What Light Therapy Manufacturers Will Not Tell You

While it is true that light therapy has become one of the go-to therapies for a whole lot of issues, it does not mean that all of the devices that are available in the market are not without their fair share of flaws as well. There are a whole lot of things that it is good for, that statement is not up for debate but we think it is also important for companies to be truthful to their clients and be transparent. The fact of the matter is that quite simply put, some of the devices on the market are not always exactly as described or advertised. For one thing, some devices have been known to produce undesired side effects. Then there are also devices on the markets that don’t really deliver on their promises. As a result, a lot of customers of these companies are effectively conned into unnecessarily spending their money.

In this article, we will take a closer look at some of the more important issues that light therapy manufacturers do not tell you about.

Side Effects

This is one thing that obviously no company would be too invested in advertising and that has turned out to be the case for many companies. There have been a lot of devices in the market whose users have reported getting undesired side effects from using the device. But, still, rarely are these side effects highlighted by the manufacturer of the device. What they generally tend to do is to have it scribbled in a very shorthand in some obscure part of the guide or packaging. Even if they advertise their products on television, they rarely make sure to highlight the side effects that their devices have the very real potential to cause.

If we just take a look at the data, then we can quite clearly see that a lot of the most common side-effects include the following:

• Problems with the eyes, the strain on the eyes, and other visual disturbances
• Headaches.
• Feeling anxious, agitated, or just simply “weird”
• Nausea and vomiting
• A lot of sweating

The benefits of red light therapy in the treatment of medical health conditions are becoming well documented - see Red Light Therapy for the Head, Brain & Mental Health.

Energy Requirements Can Get You a Pretty High Electricity Bill

This one is also a no-brainer but is still one that most manufacturers of light therapy devices are not too keen on advertising and letting the general people know. Is it really that surprising that light therapy has high electricity requirements? In order for most types of light therapy devices to function effectively, they need to emit light that is of 10,000 lux units. That is a very highly concentrated light and is obviously one that will cost you a lot of money in terms of electricity bills.

Yet, in spite of all of the above, you will rarely find a light therapy manufacturer who will highlight the cost of running their devices. This can be very misleading for the customer who is getting the device. They will, in essence, not be able to budget effectively. There is already the cost of getting the device and visits to a light therapy professional or doctor. Although the cost of actually going to an in-person clinic has been mitigated, the hidden electricity cost of running these devices can really burn a deep hole in the pockets of the customer.

Therefore, it is essential that you do proper research before you buy a light therapy device. Some of the more ethical and better brands have models of these devices which are much more energy-efficient. This can really save you a ton of money in the long run and is definitely worth the research required.

Light therapy devices do not need to be approved by the FDA to be on the market

This one may come as a surprise to a lot of people but the fact of the matter is that you do not need to be approved by the FDA in order to be able to sell your light therapy devices in the US market. This implies a few very obvious and worrisome things. First of all, we would like to mention that there are light therapy companies that have products that are approved by the FDA. The problem lies in the fact that a lot of companies are supplying these devices without getting the FDA approval seal.

The FDA seal of approval is a really important thing that most consumers ought to take into consideration whenever they are making a purchase of a healthcare device. The fact that some are not approved means that there are quite a few products that are substandard. There is no way of knowing if or not these products are able to deliver on the promises that they make. There is also no way of knowing if these products without the FDA seal of approval are safe or not. The simple fact of the matter is that the FDA seal of approval puts the consumer at ease and at peace because this is the gatekeeper that keeps substandard products from entering the healthcare market.

So, once again, we have to emphasize the importance of proper research. Only buy light therapy devices that have been approved by the FDA.

A lot of these devices are not eco-friendly

Having made the above second point about the high electricity consumption of these devices, it really should not come as a surprise to anyone that these devices are not particularly eco-friendly but are rather quite the opposite. In order to produce 10,000 lux units of light, they take up a lot of electrical power and also leave behind a huge amount of carbon footprint. Then there is also the issue that these devices do not need to be approved by the FDA. This means how a lot of these devices are made is in many cases not commonly known to the public. Therefore, there is no way of knowing if these devices have been made with the environment taken into consideration.