Lyme disease, the fastest-growing vector-borne disease with 476,000 new cases reported annually, is a multi-system bacterial infection. When Lyme disease is diagnosed and treated immediately, symptoms tend to be flu-like and relatively mild, and can clear up with a few weeks of antibiotics. For 10-20% of patients, however, symptoms persist beyond initial treatment. For others who are not diagnosed and treated immediately, the Lyme infection can spread to different areas of the body and cross the blood-brain barrier. Late-stage Lyme disease can cause Lyme arthritis, Lyme carditis, and neurological symptoms.
When antibiotics alone don’t cure Lyme disease, patients look to other treatment modalities. These can include adjunct therapies that support traditional treatment, natural remedies like herbal medicine, and experimental treatments like SOT therapy. One therapy that some patients consider is red light therapy. Let’s walk through what red light therapy is and how it might help Lyme disease symptoms.
Red light therapy uses low levels of near-infrared light, which is invisible to the human eye, to treat various medical conditions. It was first used medically by NASA to heal wounds on astronauts in space. It’s been used for skin conditions like wrinkles, scars, acne, skin cancer, and psoriasis, and is being tried with other ailments.
Red light therapy works on the mitochondria in the body’s cells. When the near-infrared light penetrates deep layers of tissue, it increases cellular activity as well as toxin clearance. Cells absorb light wavelength that can stimulate them to do things like increase blood circulation to tissue, increase collagen production, and reduce inflammation. The near-infrared light can penetrate deeply into tissue to aid healing and help alleviate pain.
People who are dealing with long-term symptoms of Lyme disease such as joint pain, inflammation, and discomfort may benefit from red light therapy. The increase of blood circulation brought on by near-infrared wavelengths can have a significant impact on a variety of Lyme disease symptoms. Red light therapy can also boost the immune system, promote relaxation, increase cellular activity which is essential to healing, increase energy, and improve sleep.
According to the PBM Foundation, over 100 million individual patient treatments and over 700 successful clinical trials have proven red light therapy to be effective and safe. Equipment for red light therapy is FDA approved. According to the Cleveland Clinic, red light therapy appears to be safe and doesn’t seem to have side effects if used as directed in a short-term period. Red light therapy does not use cancer-causing ultraviolet (UV) light.
Red light therapy shows promise at treating many conditions, but research is still emerging. One study showed that near-infrared wavelengths between 630-900 nm were effective at reducing inflammatory symptoms in Lyme arthritis. Trials have been relatively small, and a gold standard (randomized, placebo-controlled) study has not yet been done. More research is needed to determine the effectiveness of red light therapy on Lyme and other tick-borne diseases.
Talk to your Lyme Literate Medical Doctor (LLMD) to determine if red light therapy is appropriate for your specific case and where you can have it done. Red light therapy is not typically covered by insurance.
Sources
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22114-red-light-therapy
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The above material is provided for information purposes only. The material (a) is not nor should be considered, or used as a substitute for, medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, nor (b) does it necessarily represent endorsement by or an official position of Global Lyme Alliance, Inc. or any of its directors, officers, advisors or volunteers. Advice on the testing, treatment or care of an individual patient should be obtained through consultation with a physician who has examined that patient or is familiar with that patient’s medical history.