Internet alternatives to Expensive Clearlight treatments

I decided to post what was essentially a reply to a message from another member regarding my research and findings on alternatives to Clearlight (and Blu-U) treatments. Bear in mind that this is still preliminary, and I am not a doctor, and I might have some holes in my data, so bear with me! But my daughter has been through a lot, and I have made it my mission to find help for her. I am not affiliated with any of the links I give here, and am not intending to promote any particular company. They are just samples of my research.

BTW, in case anyone wonders... the name refers to my old (now deceased) dog named Sheila, who was black border collie mix!

EDIT (JAN 2008): There is a lot of information in this thread, but you can skip to the following thread for a report of the ebay light results for a few members:
http://www.acne.org/messageboard/420nm-Blue-light-Treatmen-t182799.html
You should also know my daughter discontinued use of the ebay lights as she felt she was not getting results from them

As you may already know, light in the range of 407-420 nm is effective in some for killing p-acnes bacteria, provided you get sufficient intensity to penetrate the follicles. The FDA approved such therapy and is currently investigating approval of Levulan with blue light for acne. Many doctors are already using this light treatment as it has produced results. Several companies offer high intensity narrow band blue light treatments, usually at 50 -100 dollars a pop. I know in general the blue light therapy works to some degree, because my daughter responded well when we paid about $100 per visit to the doctor with a Clearlight Machine four years ago.


(EDITED: References to a "Shop Light" type of clearlight replacement fixture was deleted per Techguy's reply in this thread showing it to be non-effective)

We found a lower power device sold by a fellow on Ebay which is said to be a specially manufactured T5 Quad FML type compact size fluorescent bulb to produce the 420 nm light that fits in a desk top lamp fixture (making it ideal for use while lying in bed or on the floor). I decided to buy this for my daughter.

EDIT: 11-2-07 She has been using it for almost 8 weeks now, and I believe she is getting some clearing effects from the light. She has not had any more cystic acne since using it and very few smaller breakouts. This is only anecdotal, so be sure to read later posts by other members who might be testing this same device. EDIT 1-17-08 She has decided to discontinue use of the ebay lights.

Light intensity drops quickly as distance increases. Each time you double the distance from a light, you cut the intensity to 1/4. On the other hand, when you get twice as close to a light, you increase the intensity by 4X. The doctor office clearlight lamps are HOT and so you have to be further away than using cooler flourescent bulbs. This means you can get much closer to a lower wattage fluor and get comparable results.

Fluorescent bulbs usually are rated for light output (lumens) compared to a regular light bulbs. 13 watts fluor = 60 watts regular. 27 watt fluor puts out the same light as about 130-150 watts of a regular bulb (maybe 1500 lumens). I ordered a special light bulb from the ebay merchant who had the bulbs specially manufactured and they are 420 nm (according to what is printed on the bulb). I purchased the lamp and first bulb at auction and then got an extra bulb. (you can only get the bulb if you buy the entire fixture first on auction), and then I got an extra bulb and desklamp fixture from home depot. My daughter is using both (so total equivallent wattage is around 260 to 280 watts from two 27 watt fluors) with about 3000 lumens. She keeps the light about 8-12 inches from her face for 15-20 minutes and wears eye goggles.

In doing my research, I found that 420nm lights are fairly common in a place you might not consider: fish tanks. The 420 nm deep blue light is exactly what fish tank owners want for making the water look like deep ocean colors, along with a 10000K type bulb for enhancing sunlight effects. I considered making my own light for her, but the "fishtank" lights are not as convenient to use while lying down in bed. But they will work if you set them on a desk and face them (more on this below) or you could create short legs and then place yourself under the fixture which is propped up on 12-18 inch legs on four sides. Be sure to protect your eyes with any bright light!

Here are some links regarding the light we bought on ebay (i guess I am giving this guy free advertising!) As I mentioned, I then bought an extra desk lamp fixture at home depot that uses this type of bulb. They also carry the one the guy actually sells on ebay for $19 (Hampton Bay model 1127, uses FML27 bulb, and I think the HomeDepot SKU # is 207142, apparently also called "Lights of America" model 1127HB, not available on line but only at certain stores. Try doing a google search with "Light of America 1127HB" and see if it comes up.

BUT -- his special desk size FML 27W 420nm fluor bulb is apparently not available anywhere on the net. I have searched extensively. He says he had it specially manufactured for him, and that seems to be the case.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Acne-Treatment-FDA-APP...1QQcmdZViewItem

If that link is expired, search on ebay using the following word group:

Acne Treatment FDA APPROvED Blue Light Therapy No chem!

His lamp is a quad, T5 FML 27W. It has four prongs and fixtures that hold these type of bulbs are common and usually are desklamps. Actual pictures of his lamp are at the end of this post below. There were many testimonials about this guy's ebay light, and i wrote to several people who had bought it. They said it was helping them, but the jury is still out so don't go out and order one on my say so just yet!

Here are supposed light spectrums for true actinic 03 bulbs--the closer to 420 the better, but watch out for UV in the light, as that would be not so good for you. UV is roughly below 400 nm extending into the 300nm range.

http://www.bestgrowlights.com/site/403863/page/436991 (see pure actinic blue spectrum on top)

http://ledmuseum.candlepower.us/seventh/phitld15.gif (true actinic)

I know you can get much higher wattage for less money. For example, there are fixtures that can hold 2 x 96 watt bulbs i think. When they sell the fixtures, they usually ship with 1 actinic and 1 10000K bulbs (this combines the deep blue and sunlight spectrum) but you can simply buy an extra actinic and replace the 10000K bulb. See first link below

http://www.petsolutions.com/Lunar-Aqualigh...402+C99999.aspx

In the above link, the 24 inch fixture provides 2 x 65 watts *IF* you bought an extra actinic bulb to replace the 10000K bulb they ship with. We are trying my daughter with the ebay product, plus one extra bulb (2 x 27 watts currently), so this 24 inch fixture is more than double the 420 nm light output and might be a better use of your money, if you can comfortably figure out how to use the 24 inch fixture (or create a base and arm to hold it above a bed). I thought of using the kind of stands that musicians use for microphones, with a heavy base and long arm. If you do try it, please let me know or post to the message boards!

However, I do not know for sure if these lights have any significant UV components, so maybe someone else can research this issue. I am going to make a logical leap and assume the manufacturers would not want UV components in these lights because folks sit close to, and stare at their fishtanks and if people starting getting eye damage, it might be bad for business....

One additional thought. It can take up to 4 weeks to start to see results, assuming we have a light with sufficient intensity to produce results at all. Even in the Doctor office, it was about 3 weeks for results to appear, but that was only 1 time per week, and with these lights, you can do it every day. As I recall, with the Clearlight treatments, there was a period of increased breakouts as the light killed deep bacteria during the initial weeks.

Hope this helps! The Ebay lamps are shown below..... Higher detail pics are on the last post of page 2 of this thread

Clearlight worked for us

HI

I posted this in another thread on the subject, but wanted to make sure more saw it here.

My daughter had very bad acne for over 2 years. We went to six specialists and were put on every antibiotic, topical, etc etc. Nothing had any effect. In fact, the most dramatic effect was using Dan's regimen of benzoil peroxide shown on this website.

We were on the verge of getting her on accutane (very worried but losing hope) when I found the Clearlight treatment by accident on the internet.

I was skeptical but we were out of options.

So I gladly paid $800 for eight treatments over four weeks. She went from out of control with 40 active acne (large red welt types) to just four in the time of the treatments. She is now basically clear two months after the treatment, and can manage the occasional whiteheads using just the benzoil peroxide regimen. She was and remains on minocycline, but I don't know if it is necessary since she was on it before with minimal results.

However, we dont' want to tempt fate.

Here's what I know. The treatment works by using 420 nm light waves that penetrate the skin and stimulate porphyrins to emit peroxide in the follicles. This effectively puts the killing agent right where the p acnes problem lies.

The clearlight doctor (who is also an internist) also told me that certain doctors buy the Lumenis clearlight machine but don't know enough to lower it before treatments. The lamps attached to the machine have to be lowered from the normal height above the table before it is effective. Further, the doctor has to be willing to pay for new bulbs when the machine needs them. The machine automatically adjusts the time to account for this. So when the bulbs are new, the treatment might be 15 minutes. But when the bulbs get older, the machine adjusts and increases the time to say 18 minutes.

The machine also scans the face to count total acne so the patient can get a read out on progress from day one, but I can tell you the progress was obvious after four weeks. Our doctor also gives booster treatments during the first year if acne acts up again. Her face is smooth for the first time. Unfortuanately, her acne has left redness and scars that will take some time to heal, or may require some further treatment. I wish we had known about this a year ago!

Since accutane carries substantial risks and costs many thousands of dollars, you have to consider this before taking what amounts to chemotherapy.

I will check back from time to time and answer any questions you might have. As far as I am concerned, this treatment should be more widely publicized, but there is big money in accutane treatments. I am told accutane treatments can cost between 5,000 and 7,000 versus the $800 clearlight treatment and accutane does not require an expensive machine.