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Improving quality of life
Jason Cox | The Leader -
Mary Lou Eckler, RN, left, and Dr. Nancy King at the
Health Center for Women at Arnot Ogden Medical Center
pose with the Vascu Light, the machine used in various
laser treatments. |
Treatments help many feel better about
themselves
story by jessica
ponden
Appearances aren't everything, but they
sure can affect a person's sense of self-worth.
Unwanted hair, spider veins, scars, sun
damage and other cosmetic imperfections cause millions of
people shame and embarrassment.
New light and laser treatments can help
those people make the changes they need to feel more
confident.
"These services are not required for
life, but they can improve a person's quality of life," said
Dr. Nancy King, medical director of Finishing Touch in the
Arnot Ogden Medical Center's Health Center for Women. "It
really gives people a boost."
The Finishing Touch clinic opened in
June to offer men and women of all ages access to light and
laser treatments.
"The way it's set up allows for a lot
of privacy. People come here to the medical office and no one
knows what you're coming in for," King said. "That's important
because a lot of people are embarrassed when they come in, so
we try to cut out that embarrassment factor."
Hair removal is one of the most popular
services, said Mary Lou Eckler, RN, a laser services
specialist.
Intense Pulse Light technology, or IPL,
is used to heat the hair shaft and kill the cells that make
the hair. It only works on hair that is growing, though, and
not all hair is growing at the same time. So, it is usually
necessary to come in for three to five sessions to get all the
hairs.
The process is painless and can be done
anywhere on the body where hair grows, Eckler said.
It is also a lot quicker than
previously developed methods of hair removal, such as
electrolysis.
"With electrolysis, you have to go
follicle by follicle, so this is less time-consuming. You can
do whole patches at a time with the light," King
said.
"I've had some patients that had been
doing electrolysis for years and years and never got to end of
their treatments," Eckler said. She said many patients come in
to the clinic during their lunch break and go back to work
without redness or discomfort.
Yttrium Aluminum Garnet Laser
technology, or YAG, is used primarily to treat unsightly leg
veins.
The laser irritates the veins which
causes them to collapse.
"There is a big meshy network of veins
to if you knock out the top layers, those underneath will
compensate for it," King said.
When the laser first touches a
patient's skin, it can feel like a snap of a rubber band,
Eckler said. But it is overall a painless procedure an no
redness or soreness results, she said.
Previously, spider and varicose veins
were eliminated through sclerotherapy, procedure during which
a hypertonic saline was injected into the veins to irritate
them and cause them to collapse.
King said people want to get rid of
spider veins mostly because they are unhappy with the way they
look, but they can also cause other problems.
"Some veins can hurt. They start to
ache," she said.
The laser can also be used to treat
veins on the face.
The clinic also offers treatments to
lighten scars, birthmarks, and stretch marks and to help
eliminate some signs of aging and sun damage.
for more info.
The Finishing Touch is located in the
Health Center for Women at Arnot Ogden Medical Center. For
more information on the services available, call
767-1003.
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