Light Therapy - Rhinolight

What is Phototherapy (Light Therapy - Rhinolight)?

Rhinolight or light therapy consists of state of the art technology of high intensity light having a specific content that is applied in the treatment of allergic rhinitis which is a non-microbial infection of the nose mucosa.

Light therapy, applied as sessions of a few minutes is a painless application and its positive effects start to be seen just after three to four treatments. In patients with both seasonal allergic rhinitis and at lasts all year long, all kinds of complaints like itching, defluxion, congestion, sneezing developing in the nose as response to allergy are successfully reduced or eliminated with light therapy.

Phototherapy may be applied to all patients with allergic rhinitis and is also preferred in certain patient groups like; • Patients having complaints related to allergic rhinitis that can not be controlled with nose sprays and oral allergy medications, • Patients whom cannot be administered standard treatments due to reasons like side effects, interaction with the medication of accompanying diseases and pregnancy, • Patients who do not want to receive long term medication.

In Rhinolight treatment applied as 6 or 8 sessions within two weeks, a mixture of lights of special wavelengths are used and no heat or pain sensation during the application that is performed through nostrils occurs (Figure 1). Since no permanent damage is formed in the tissue, it may be used in allergy patients without encountering a problem in the long term.

More than 70% of the light administered with Rhinolight consist of visible light, 25% consists of ultraviolet A (UVA) and less than 5% consist of ultraviolet B (UVB).

Main effects produced by Rhinolight in the nose;

• Inhibiting histamine release in the mucosa due to allergic reaction,

• Preventing secretion of mast cells producing histamine,

• Decrease in the amount of cells called T lymphocyte and eosinophile,

• Decrease in the amount of substances in the nose secretions of the patient like eosinophile, ECP and interleukin-5 that increase in allergic reactions.

Light therapy application ways;

Rhinolight is applied as 6 sessions in patients with seasonal allergy and as 8 sessions in patients with allergy all year long. In seasonal allergy, while three consecutive treatments are applied in 2 weeks, after 3 treatments are applied in patients having all yearlong allergy in one week, a once a week treatment is applied for an additional 5 weeks.

Patients whom light therapy is contraindicated

In some patients diagnosed with allergic rhinitis, light therapy may not be expected; it may even have side effects. Patients whom Rhinolight is contraindicated in the treatment of allergy are;

• Patient with severe nose deviations as the reason for not using standard therapies,

• Patients with other acute viral or bacterial nose inflammations besides allergic rhinitis,

• Patient s with tumors inside the nose or the nasal cavity,

• Patients with severe drying off the nose and scabbing inside the nose,

• Patients experiencing severe problems on the skin with light therapy directed to the skin.

• Since sufficient clinical knowledge is not present in the usage of light therapy in children, Rhinolight application is not recommended for children under the age 14.