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What is Light Therapy (Phototherapy)?

Light therapy or phototherapy consists of exposure to daylight or to specific wavelengths of light using lasers, light-emitting diodes, fluorescent lamps, dichroic lamps or very bright, full-spectrum light, for a prescribed amount of time and, in some cases, at a specific time of day.

Reported Purpose & Efficacy

Reasons and Efficacy
Purpose # of patients
# of patients with evaluations Efficacy
Major
Moderate
Slight
None
Can’t tell
Treat my mood condition(s) 28 8 Efficacy_major Efficacy_moderate Efficacy_slight
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) 23 13 Efficacy_major Efficacy_moderate Efficacy_slight Efficacy_cant_tell
Seasonal Affective Disorder 15 3 Efficacy_moderate Efficacy_slight
Major Depressive Disorder 13 9 Efficacy_major Efficacy_moderate Efficacy_slight Efficacy_cant_tell
Other 5 0
Psoriasis 5 1 Efficacy_moderate

See all 89 patients currently having Light Therapy (Phototherapy)

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Reported Side Effects

Side effects as an overall problem

Severe
 3
Moderate
 3
Mild
 5
None
 29

Commonly reported side effects, conditions, and hospitalizations associated with Light Therapy (Phototherapy)

Headaches 2
Burning sensation 2
Blurry vision 1
Eye pain 1
Agitation 1
Dry skin 1
See all 12 reported side effects ▼ See top 6 reported side effects ▲

Reported Adherence, Burden & Cost See details from patient evaluations ▼

Adherence

Taking treatment as prescribed

Adherence of Light Therapy (Phototherapy)

Always
 11 28%
Usually
 23 58%
Sometimes
 6 15%
Never
 0 0%

Burden

Difficulty being on treatment

Burden of Light Therapy (Phototherapy)

Very
 3 8%
Somewhat
 10 25%
A little
 14 35%
Not at all
 13 33%

Cost

Paid out of pocket

Cost of Light Therapy (Phototherapy)

$200+
 1 6%
$100-199
 1 6%
$50-99
 0 0%
$25-49
 0 0%
< $25
 16 89%

Report created on May 25, 2012.