Is Phototherapy Really Effective in Treating Your Children's Allergic Rhinitis?

Just like other parents pained at the sight of theircombinations of visible light and ultraviolet light to
children sneezing, scratching their itching eyes andspecific areas of the body to cure certain illnesses.
constantly wiping their runny nose, you probably areTo treat allergic rhinitis, medical manufacturers have
always looking for alternative ways to help yourdeveloped pocket-sized phototherapy devices to
children suffering from allergic rhinitis.deliver light directly to the nasal passages to relieve
You are worried about the long-term effects ofsymptoms.
antihistamines, decongestants, inhalers and steroidsNow you ask if there have been studies about the
that your children always take just to help them bearuse of phototherapy to treat allergic rhinitis. In
the uncomfortable symptoms. Oftentimes also, youaddition to studies in the past years, there have been
are concerned because even after your children havestudies completed this year and the results have
taken medications, the symptoms continue,affirmed the effectiveness of phototherapy in
preventing them from finishing their homework orrelieving allergic rhinitis symptoms.
joining their friends.One study involved the use of a combination of
Perhaps you have heard about or tried acupuncture,25-percent UV-A, 5-percent UV-B and 70-percent
naturopathy, massage therapy or herbal treatments.visible light to treat allergic sufferers in Turkey.
Probably also, you have heard about phototherapyAnother is a study of literature on the use of
being used in other types of diseases such as skinalternative medicine including phototherapy to treat
diseases. And now you are hearing about researchallergic rhinitis by researchers at the University of
results indicating that phototherapy is also effectivePittsburgh. A third study involved the use of
in treating allergic rhinitis.intranasal phototherapy devices, which were found to
What exactly is phototherapy? Simply, it is thehave been effective in relieving runny nose, sneezing,
process of using light to treat a disease. Actually, thisitchy eyelids and watery eyes among patients in
is not a new discovery because our ancestors haveWorcester, England.
been using light to improve their physical conditionsAdditionally, manufacturers claim that phototherapy
during their time. Babies are brought out into thedoes not have side effects, so if you find one
morning sun to make them stronger and adults staywell-recommended phototherapy device, examine it
in the sun to expose their skin sores or wounds.and give it a try. You may have finally found an
During our era, medical device manufacturers haveeffective cure.
been creating phototherapy devices to deliver