Near Infrared Light (940nm) Improves COVID Outcomes.

[anne_likes_red]

Roger Seheult, MD of MedCram talks about a randomized control trial demonstrating the effects of near infrared light on COVID-19.

The study is here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1011134422002342

 

[SWAlexander]

I agree because my VWF II and VWF 5 were very high. Besides, I believe very strongly, as I mentioned in other posts, that photons (sunlight or UVL artificially produced) are a major contributor to well-being. Nothing can exist or heal without sunlight or in this case IR light.

 

[anne_likes_red]

I agree because my VWF II and VWF 5 were very high. Besides, I believe very strongly, as I mentioned in other posts, that photons (sunlight or UVL artificially produced) are a major contributor to well-being. Nothing can exist or heal without sunlight or in this case IR light.

I lay on a bed outside until around 8am (when it got too hot) when I had Covid recently.
The first week, any later in the day than that, it felt like the sun was taking more away than it was giving. I was OK outside again in the evening. It would have been a different scenario in winter I guess.
In any case, I got as much sunlight on my skin as I could.
I wonder if interventions like the one in the video will become more mainstream..
Smart use of light seems such a no brainer!

 

[hapl808]

I think the interesting thing on NIR is it doesn't seem like direct sunlight on skin is necessary. I can't handle more than 5-10 minutes of direct sunlight at most, but I can handle longer just being outside. So I think early morning and indirect exposure could have a lot of benefits.

 

[SWAlexander]

I wonder if interventions like the one in the video will become more mainstream..

It has me. I could not be in the sun for long.
When I had Covid I went to the tanning studio. UV light kills viruses and bacteria. After they closed the studio I used the simple old way of "red light lamp". Since Sept. 2022 I use an infrared belt in addition to getting rid of my ASP, because I can´t use Heparin permanently. After 6 shots of Heparin I start heavy bleeding.
I cannot vouch that would help everybody but it helped me and most of all my MCAS. My OI (Orthostatic Intolerance) and my concentration became much better since I take concentrated infra-red treatment on top of my head (cerebral region)
post: https://forums.phoenixrising.me/thr...essels-the-primary-defect.89284/#post-2423234

 

[Marylib]

Also implies that the use of high dose melatonin in the event of an infection might be helpful. Since we don't live outdoors and lead 'natural lives' of walking around and working in the sun all day. Looking into a red light lamp to purchase. Any suggestions?

 

[GhostGum]

Also implies that the use of high dose melatonin in the event of an infection might be helpful. Since we don't live outdoors and lead 'natural lives' of walking around and working in the sun all day. Looking into a red light lamp to purchase. Any suggestions?

Have looked into this a fair bit, higher end lights you are looking at Mito Red or Infraredi, I think Infraredi offer the best value for quality last time I checked? I think EMR-TEK make good lights too and a bit more cheaper, I have their 800watt but just run it off the Infrared/red mode, its too over stimulating on full blast. I think blockbluelight here in Australia also make good quality lights and a bit more affordable than the higher ends. If you can get a good midsized, will just allow you to do your whole body easier.

 

[SWAlexander]

its too over stimulating on full blast.

Good point. In the beginning, when my symptoms were the worst, I could tolerate higher frequency. Now I tune it down as maintenance.

 

[Hip]

When using near infrared and red light therapy, which these days is often referred to as photobiomodulation, you have to get your dosing quite precise.

The therapeutic effect of this light follows a bell shaped curve, and if you apply too much or too little, then you lose the benefit, and it can actually make you worse.

I already noticed this years ago when using near IR to try to treat brain fog. If I did more than 10 or 20 minutes, my brain fog and fatigue would get worse, not better.



The light exposure dose time depends on the power of the light source, as well as the distance your body is from the source (longer distances weaken the light power).

Light doses on the body are measured in Joules per square centimetre.

Target near infrared doses are in the range 4 to 10  J/cm², according to this paper.

And 0.1 to 6 J/cm² is optimal for red light, according to this article.

 

[GhostGum]

Good point. In the beginning, when my symptoms were the worst, I could tolerate higher frequency. Now I tune it down as maintenance.

I find it interesting when I am feeling good these days my tolerance of it is fine and it actually can even kind of feel like cheating at life on some level, if I am having a bad day it feels like it is doing next to nothing and just over stimulating. So typical of the ME/CFS experience I think, that one almost needs to be recovered to some extent to actually benefit from anything.

@Hip does this mean I am going to need to purchase a light meter now? Or just try to work that out off of the manufacturers specs? Generally I just try to keep it at 10min max a day and off of how it feels, seems to be working alright. Think I am even noticing a gradual cumulative benefit over many months, just better muscle stability/stamina, gradually better skin and feeling more comfortable in myself (this is big for me as just trying to get comfortable over the years has been difficult), maybe more stable energy levels but this could be because of different factors.

 

[Hip]

@Hip does this mean I am going to need to purchase a light meter now? Or just try to work that out off of the manufacturers specs? Generally I just try to keep it at 10min max a day and off of how it feels, seems to be working alright.

I am not sure if a light meter will help, as they are usually set to measure white light, and in any case, they usually give a read out in lux, which would be hard to convert to joules per cm2.

What sort of photobiomodulation device are you using?



I worked out a formula for red or infrared light dosing time, which is this equation:

Dosing time in seconds = π * T * d^2 * (tan θ)^2 / P

Where:
θ = light beam angle in degrees
d = distance the person is from the red or infrared light source in centimetres
P = radiant light power output in watts of the red or infrared source
T = desired total light dose in joules per cm² (which can be set as say 6 J/cm² as the desired dose)
π = pi = 3.142


I use an infrared illuminator spotlight when I perform photobiomodulation on myself (these infrared illuminators are nighttime security spotlights used in conjunction with security cameras).

If you look at the illuminator specs, it will give you the electrical power consumption of the device, typically a few watts. Near infrared LED's are around 50% efficient, so you divide that wattage by 2 to get the actual radiant light power output in watts (P). Red LEDs are about 80% efficient, so you can calculate the radiant power accordingly.

Then usually infrared illuminators have a beam angle of either 15° or 30°, which is normally given in the specs. If not, you can work out the beam angle by shining the light against a wall of known distance away, and measuring the beam diameter on the wall.



So for example, I have a 850 nm infrared illuminator with beam angle 15° and radiant light power output of 3 watts. If I shine this at my head from a distance of 50 centimetres, and plugging these figures into the above formula, we get:

Dosing time in seconds = π * T * d^2 * (tan θ)^2 / P

= π * 6 * 50^2 * (tan 15°)^2 / 3

= 3.142 * 6 * 2500 * 0.2679^2 / 3

= 1145 seconds

= 19 minutes

 

[SWAlexander]

Photobiomodulation Therapy as a Possible New Approach in COVID-19: A Systematic Review

Abstract
COVID-19 is a viral disease characterized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020. Since then, researchers from all over the world have been looking for ways to fight this disease. Many cases of complications arise from insufficient immune responses due to low immunity, with intense release of pro-inflammatory cytokines that can damage the structure of organs such as the lung. Thus, the hypothesis arises that photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) with the use of a low-level laser (LLLT) may be an ally approach to patients with COVID-19 since it is effective for increasing immunity, helping tissue repair, and reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines. This systematic review was performed with the use of PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar databases with the following keywords: “low-level laser therapy OR photobiomodulation therapy AND COVID-19”. The inclusion criteria were complete articles published from January 2020 to January 2021 in English. The exclusion criteria were other languages, editorials, reviews, brief communications, letters to the editor, comments, conference abstracts, and articles that did not provide the full text. The bibliographic search found 18 articles in the Pubmed/MEDLINE database, 118 articles on the Web of Science, 23 articles on Scopus, and 853 articles on Google Scholar. Ten articles were included for qualitative synthesis, of which four commentary articles discussed the pathogenesis and the effect of PBMT in COVID-19. Two in vitro and lab experiments showed the effect of PBMT on prevention of thrombosis and positive results in wound healing during viral infection, using the intravascular irradiation (ILIB) associated with Phthalomethyl D. Two case reports showed PBMT improved the respiratory indexes, radiological findings, and inflammatory markers in severe COVID-19 patients. One case series reported the clinical improvement after PBMT on 14 acute COVID-19 patients, rehabilitation on 24 patients, and as a preventive treatment on 70 people. One clinical trial of 30 patients with severe COVID-19 who require invasive mechanical ventilation, showed PBMT-static magnetic field was not statistically different from placebo for the length of stay in the Intensive Care Unit, but improved diaphragm muscle function and ventilation and decreased the inflammatory markers. This review suggests that PBMT may have a positive role in treatment of COVID-19. Still, the necessity for more clinical trials remains in this field and there is not sufficient research evidence regarding the effects of PBMT and COVID-19 disease, and there is a large gap.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8233727/

 

[ZeroGravitas]

This blog post by Ruth (on My Invisible World) was talking about NIR lamp use for ME/CFS back in 2018. Ahead of the curve by my reconing, maybe on par with Hip..?

She also describes an optimal/max dose, around 10-15 min (depending). This feature of NIR exposure surprised me a lot; after watching a couple of the Medcram videos on this topic, I had the intuition that NIR melatonin production (in mitochondria) would be like UV exposure saturating skin vit-D levels after a few minutes, without problem of excess...

But other YouTube videos, too, described NIR exposure more like a hormesis effect, I think? (Rather than a direct, cataylsed reaction?) But, pressumably, being out in bright daylight for a long time doesn't bring the same detriment? Yet it's strong enough to be theraputic..?

Anyway, given that I've just tested positive for Covid, for the first time, I thought now would make sense to make a descisive choice on a NIR (and red light) lamp to try this ASAP. Perhaps as a more effective, better tolerated way to boost the primary mitochondrial antioxidant, rather than high dose melatonin orally. Which gives me trepidations (and some have warned against).

So, any strong recommendations for quickly buying a lamp (in UK)?

• Ruth's blog linked Red Light Man. Which seems to have some fairly premium options. (I guess could justify a couple hundred £ or so.)

• Propane fitness, on YouTube interviewed the creator and recommended BlockBlueLight. Expensive. Maybe overengineered..? Or makes sense? Full video seems quite informative:

Sorry, I've not been able to fully re-read/watch any of these things, currently. So may have derped a bunch.

 

[Hip]

Ruth's blog linked Red Light Man. Which seems to have some fairly premium options. (I guess could justify a couple hundred £ or so.)

You can buy these same red and infrared bulbs for much less, if you Google for PAR38 LED 850 nm infrared bulb or PAR38 LED 830 nm infrared bulb.

The 830 nm one I bought cost $33.

 

[ZeroGravitas]

The 830 nm one I bought cost $33.

Oh nice! Hah. That's a huge saving, if there's no compromise in function.

But, to be honest, I wasn't considering the spotlights so much. How do you use yours, if I may ask? Do you litterally just illuminate your head? To treat brainfog topically (do you consider it should penetrate the skull)?

I was thinking more of the body panels, with about 16 times the radiant power. To cover the whole torso in a reasonable time (laid in bed, or whatever). Help all the (other) organs, more like the jacket in the first vid, I guess.

Do you think your spotlight will be flicker free? An issue they talk about at the end of the video I posted above. Or will that only be relevant to the visible red on their panels? Come to think of it.

BlockBlueLight panels actually have oscillation settings that basically let you *add* a flicker effect (at a wide range of frequencies).

They have a low power ambient mode, to, I think. Add NIR back into the home environment. (Like we used to have with incandescan room lights, I guess?)

Same question with stray EMFs? I'd be more dismissive, but seen too many health weridnesses to rule anything out these days.

 

[Hip]

Do you litterally just illuminate your head?

Yes, usually just the forehead. I find it modestly increases mental clarity.

Someone else on this forum achieved substantial benefits from targeting the nape of the neck (many ME/CFS patients have a permanent inflammatory feeling in their head just by the nape).

The trick is getting the dose right, as too high a dose negates the effects, and I find it can even make you tired.

 

[SWAlexander]

As maintenance, when the headache is worse near the fontanelle, I use now an IR belt. The belt flexibility allows me to use it close to the face for swollen lymph nodes.

 

[Husband of]

As maintenance, when the headache is worse near the fontanelle, I use now an IR belt. The belt flexibility allows me to use it close to the face for swollen lymph nodes.
View attachment 51317

This is interesting. Can you use it on the face? And do you have a link? Cheers.

 

[SWAlexander]

Can you use it on the face?

I did and still do. I have no longer the link, but I know it was Amazon.

 

[Judee]

Yes, usually just the forehead. I find it modestly increases mental clarity.

Do you get that swollen brain feeling? If so, does it help with that?