Duration of one treatment | Light therapy for depression

Duration of one treatment

A light therapy usually lasts at least 2 weeks, rather longer, that is 4-8 weeks. However, if the patient notices that the therapy is basically good for him, there is no reason why he should not buy his own device and integrate it into his everyday life, i.e. use it regularly and for longer than 4-8 weeks.

Which doctor performs light therapy?

There is no regulation as to which doctor must offer light therapy and which does not. Therefore, it is not possible to give a blanket answer about which doctors perform light therapy. There are psychiatric day clinics where light therapy is available.

Also in rehabilitation facilities there is often the option to try out light therapy. The best thing is to ask your family doctor if he has an idea where you have the possibility to participate in light therapy. Nowadays one can – if one has already had positive experiences with light therapy – also consider buying a special lamp for this purpose.

What risks do I have to expect side effects?

Light therapy – in contrast to drug therapy – has relatively few side effects and is very well tolerated. Some patients complain of headaches or dry itching eyes after one of the first sessions. However, this usually disappears again after a short time.

Nausea can also occur. In most patients these side effects disappear after the first sessions in the sense of getting used to them. It is important to perform light therapy only with a lamp that has a UV filter.

Otherwise the skin and eyes may be damaged in the long run. Before starting a light therapy, this should be discussed with the treating physician because there are certain drugs that can cause a so-called photosensitivity, i.e. an increased sensitivity of the skin to light. These include, for example, some antibiotics and St. John’s wort, which can be purchased over the counter. The radiation to which the skin reacts more sensitively after such a medicamentous sensitization is however the UV radiation and that is filtered out by the usual filters. Patients with eye diseases should speak before a light therapy with their treating ophthalmologist, whether something speaks against this therapy form.