This is the time of the year when pollens give you hay fever and your nose is running like crazy. But now, a new photon-based anti-hay-fever technology is available to help, at least if you live in Central Europe. A small Hungarian company, Rhinolight, has developed a new technology using light cannons to help you. Its special lamps, which illuminate your nose with high energy light, have been installed in about 20 medical centers. After two weeks or about six sessions, the company says that you have a 80% chance to be cured -- at least for the current year. But as I haven't read any reports about the efficiency of this method, don't book a flight to Budapest before talking to your physician and read more. Update (September 8, 2005): László PÁPAI, the Area Manager from Rhinolight Ltd. sent me new information, and allowed me to publish it. You'll find it at the bottom of this post.
Let's start with a warning. All the quotes below come from the Rhinolight website, and I really don't know if some of their claims are true, even if they're backed with several scientific publications.
Here is a scary description of hay fever impact today.
Hay fever (allergic fever, allergic rhinitis) is a kind of inflammation of nasal mucosa and nasal sinuses mucosa induced by an allergic reaction.
Allergic rhinitis is the most frequent disease, affecting 10-20% of the population. The frequency of this disease was increasing during last years especially in developed countries. Therefore this century is used to call as the century of allergy.
Hay fever is not a serious disease but troublesome symptoms lower the overall quality of patient's life. Besides nasal symptoms asthmatic symptoms also develop in 20% of all cases.
Of course, antiallergic drugs exist, but aren't always efficient or can't even be used. So (drumroll please!), Rhinolight has developed a new treatment to fight hay fever.
The research group of the Department of Dermatology and Allergology, University of Szeged has evolved the Rhinolight phototherapeutical apparatus, which is suitable for the treatment of the nasal mucosa of patients suffering from allergic rhinitis. The research group has proved that Rhinolight treatment significantly reduces the severity of the clinical symptoms of allergic rhinitis.
Here is an illustration showing how this light cannon will illuminate your nasal mucosa without damaging it.
And here is a photograph of the Rhinolight device.
What kind of light is used by this device? The company doesn't give too many details in the page mentioned above.
True beauty dwells on high: ours is a flame
But borrowed thence to light us thither.
Beauty and beauteous words should go together.
—George Herbert (1593–1633)
Rhinolight phototherapy significantly suppresses the symptoms of allergic rhinitis in patients who don’t respond to conventional treatments. The spectrum range of the emitted light is mainly visible light, so it doesn’t have any harmful effects on the nasal mucosa. The ultraviolet range of the emitted light mainly contains ultraviolet A light, which is applicable safely. The UVB spectrum is only 2% of the emitted light, so it has less harmful effects than sunlight. So high energy light source -- which contains visible light in 84% -- has not been used so far in the treatment of allergic rhinitis.
I'm not sure to understand the above paragraph.
Anyway, be careful before using this device. The idea of having a light cannon pointed to my running nose leaves me somewhat skeptical.
Update from Rhinolight Ltd. (September 8, 2005)
I am writing as area manager of Rhinolight Ltd., Hungary. I have read Your article on our company and product, and would have a few comments to add.
Firstly, please be advised that the source You have used for preparing your article is out of date, and has not been updated for 2 years. We will soon eliminate this site. By the way, had You clicked on any other links within the site or tried www.rhinolight.hu, You would have seen that there is a web page totally different from that of the one cited in Your article. I am of the opinion that such inaccuracy questions the seriousness of the content any contribution relating to Rhinolight.
Therefore, contrary to what You have stated, let me set out in particular the issues You have, for yome reason, been mistaken:
1. We have over 60 centers in Hungary, almost 100 including the ones internationally.
2. You claim You have not read anything about efficacy - please do have a look at the list of publications, moreover, read them one by one. Also, You can find the results of a double-bind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical study on the web page (and in the articles, too). Likewise, we have ongoing studies in Hungary and Switzerland. I assume You have no reason to doubt the trustworthiness of JACI and other prestigious journals, in which we have published these studies.
The earth had a single light afar,
A flickering, human pathetic light,
That was maintained against the night,
It seemed to me, by the people there,
With a Godforsaken brute despair.
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
3. You argue there are not much details specified about the device, then You enlist details. This can also be found on the web-site. However, beyond a certain extent, clearly enough, I suppose, we can not disclose information about the device, it being protected by a patent.
4. You warn your readers to be careful with the "light cannon". I definitely object to this kind of labelling the Rhinolight III phototherapeutical device - it is engined by a high-discharge tube. Using the word "cannon" suggests something of harmful nature, and anyways, this is not mentioned on the web page. If You have concerns about efficacy and safety, feel free to ask us. We would be happy to provide You with information on the long-term effects - there aren't any. This is proven by the studies and a comet assay.
I do hope You will consider the abovementioned.
Sources: Roland Piquepaille; with Rhinolight website
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Innovation
Medicine
Optics.