Red Light Clinical Trial at Hammersmith Hospital

[Peter]

Hello

I saw Tony Chu at Hammersmith hospital last week and had an interesting chat on a couple of rosacea related items.

My main question for him was regarding the clinical red light trial (LED) for rosacea he was planning to start earlier this year and what was the current position.

Unfortunately it hasn't started yet but he is planning to commence after the summer at Hammersmith. Pointless starting during the summer because of peoples holiday's etc.

The trial should have started by now but the paperwork for ethics test had elapsed so this had to be re-applied for thus causing a delay. When the questionnaire for the ethics test turned up there were numerous questions which had previously been answered by an assistant who had since left the hospital, so again there was a further delay whilst this was completed.

The good news is that this trial will happen and Tony has sufficient volunteers available who are able to travel to Hammersmith and participate.

As soon as I hear any further updates or news on progress on this I will report back.

Jen and Heather. I mentioned both of you to him and said I would e mail your stories over. Jen - Obviously we all knew you would not experience any problems from your LED unit but have you noticed any improvements with your skin since you started which are a direct result of the lamp ?

I had previously sent him David's story plus pictures and he replied "Very impressive and certainly an incentive to continue".

Thanks

Peter

[cheesy]

peter is LED therapy thought of as a treatment or potentially more. Can Ia sk the mechansim for action if known for the LED on the skin

[Bob Bear]

Peter,

Interesting stuff mate, thanks for the heads up.

I hope he makes some useful discoveries. Hell, if Im free I might even drop by for a cupper myself.

BB

[redhotoz]

Originally Posted by Peter

Jen - Obviously we all knew you would not experience any problems from your LED unit but have you noticed any improvements with your skin since you started which are a direct result of the lamp ?

Hi Peter

Well, perhaps it is best if I give a time line. In April I slowly started to introduce myself to the Candida Diet. As it is natural healing, it has to be done slowly. There are 4 stages to the diet and I am still on stage one, bordering stage two now. This has definitely helped with my skin.

On 1st May I started using my red LED array, once each night. 3rd May I went off antibiotics. In the first few weeks I wasn't able to tell if it was making a difference. After just over a month of use, I decided to test the theory and stopped using the lights for a week. Well, I have to tell you, after a week of no red lights, I really noticed the effect the lights were having. That is, my skin felt much calmer whilst using the lights each night. I'm not saying my face flared up big time or anything during the week break but I could feel the difference. So, for me, this was a good test to do to see what the difference would be if I didn't use the lights. Also, this has helped to separate out how much the new diet was helping and how much the lights were helping.

So, long story short, I do feel that using my red LED array helps to keep my skin calm and I look forward to the long term results.

Jen

[IowaDavid]

Originally Posted by redhotoz

Hi Peter

Well, perhaps it is best if I give a time line. In April I slowly started to introduce myself to the Candida Diet. As it is natural healing, it has to be done slowly. There are 4 stages to the diet and I am still on stage one, bordering stage two now. This has definitely helped with my skin.

On 1st May I started using my red LED array, once each night. 3rd May I went off antibiotics. In the first few weeks I wasn't able to tell if it was making a difference. After just over a month of use, I decided to test the theory and stopped using the lights for a week. Well, I have to tell you, after a week of no red lights, I really noticed the effect the lights were having. That is, my skin felt much calmer whilst using the lights each night. I'm not saying my face flared up big time or anything during the week break but I could feel the difference. So, for me, this was a good test to do to see what the difference would be if I didn't use the lights. Also, this has helped to separate out how much the new diet was helping and how much the lights were helping.

So, long story short, I do feel that using my red LED array helps to keep my skin calm and I look forward to the long term results.

Jen

If red light works as I suspect--cumulative exposure is what counts--then, you should start seeing little "breakthroughs" as you continue to use the red light. The goal, of course, is to get to where Peter is in terms of his disorder suppression. I think it took him 2 years of daily use to really contain his symptoms--I'm not sure on this, though.

Keep us posted!

David

[Peter]

Originally Posted by cheesy

peter is LED therapy thought of as a treatment or potentially more. Can Ia sk the mechansim for action if known for the LED on the skin

Hello Cheesy

Well I think we have talked this one to death over the years regarding how we think red light is able to benefit rosacea sufferers. The main consensus of opinion is that this particular frequency of light has an anti-inflammatory effect similar to that demonstrated by an antibiotic but without the side effects associated with these drugs used systemically.

If you are interested then I would advise doing a search on the archives where you will find numerous posts from David, Kristen (Banshee), myself and others detailing our own experiences. With all due respect to David and he would be the first to admit this, Kristen did her homework on red light and in her own distinctive style wrote some amazing stuff on the use of lamps etc. It would be nice to see her join this thread and give us her opinion again. We still have no actual scientific proof that red light does work but there is enough feed back now to suggest that it certainly helps some rosacea sufferers and the trial was arranged to investigate this. I have waited 8 years for the trial to actually happen and frustrating as it is I suppose waiting a bit longer isn't the end of the world.

Regards

Peter

[Peter]

Originally Posted by Bob Bear

Peter,

Interesting stuff mate, thanks for the heads up.

I hope he makes some useful discoveries. Hell, if Im free I might even drop by for a cupper myself.

BB

Hello Bob

No worries whenever I hear something about the trial I will post the latest.

Not sure how bad your rosacea is and whether you currently see a dermatologist ? If you still have problems and as you live in the UK and if you can afford it, I would certainly recommend a visit to Tony Chu at Hammersmith Hospital. Forget about these so called rosacea experts and consultants, talk to someone with experience of dealing with all kinds of rosacea, who treats you like a human being and who cares. There is a difference. Oh and you will get a cup of Rosy Lee in the waiting room as well

Cheers

Peter

[Peter]

Hello Jen

Thanks for the update and at least people following your progress can see that you are suffering no side effects at all and it does appear to be helping albeit in a small way at the moment. Both myself and David have never said that red light therapy is a cure for rosacea but have suggested that in conjunction with other conventional treatments it can really help some people halt the progression of the condition and return the skin to near normal again. To me the main advantages of using red light is that there appear to be no side effects and it cannot do any harm, so that is a major plus point. The only thing I would say to people is that if you find you react to normal fluorescent lights then it's commonsense to avoid the tubed version that I use and try LED instead.

Certainly in combination with your new diet things seem to be looking up for you which is great news. Perhaps in a few months time there will be further improvement which are more noticeable and maybe you can take some new pictures to compare with your pre-lamp ones ?

Good luck

Peter

[Peter]

If red light works as I suspect--cumulative exposure is what counts--then, you should start seeing little "breakthroughs" as you continue to use the red light. The goal, of course, is to get to where Peter is in terms of his disorder suppression. I think it took him 2 years of daily use to really contain his symptoms--I'm not sure on this, though.

Keep us posted!

David[/quote]

Hello David

Well I think you are right it is the slow cumulative effect of using red light that makes the difference. Like you I used Clonidine initially which was effective to suppresses the flushing problems I had plus I used and still use Clindamycin (DalacinT) topical lotion. Even though my skin was improving it was still not great and I was prescribed oral antibiotics but I had such an adverse reaction to these that I stopped and went against the grain by trying a red / blue acne lamp. Despite the initial rebounding from stopping Trimethoprim after a few weeks my skin started to improve and then after a several months it was obvious the lamp was helping my rosacea. Around the 5 - 6 month stage I converted my lamp to all red and felt more improvement which probably peaked around the 2 year mark. People who see me say that my skin looks normal and as I am never going to be a film star that is good enough for me. 8 years down the line I still use the lamp daily for 15 minutes and can miss days and the odd week without noticing any deterioration with my skin thus I believe that using the lamp for me now is what we would call "maintenance".

In my opinion the key to successful treatment for rosacea is seeking professional advice quickly, finding something that works and sticking with it for several years. I know it's easier said than done but there are options out there and red light is just one of them. We cannot cure rosacea at the moment but it can be controlled and like you I think red light therapy can help others achieve this.

One way or the other the trial results when they arrive will hopefully prove the benefits of red light.

Best wishes

Peter

[redhotoz]

Originally Posted by Peter

Certainly in combination with your new diet things seem to be looking up for you which is great news. Perhaps in a few months time there will be further improvement which are more noticeable and maybe you can take some new pictures to compare with your pre-lamp ones ?

Hi Peter

Yes, I will certainly post new photos in a few months time. Proof being in the pudding.

Jen