Light therapy is generally safe. If side effects occur, they're usually mild and short lasting. They may include: Eyestrain Headache Nausea Irritability or agitation Mania, euphoria, hyperactivity or agitation associated with bipolar disorder When side effects do occur, they may go away on their own within a few days of starting light therapy.

What is light therapy? Light therapy (also known as phototherapy or bright light therapy) uses light boxes emitting full-spectrum light similar in composition to sunlight. Daily exposure to this bright light is the treatment method most often recommended for patients with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a form of depression that occurs as a result of reduced exposure to sunlight in the fall, winter and spring.

Let's face facts -- no one wants to get old. No one wants wrinkles crisscrossing their face like a gas station road map. No one wants gray hair, crow's feet and liver spots. Even the Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon didn't want to get long in the tooth.

Medical procedures, such as light therapy or chemical peels, may help clear stubborn acne. Learn more about these acne treatments. By Mayo Clinic Staff Acne treatments aren't one-size-fits-all. If prescription creams and antibiotics aren't working for you - or if you can't tolerate the side effects these medications can cause - you might consider acne treatments that can be provided at your doctor's office.

But it's more painful, time consuming than common treatment, dermatologist notes WebMD News from HealthDay By Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter WEDNESDAY, Aug. 27, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Treating pre-cancerous skin spots with a type of light therapy may be more effective than the usual therapy -- freezing the lesions with liquid nitrogen, a new study suggests.

Light therapy or phototherapy (classically referred to as heliotherapy) consists of exposure to daylight or to specific wavelengths of light using polychromatic polarised light, lasers, light-emitting diodes, fluorescent lamps, dichroic lamps or very bright, full-spectrum light. The light is administered for a prescribed amount of time and, in some cases, at a specific time of day.

Light therapy of the hands Light therapy is a highly effective outpatient treatment for many skin conditions, including psoriasis, vitiligo, scleroderma and other skin disorders. It works by slowing down cell growth and inflammation that causes skin problems to develop. Some forms of light therapy are also highly effective cosmetic treatments and can greatly enhance the appearance of skin.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a treatment that uses special drugs, called photosensitizing agents,along with light to kill cancer cells. The drugs only work after they have been activated or "turned on" by certain kinds of light. PDT may also be called photoradiation therapy, phototherapy, or photochemotherapy.