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Levulan (ALA) with IPL

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[quote][i]Originally posted by rocco[/i]
[br]At dan's suggestion I am starting a topic on ALA with IPL. This is a newish treatment for such skin issues as acne, irregular pigmentation, freckling, and most importantly for those of us here, precancerous sun spots (like AK's), skin cancer prevention and sun damaged skin damage and probably superficial skin cancers.

5-Amino Levulanic Acid, or ALA for short, is a topical medication that also goes by the trade names Levulan and Kerastick. ALA is applied to the skin to make targeted areas more sensitive to a photodynamic treatment.

The light used in the treatments in places I have contacted is a pulsed blue spectrum light called various names such as, IPL or Intense Pulsed Light, photo-facial, fotofacial or Photo Rejuvenation. This is NOT laser light though.

The center doing the treatment will assess your needs for the treatment and create a plan for you. The ALA will be applied and left on for a period of time (anywhere from 20 minutes up to hours) before the actual light treatment. To treat an area the size of your face will probably take another 20 minutes or so. The treatment is suitable for all areas of the body though.

After treatment you should expect redness and some blistering of the treated areas for 3 days to 2 weeks and extra sun sensitivity (plan on being in a darkened room for the next 2 days). The area will flake and peal as the new skin emerges. Precancerous areas are said to crust and scab over before healing.

The actual theory behind this treatment method is that the ALA makes targeted skin areas more sensitive to the treatment light rays. The objective areas (any skin issues you may have) selectively absorb the light and it is coverted into thermal energy diminishing or destroying the targeted spots.

Here are a couple of websites with more info on this subject:

http://www.spa-medical.com/ALA%20and%20IPL.htm

http://www.touchbriefings.com/pdf/2268/morton.pdf
[/quote]

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T O P I C R E V I E W
rocco	Posted - 04/24/2007 : 14:20:31 At dan's suggestion I am starting a topic on ALA with IPL. This is a newish treatment for such skin issues as acne, irregular pigmentation, freckling, and most importantly for those of us here, precancerous sun spots (like AK's), skin cancer prevention and sun damaged skin damage and probably superficial skin cancers. 5-Amino Levulanic Acid, or ALA for short, is a topical medication that also goes by the trade names Levulan and Kerastick. ALA is applied to the skin to make targeted areas more sensitive to a photodynamic treatment. The light used in the treatments in places I have contacted is a pulsed blue spectrum light called various names such as, IPL or Intense Pulsed Light, photo-facial, fotofacial or Photo Rejuvenation. This is NOT laser light though. The center doing the treatment will assess your needs for the treatment and create a plan for you. The ALA will be applied and left on for a period of time (anywhere from 20 minutes up to hours) before the actual light treatment. To treat an area the size of your face will probably take another 20 minutes or so. The treatment is suitable for all areas of the body though. After treatment you should expect redness and some blistering of the treated areas for 3 days to 2 weeks and extra sun sensitivity (plan on being in a darkened room for the next 2 days). The area will flake and peal as the new skin emerges. Precancerous areas are said to crust and scab over before healing. The actual theory behind this treatment method is that the ALA makes targeted skin areas more sensitive to the treatment light rays. The objective areas (any skin issues you may have) selectively absorb the light and it is coverted into thermal energy diminishing or destroying the targeted spots. Here are a couple of websites with more info on this subject: http://www.spa-medical.com/ALA%20and%20IPL.htm http://www.touchbriefings.com/pdf/2268/morton.pdf
2 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First)
Lily44	Posted - 12/09/2010 : 03:00:46 quote: Originally posted by rocco At dan's suggestion I am starting a topic on ALA with IPL. This is a newish treatment for such skin issues as acne, irregular pigmentation, freckling, and most importantly for those of us here, precancerous sun spots (like AK's), skin cancer prevention and sun damaged skin damage and probably superficial skin cancers. 5-Amino Levulanic Acid, or ALA for short, is a topical medication that also goes by the trade names Levulan and Kerastick. ALA is applied to the skin to make targeted areas more sensitive to a photodynamic treatment. The light used in the treatments in places I have contacted is a pulsed blue spectrum light called various names such as, IPL or Intense Pulsed Light, photo-facial, fotofacial or Photo Rejuvenation. This is NOT laser light though. The center doing the treatment will assess your needs for the treatment and create a plan for you. The ALA will be applied and left on for a period of time (anywhere from 20 minutes up to hours) before the actual light treatment. To treat an area the size of your face will probably take another 20 minutes or so. The treatment is suitable for all areas of the body though. After treatment you should expect redness and some blistering of the treated areas for 3 days to 2 weeks and extra sun sensitivity (plan on being in a darkened room for the next 2 days). The area will flake and peal as the new skin emerges. Precancerous areas are said to crust and scab over before healing. The actual theory behind this treatment method is that the ALA makes targeted skin areas more sensitive to the treatment light rays. The objective areas (any skin issues you may have) selectively absorb the light and it is coverted into thermal energy diminishing or destroying the targeted spots. Here are a couple of websites with more info on this subject: http://www.spa-medical.com/ALA%20and%20IPL.htm http://www.touchbriefings.com/pdf/2268/morton.pdf The lights they use in these treatments are LED lights. AMAZON has these lights, the cheapest being about $45. (Look for LED lights at AMAZON, and check out the reviews.) They claim to improve wrinkles, acne, and skin tone. One that looks like a flashlight, says for "human and equine issues". (Could this mean arthritis, or skin cancer?) The bulbs, (not the color of the case), come in red, blue, green, and clear. I have nightlights with all 4 colors of LED light bulbs .These will burn your skin, even though they don't feel hot. I tested a $2 (clear bulb), LED flash light on an open sore. I left it there for about 10 minutes. It looked like it started to heal immediately. The spot felt hot for several hours, even though the skin was barely pink. I don't advise anyone else to do this, you could damage your skin, also you must not shine the light in your eyes because it could damage them. I'm just wondering if a $2 LED flashlight, or nightlight could help AK's, or even skin cancer. Just my thoughts on the subject. THANKS
anivoc	Posted - 04/28/2007 : 19:57:24 Keep us posted Rocco Tom

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