Red Light Therapy: Eye Health Miracle?

Summary

This video explores red light therapy's impact on eye health and vision, addressing its potential benefits and safety concerns. It explains how red light therapy, known for promoting healing and reducing inflammation, may improve retinal conditions, treat dry eye disease, and even slow myopia development in children. Despite promising research, the presenter emphasizes the need for caution due to the newness of this science and the lack of FDA approval for eye treatments, highlighting the importance of proper device usage to avoid potential harm.

Takeaways

• 🔴 Red light therapy, also known as low-level light therapy or photobiomodulation, uses red light wavelengths to treat various health conditions, primarily promoting healing, reducing inflammation, and alleviating pain.
• 👀 Historically, red light therapy has been used in dermatology for skin health, treating acne, promoting hair growth for alopecia, and aiding athlete recovery.
• 🌟 The therapy is believed to work by activating cellular mitochondria, increasing ATP production necessary for cellular function and repair, and enhancing nitric oxide within cells for antioxidant activity and metabolism.
• 👓 Research indicates red light therapy may be beneficial for retinal conditions like macular degeneration and diabetic eye issues, potentially reducing drusen buildup, geographic atrophy, and improving visual acuity.
• 💉 Red light therapy has been approved for treating age-related macular degeneration in Europe and Latin America, offering an alternative to injections for severe cases.
• 👁️ For diabetics, the therapy could help reduce swelling in the retinal tissue known as diabetic macular edema, which is currently mainly treated with eye injections.
• 🌱 Red light therapy is being explored for treating dry eye disease, potentially stimulating oil glands for better oil production and improving blood circulation and reducing inflammation in the eyelids.
• 👁️‍🗨️ It has shown effectiveness in treating chalazions or styes, with one study reporting a 92% success rate within just two treatments.
• 🧒 Research suggests that red light therapy may slow down the development of myopia in children, with a meta-analysis showing a reduction in myopia progression and axial length elongation.
• ⚠️ There are significant safety concerns with red light therapy for the eyes, as the long-term effects are not fully understood, and many devices on the market are not designed for ocular use.
• 🇺🇸 Red light therapy is not currently FDA approved for treating eye diseases in the US, but there are ongoing trials, and it may become approved in the near future.

Q & A

What is red light therapy and what are its common names?

Red light therapy is a treatment that uses low-level wavelengths of red light to promote healing, reduce inflammation, and alleviate pain. It is also known as low-level light therapy or photobiomodulation.

How does red light therapy work in terms of cellular function?

Red light therapy is believed to work by activating cellular mitochondria, which are known as the powerhouse of the cell. This helps increase the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is necessary for cellular function and repair. Additionally, it stimulates the production of nitric oxide, which plays a role in antioxidant activity, metabolism, and reducing inflammation.

What is the significance of the wavelength range between 600 and 1000 nanometers in red light therapy?

The wavelengths between 600 and 1000 nanometers are special because they penetrate deeper into tissues and are absorbed by cells without causing too much heat. This is important as excessive heat can damage cells.

How has red light therapy been historically used in dermatology?

Historically, red light therapy has been used in dermatology to promote collagen formation, treat acne, and stimulate hair growth for people with alopecia.

What are the potential benefits of red light therapy for retinal conditions?

Red light therapy has shown potential in helping with retinal conditions like macular degeneration and diabetes. It can decrease the size and volume of drusen, reduce the progression of geographic atrophy, improve visual acuity, and boost color vision and contrast sensitivity.

How is red light therapy used in the treatment of dry eye disease?

Red light therapy may be used to treat dry eye disease by stimulating the oil glands of the eye to produce better oils, improving blood circulation, and reducing inflammation in the eyelids.

What is the reported effectiveness of red light therapy in treating chalazions or eyelid styes?

One study reported a 92% effective treatment rate for chalazions within just two treatments using red light therapy.

How does red light therapy potentially slow down the development of myopia in children?

A meta-analysis from 2023 reported that daily use of red light therapy can slow down myopia by 0.68 diopters of glasses power within 6 months, which translates to a slowing down of axial length or elongation of the eyeball by about 0.35 millimeters.

What are the major safety concerns associated with red light therapy for the eyes?

There are concerns about the short-term or long-term consequences of red light exposure on the eyes and parts of the brain. Many LED red light devices on the market are not designed specifically for the eyes and may not have the correct wavelength, power density, or fluence, potentially causing damage to the retina.

Is red light therapy FDA approved for the treatment of any eye diseases in the US?

As of the time the script was written, red light therapy is not FDA approved for the treatment of any eye diseases in the US. However, there is at least one device undergoing FDA trials for the treatment of macular degeneration.

What is the role of ATP in the context of red light therapy?

ATP, or adenosine triphosphate, is crucial for cellular function and repair. Red light therapy helps increase ATP production, which can enhance cellular health and support healing processes.

Outlines

00:00

🔴 Red Light Therapy: An Overview

This paragraph introduces red light therapy, discussing its potential effects on eye health and vision. It mentions the widespread availability of red light therapy products for skin and muscle recovery, but emphasizes the importance of understanding safety concerns before use. The script outlines the basic concept of red light therapy, also known as low-level light therapy or photobiomodulation, which uses specific wavelengths of red light to promote healing, reduce inflammation, and alleviate pain. Historical uses in dermatology and recent research in various medical fields are highlighted. The mechanism of action involves activating cellular mitochondria to increase ATP production, which is crucial for cellular function and repair, and the special properties of red light wavelengths that allow deeper tissue penetration without excessive heat generation.

05:00

👀 Research on Red Light Therapy for Eye Conditions

The second paragraph delves into the research findings on red light therapy's impact on eye health. It discusses the therapy's potential benefits for retinal conditions, particularly age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy, where it has been shown to reduce drusen buildup, slow geographic atrophy progression, and improve visual acuity. The script also covers red light therapy's application in treating dry eye disease, potentially stimulating oil gland production and improving blood circulation. Additionally, it highlights a study showing a 92% effectiveness rate in treating chalazions with red light therapy. The paragraph concludes with research on slowing myopia development in children using red light, suggesting a decrease in myopia progression and axial length elongation with daily use of a red light LED device.

10:02

⚠️ Safety Considerations and Current Red Light Therapy Devices

The final paragraph focuses on the safety aspects of red light therapy for the eyes. It underscores the novelty of this science, especially concerning the eyes, and the unknown short-term and long-term effects of red light exposure on the retina and brain. The script warns against the use of non-eye-specific LED devices that may not provide the correct wavelength, power density, or fluence, potentially causing damage to the retina. It also mentions that red light therapy is not yet FDA approved for any eye diseases in the US, although there is ongoing FDA trial for a device targeting macular degeneration by Lumethora. The paragraph concludes by inviting viewers to ask questions about specific diseases, devices, or wavelengths, and to provide feedback on the video content.

Keywords

💡Red Light Therapy

Red Light Therapy, also known as low-level light therapy or photobiomodulation, is a treatment that uses low-level wavelengths of red light to promote healing, reduce inflammation, and alleviate pain. It is central to the video's theme as it discusses the effects of this therapy on eye health. The script mentions its use in dermatology for skin health and hair growth, as well as its potential benefits for various eye conditions.

💡Mitochondria

Mitochondria, referred to as the 'powerhouse of the cell,' are cellular organelles that produce energy for the cell. In the context of the video, red light therapy is believed to activate mitochondria, thereby increasing adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production, which is crucial for cellular function and repair. This concept is integral to understanding how red light therapy could potentially benefit eye health.

💡Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP)

Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) is a molecule that stores and provides energy for various cellular functions. The video explains that red light therapy can help increase ATP levels within cells, which is important for eye health as it supports cell function and repair, particularly in the context of retinal conditions.

💡Wavelengths

Wavelengths refer to the distance between the peaks of a wave, and in the video, it is mentioned that red light with wavelengths between 600 to 1000 nanometers can penetrate deeper into tissues without causing heat damage. This is significant because it explains why red light is effective in reaching and potentially benefiting the cells within the eye.

💡Nitric Oxide

Nitric Oxide is a molecule that plays a vital role in various biological processes, including antioxidant activity and metabolism. The video script explains that red light therapy can stimulate the production of nitric oxide within cells, which is important for eye health as it can help reduce inflammation and support metabolic processes in the eye.

💡Macular Degeneration

Macular Degeneration is an eye condition that leads to a loss of vision in the center of the visual field. The video discusses how red light therapy has been shown to decrease the size and volume of drusen, a characteristic protein buildup associated with the condition, and improve visual acuity for those affected by macular degeneration.

💡Geographic Atrophy

Geographic Atrophy is a severe form of age-related macular degeneration characterized by the degeneration of the macula. The video mentions that red light therapy has been shown to reduce the progression of geographic atrophy, which is significant as it suggests a potential treatment for an advanced stage of the disease.

💡Diabetic Macular Edema

Diabetic Macular Edema is a condition where retinal tissue swells due to diabetes. The video script notes that red light therapy can help treat and decrease this swelling, which is important because it offers an alternative to injections, the current standard treatment.

💡Dry Eye Disease

Dry Eye Disease is a condition where the eye does not produce enough tears for comfort and protection. The video suggests that red light therapy may help stimulate oil gland production and improve blood circulation in the eyelids, potentially offering a new treatment approach for this condition.

💡Chalazions

Chalazions are eyelid styes that can be stubborn to treat. The video mentions a study where red light therapy showed a 92% effective treatment rate for chalazions, indicating its potential use in treating stubborn eye conditions.

💡Myopia

Myopia, or nearsightedness, is a common vision condition where distant objects appear blurry. The video discusses research showing that red light therapy can slow down the progression of myopia in children, which is significant as it suggests a non-invasive method to address this prevalent vision problem.

Highlights

Red light therapy is being discussed for its effects on eye health and vision.

Red light therapy, also known as low-level light therapy or photobiomodulation, uses specific wavelengths of red light to treat health conditions.

It is primarily used to promote healing, reduce inflammation, and alleviate pain.

Historically, red light therapy has been used in dermatology for collagen formation, acne treatment, and hair growth.

Research shows red light therapy's potential applications in various medical fields.

Red light therapy is believed to work by activating cellular mitochondria and increasing ATP production for cellular function and repair.

Wavelengths of red light between 600 to 1000 nanometers penetrate deeper into tissues without causing heat damage.

Red light therapy also stimulates nitric oxide within cells, which is crucial for antioxidant activity and metabolism.

Research indicates red light therapy can help with retinal conditions like macular degeneration and diabetic eye issues.

Red light therapy has been approved for treating age-related macular degeneration in Europe and Latin America.

It can decrease drusen build-up, reduce geographic atrophy progression, and improve visual acuity.

Red light therapy shows promise in treating dry eye disease and improving oil gland function and eyelid blood circulation.

A study reported a 92% effective treatment rate for chalazions using red light therapy.

Research suggests red light therapy can slow down the development of myopia in children.

A meta-analysis from 2023 shows a reduction in myopia progression by 0.68 diopters with daily red light use.

The exact mechanism of how red light therapy slows myopia is still unknown, with theories involving oxygen and blood flow to the retina.

Safety concerns exist regarding the use of red light therapy on the eyes, with unknown short-term or long-term consequences.

Many red light devices on the market are not designed for eye use and may breach safety limits.

Red light therapy is not currently FDA approved for any eye diseases in the US, but trials are ongoing.

Lumethora is a company with a red light device undergoing FDA trials for macular degeneration treatment.

Transcripts

Okay, so red light therapy. That is what we're  talking about today, and specifically how red  

light therapy can affect our eyes, including our  eye health and our vision, everything. And chances  

are you've already seen plenty of products sold  online for red light therapy for things like your  

skin health and muscle recovery, things like that.  But while yes, there is some crazy, fascinating  

research on red light in the eyes that we're about  to go over, there are some major safety concerns  

that you need to know about, especially before  you try using any of these red light therapy  

devices you may have seen online. So in today's  video, we're going to break down how red light  

therapy works, what the research says about red  light therapy in the eyes, and then finally,  

safety with red light. So first, what is red light  therapy, and how does it work? Red light therapy  

also goes by a few other names, such as low-level  light therapy, or even photobiomodulation. It is  

where we use low-level wavelengths of red light  to treat various health conditions. And this is  

primarily used to promote healing, as well as  reduce inflammation and to alleviate pain. And  

historically, it's been used in dermatology  for some time to promote collagen formation,  

as well as treat acne and promote hair growth for  people with alopecia. But it's also been shown to  

help promote recovery for athletes, as well.  And honestly, if you dig into the research,  

there is just a ton of research coming out on this  and applications in almost every area of medicine.  

But in short, how red light therapies believe to  work is that it activates cellular mitochondria,  

which, if you remember from your high school  biology class, is known as the powerhouse of the  

cell. And this red light therapy can help increase  the amount of adenosine triphosphate or ATP,  

which is necessary for cellular function as well  as repair. And what's so special about red light  

is that they find that wavelengths between 600  and about a thousand nanometers of light penetrate  

deeper into your tissues and get absorbed  by the cells without causing too much heat,  

which is important because too much heat can  cause damage to the cell. And in addition to  

this ATP production, there's also a coupling of  nitric oxide within the cell, which plays a huge  

role in antioxidant activity and metabolism.  And then there's also inflammatory processes,  

which are further shut down by red light. And  both antioxidant activity and inflammation play  

huge roles within the eye for eye health. But  again, this is just sort of the shortened or  

abridged version of how red light technology is  supposed to work. Okay, so now that we know how  

red light therapy works, what does the research  say about red light and the eyes? First, I want  

to say there is a ton of research on the subject  that I've been digging into, so what I'm about to  

share is sort of the grand overview of what these  publications are showing. The first big way that  

red light therapy is being shown to be helpful  for the eye has to do with retinal conditions,  

primarily people who have macular degeneration or  diabetes. In fact, red light or low-level light  

therapy has already been approved and used as a  treatment for age-related macular degeneration  

in both Europe and Latin America, with various  publications showing that red light therapy can  

decrease the size and volume of drusen within the  back of the eye, which if you've never heard that  

term before, drusen is sort of a protein that  builds up in the back that's characteristic of  

macular degeneration. It has also been shown to  reduce the progression of geographic atrophy,  

which is more of the severe end stage of dry  macular degeneration, and red light therapy has  

been shown to improve visual acuity, yes, help  restore vision back for these people and help  

them see further down the vision chart. And also  boost color vision and contrast sensitivity. This  

is huge because the research is showing that not  only can we slow down a disease that often leads  

to legal blindness, but we can restore eyesight  and give good vision back to people, especially  

considering that with macular generation, we  don't really have too many other treatments  

available. And if someone progresses to the  very severe end stage of that disease, the only  

options we have to treat it are injections with a  really expensive medication inside of the eye and  

nobody wants that. And then for people with  diabetes, diabetes is a huge deal for eye care  

because diabetes not only can lead to bleeding  within the eye, but it can lead to swelling of  

the retinal tissue that we call diabetic macular  edema. And research is showing that red light  

therapy can help treat and decrease that swelling  inside of the eye, which otherwise the only  

other treatment we really have for that is again  similar to injections inside of the eye. So yeah,  

just based off of this info alone, red light gets  me really excited. And then there's the treatment  

for dry eye disease, either in isolation on its  own or as an adjunct therapy alongside other forms  

of dry eye treatment, such as intense pulse light  or IPL, for example. And the whole idea is that  

red light being able that it's penetrating deeper  into the tissues may be able to help stimulate the  

oil glands of the eye to produce better oils,  but also improve blood circulation and reduce  

inflammation in those eyelids. In fact, red light  therapy has even been evaluated for the treatment  

of chalazions or eyelid styes that had previously  not been responsive to other forms of treatment,  

with one study reporting a 92% effective treatment  for chalazion within just two treatments. The last  

really cool area of research on red light in the  eyes has to do with slowing down the development  

of myopia or nearsightedness in children. With  a meta-analysis from 2023 reporting a slowing  

down of myopia by 0.68 diopters of glasses power  within 6 months of daily use. And that translates  

to a slowing down of axial length or elongation  of the eyeball by about 0.35 millimeters, which is  

honestly pretty exciting and fascinating because  this is all done with just a desktop red light LED  

that children can look at at home for three  minutes, twice a day. Because myopia development  

is such a huge topic in the field of eye care  right now, there's a lot of eyes looking at  

this research that's coming out, trying to analyze  how effective it is, why it works, and is it safe.  

Even more so because again it's red light being  used on children's eyes. Unfortunately, we have  

really no idea of how red light therapy may be in  fact working to help slow down myopia. One of the  

best theories out there is that perhaps there's a  lack of oxygen in the back of the eye and that's  

helping change the formation of collagen within the  sclera and that perhaps red light is improving  

the amount of oxygen and blood flow to the retina  in the back of the eye and that may slow down  

this whole process. But again, there's a lot of  theories but we really just don't know yet. Okay,  

so that's where the current research is at for red  light therapy in the eyes. Now I know it didn't go  

super deep into the weeds in this video about the  specific wavelengths or the specific devices used  

in these research studies, but I have been putting  a ton of time researching this and even creating a  

CE lecture course for doctors on this subject. So  if you do have questions about a specific disease  

state, about a specific device or wavelengths of  light, anything you want to know, let me know in  

the comments because I'm happy to make additional  videos if people just want to learn more. The  

final thing I really want to talk about in this  video is safety and the current devices available  

for red light therapy. First thing to understand  is that this red light therapy is all still very  

new science, especially for the eyes. And we don't  really understand the short-term or long-term  

consequences of this red light exposure. And  this goes for not just the eye, but for parts of  

the brain as well. And remember the retina in the  eye is just an extension of your brain. And we're  

a little concerned about the possible long-term  consequences of what this could be doing to those  

delicate nerve cells. On top of that, there are  many different LED red light devices and masks on  

the market, which many of, and if not all, are not  designed specifically for the eyes. And there's  

usually a warning on them that says don't shine  directly into the eye. Chances are if even if  

you do try to use one of those devices and look  at it, it's probably not the right wavelength,  

probably not the right power density or fluence,  which is the fancy word we use for dose of light.  

And there's a possible chance that that red light  could cause short or long-term damage to the  

retina in the back of the eye and again, I don't  want anyone to hurt themselves by trying this  

out. Even recently, a study looking at the light  devices used in these red light myopia studies on  

children found that these devices already breached  the safety limit of maximal light exposure,  

and currently, red light therapy is not FDA  approved for the treatment of any eye diseases in  

the US as of yet, but there is currently at least  one red light device going through FDA trials,  

specifically for the treatment of macular  degeneration. And that's from a company  

called Lumethora. And honestly, looking at that  research, I think it looks really promising and  

it's a strong likelihood that we're probably gonna  see that FDA approved within the next year or so.  

But again, this is all still very new in the  area of eye care. Okay, so there you have it.  

That is the lowdown on red light therapy for the  eyes. Thank you so much for hanging around here  

toward the end. Again, please let me know in the  comments if there's another subject on red light  

you'd like to know more about, such as maybe some  of the devices currently on the market, especially  

the ones used for kind of treating the skin around  the eyes, whether it be for dry eyes specifically,  

chalazions or styes, or even like treating eye  bags, for example. There is some interesting  

stuff going on in that space. But again, let me  know in the comments. Thanks for hanging around.  

Hit the like button for me and hopefully,  we'll see you in that next video. Peace.