pulse dye laser articles ↓

In a recent Rosacea News article the highlighted LPDL treatment regime used Arnica pre- and post- treatment to reduce the bruising and swelling associated with pulse dye laser. The paper specifically mentioned SinEcch from Alpine Pharmaceuticals.

Alpine Pharmaceuticals are promoting SinEcch as a natural homeopathic dose of Arnica Montana. I have to say that I am unconvinced by the whole homeopathic story. Can treating `like with like’ really offer provable results ? Their FAQ pages go on to say that for bruising and swelling, a single remedy, Arnica, can be prescribed for everyone, rather than a regime customized for each person.

The herb Arnica Montana is toxic, but the homeopathic doses are not toxic. According to their web site "the smaller doses seen in Homeopathic preparations may exhibit the reverse effect of the larger doses used in herbal medicine. However, even Homeopathic doses may be cumulative over time. Prolonged pre-operative dosing regimens of Arnica Montana, for example, may increase intra-operative bleeding, whereas the single pre-operative dose used in the SinEcch protocol has been reported to increase intra-operative bleeding in only one case out of over 300,000."

SinEcch is approved by the FDA and is available over the counter. One package is designed to treat one patient for one surgery and consists of 12 capsules.

CHOICE Australia did a review of natural first aid remedies and had this to say about arnica:

Arnica montana is a medicinal herb with a long history of use for treating swelling and bruising resulting from blows, and injuries such as sprains. Arnica flower is commonly available in both herbal and homeopathic preparations.

Clinical evidence for arnica as an effective first aid treatment is lacking, but people with osteoarthritis might want to give it a go.

Another related natural/herbal treatment is the anti-flushing protocol as used by Dr. Soldo between IPL treatments. This protocol uses, amongst other things, either aloe vera gel or Calendula Gel from Califlora.

Paula Begoun, in her article, When Blushing is Not by Choice: Causes and Treatments for Rosacea, lists Arnica as something that potentially should be avoided.

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We want your help !

Please give us your feedback. Have you ever used Arnica or Calendula as part of your laser or IPL treatments, or even as part of your daily regime ? I’m looking for some good feedback on other naturopathic remedies as well. Please leave a comment below and let us know how you got on.

Related Articles:

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• Arubix anti-redness reviews and research
• focus on calendula (califlora)
• focus on golden chamomile (Chrysanthellum indicum)
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This just published paper is a case report of one 60 year-old patient who was unresponsive to the usual first line rosacea treatments. Additionally 2 treatments with Lumens One IPL were unable to offer clearance. The patient then received 2 treatments with the Cynergy LPDL:Nd:YAG Laser.

Recalcitrant rosacea successfully treated with multiplexed pulsed dye laser.

J Drugs Dermatol. 2007 Aug;6(8):843-5, Larson AA, Goldman MP

There are few treatments that address both papulopustular and telangiectatic components of rosacea. We present a case of rosacea that was unresponsive to treatment with antibiotics. We report the novel use of a new laser technology, the multiplexed laser, for treatment of both papular and telangiectatic rosacea.

The author has kindly sent a copy of the paper, so if you would like to read a copy, let me know. Here is a quote describing the laser used in the report.

Cynergy MultiPlex (Cynosure, Westford, MA) is a new technology combining a long-pulse PDL with a 1064-nm Nd:YAG laser. The 595-nm wavelength targets the yellow absorption peak of oxyhemoglobin. It is thought that the laser also stimulates the ferrous iron (Fe2+) molecule of heme to ferric iron (Fe3+), converting hemoglobin to methemoglobin. Methemoglobin is unable to bind oxygen, and is a greenish-black pigment. The Nd:YAG laser treats this new chromophore more effectively than hemoglobin. Sequential lasering with this combination is thought to be more effective than either laser alone in the treatment of vascular lesions. It not only treats a broader spectrum of vascular lesions at various depths, but also decreases the number of treatments needed.

Disclosure: Dr. Goldman serves as a consultant for Lumenis, Cynosure,
and Dusa Pharmaceuticals but has received no specific funding
for performing treatment or writing this article.

The patient showed a 50% improvement of papules and telangiectasia after one treatment with Cynergy PL. The paper ends by saying that one of the advantages of this combination laser is less need to treat at purpuragenic causing energy levels - i.e. it can offer less downtime compared to other Pulse Dye Laser treatments.

For more information on the laser, see Cynergy Vascular Workstation.

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