) and red (660 nm) light in the treatment of acne vulgaris. Br J Dermatol, 2000 May; 142(5);973-8.)
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