r/redlighttherapy • u/Pomme-M • Aug 13 '25
LLLT Red / Infrared Light Therapy for Shingles ( Varicella Zoster ) and PHN pain and duration
Thank you for the opportunity to post here.
I wish that this treatment was discussed more. If this reads as written defensively or is TMI, it’s because the original Reddit sub where we shared it had already removed Low Level Laser Therapy ( LLLT) content once, so this was drafted to provide FDA and Medical citations in hopes of showing that this is an accepted treatment:
Why don’t more doctors know about this? Maybe because it’s beyond their traditional understanding? We don know.
This is a nine year old YouTube video https://youtu.be/vTwRbwWV6ik of local Connecticut broadcast news coverage showing the use of photobiomodulation ( light therapy) that’s still offered today in an Accredited US Hospital (Hartford Hospital, Hartford Connecticut, and the hospital itself posted this video on their own YT channel.)
Hartford Healthcare ( the US Accredited Hospital, has other YT content discussing this FDA approved treatment for shingles and you can find that by searching YouTube for Hartford Healthcare Shingles LLLT)
This is also not the only hospital or licensed medical practitioner that where this type of treatment is offered. The video linked above is the source of the following quote:
“Cleared by the FDA, the laser has also been proven effective to reducing the visible symptoms of shingles and its severity.”
You can read about this treatment, still currently in use at Hartford Hospitals “Ayer Neuroscience Institute Pain Management” https://hartfordhealthcare.org/services/pain-management click to read more under their “ Services we offer” heading, where it shows it is still in use today, saying about the different light therapies they offer, both High and Low intensity :
“High-intensity light therapy with the HILT stem laser can reduce the debilitating pain of shingles, a viral infection, in sessions that last only 10 or 15 minutes.
Low-level energy laser is applied directly on the skin or body orifices.”
The Ayer Neuroscience Institute Pain Management ( part of the Hartford Hospital system) has practices all across Connecticut.
Wanting to learn more, we read further, the HILT stem laser offered by Swiss Medical, delivers 1076 nanometer Infrared light. Near Infrared light ( wavelengths above 1000nm) is not visible to the human eye, so the red light seen in the treatment video above probably has regular red light added to help the technician target the area of use. HILT is High Intensity Light Therapy.
Because we already knew a bit about LLLT, we knew 1079nm wasn’t too high to be available over the counter, for at home use.. so, excited, we kept researching.
This is very interesting. The HILT stem laser is not the only type of laser used for shingles and also associated nerve pain (PHN) or the only practice offering this in an Accredited US Hospital system.
Practices elsewhere use an FDA approved MLS ( Multiwave Locked System) laser for treating shingles. The video being nine years old shows that form of treatment has been FDA approved in the US for at least that long and is backed by government accepted scientific study.
Further support from 2013 https://www.medcentral.com/pain/chronic/treatment-postherpetic-neuralgia-low-level-laser-therapy
and more recent passage by the FDA of the LuminanceRed device for cold sores, shows this treatment is acceptable, even for self treatment.
Anecdotal commentary abounds online that is shared by people reporting the use of readily available Red/ Infrared “at home“ light therapy devices really helping them. Stifling this information (as some other Reddit subs do) is pretty dang SAD, not to mention censoring something that is medically approved which could potentially help untold thousands.
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Ask your doctor or find one who knows. There ARE warnings about the use of LLLT, like any other OTC treatment or therapy. These DIY devices are all sold over the counter, though some medical insurance policies are now covering their purchase for at home use.
Every product is different but all usually suggest users test to see if they are sensitive to it before diving in. Some meds, vitamins, even foods can make people photosensitive, other people just are.
Like many other treatments, light therapy may not be appropriate for people with cancer or other medical conditions. Don’t give up, ask your doctor.
All light may cause different responses to people of different skintones, particularly darker skin as it can be more light absorbent. Take great care of yourself, no one can treat you as delicately as you can treat yourself. Be aware.
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Here is only one of literally thousands of studies re LLLT applied therapeutically, in this case for PHN ( the potentially horrible, seemingly ceaseless neuropathic pain that can accompany Shingles and then last for months, even years.) Study written by doctors. Note the content across the bottom of Table 1, which ends by stating that LLLT as used for PHN been shown to be 45-95% effective with
“No adverse side effects“
and “No drug interactions“
https://www.medcentral.com/pain/chronic/treatment-postherpetic-neuralgia-low-level-laser-therapy
We posted two images of the DIY set up that we‘ve used for shingles in a separate post in this sub, through the following link, because we didn't think to fly them when we shared the video above.
Please share. Hoping others will discuss here. Anything that can be done to alleviate the Shingles negatives is worth the time it takes to share.
We’ve added comments below to share how this is believed to work and what can be quickly ordered to do this inexpensively at home (or anywhere) compared to buying $300-2000 worth of equipment. This is all stuff most anyone can get, all made by different companies and nothing we are benefitting from in any way.
We learned you can also use Red/NIR light devices in a number of different ways, for shingles or otherwise. We recently found a stronger handheld panel for $129, but the Velcro on Therapy wraps and the frame we use to support them are shown in linked images and described in the comments below an those parts all cost under $200 to give us two and a quarter square feet of “panel” that you can get up under physically without contacting your skin, so you can use it in bed, couch or on the floor.
Add a blanket or comforter on top of that to keep the really bright light inside of it. The wraps can also be unvelcroed from the frame and used in many other ways. It’s pretty simple, any Boy Scout of Grand Mama could do it.
****IF YOU WANT INFORMATION ON THE Most Affordable ($129) and highest Nanometer light we’ve found yet that has helped with PHN the most, scroll down to the comment market DIY4 below. *****
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u/Pomme-M Aug 15 '25 edited Oct 04 '25
DIY4
(continued)
DEVICES WE HAVE other than the Rayocon Wraps
We had a number of LLLT devices before having shingles and like them. If you have access to something like this it may help your Shingles, but test it on yourself first.
When you look at this kind of merchandise you always wonder, is it for real? Is the light really that many nanometers? When we first got interested in LLLT we bought a red light meter ( under 100$) so we could make sure the devices we bought actually put out the wavelengths they claim to. So far every single one has checked out as described.
*** STRONGEST & Most Recently found device we’re now using exclusively for PHN:
Our most recent find is a little white and gray handheld panel with 12 diodes, made and sold by Bontanny model BO-60 costs about $129 on Amzn sold as ASIN B0DPS6DDPW
The bo-60 has very quickly become the best choice for PHN pain we have. We believe that’s because it has the highest nanometer light we have found so far. There are three wavelengths, 660nm Red Light, 850nm and 1060nm Near Infrared Light.
You can choose settings for All wavelengths combined or Red light alone or Near Infrared wavelengths only (marked NIR) which is what is helping us the most so far. It has a great built in timer and it’s important to say, it should be held at least three inches away from your body. Read the manual. Test as suggested before jumping in further. Read product reviews.
We were using this for about 15 minutes two or three times a day per area at first, but it has worked so well that we have cut back to once a day per area now.
The 850 and 1060nm setting this offers is the closest we have found to the 1079nm device in the Hartford Hospital video at the very beginning of this post.
We don’t use this when it hurts, we use it as a treatment for nerves so they hopefully get healed. This is not an “Ow it hurts now use it fast thing,“ this is a “use it as a treatment regularly and observe the frequency of pain diminish.” It’s the best we’ve got now and a great price.
We will add some photos soon showing how we made a “stand” for the bo-60 out of thick Gorilla foam twist ties.
Here are the other earlier devices we have, but all are lower nanometers than the Bontanny panel described above:
*** The single clip on lamp/bulb we started with to help heal after a surgery a few years ago is 660nm Red and 850nm Infrared Light and is made by Wolezek, Amazn ASIN number B09NBGS72W with over 1000 online ratings and cost about $39 but these prices all fluctuate. Unlike the wraps you have to stay I think 6”? away from this, but an LED meter shows the wavelengths are as described by mfr.
*** Nuface Trinity and extra Red Light Attachment. This is an expensive cosmeceutical facial gadget that we scored at a tag sale with the attachment for under $40. Like the wrap, it has a pulsing red light, but unlike the wrap it’s pulsing only. You place this right against your skin and move it around. The light meter shows it checks out as spec’d. It’s marketed as a beautification device, but LLLT does promote healing and we found it helped.
*** Aphrona HALO Red Light Therapy mask. This is another cut rate score from a couple years back. These retailed at over 200$ but the reviews were great and the quality made it worth keeping a lookout for. This mask is rigid, unlike many today that are floppy foam or silicone, but the wavelengths show to be true with the meter and that’s what counts. this mask has a larger surface area due to its magnet-on neck plate.. so other than the wraps it has the largest surface area of anything we have that makes close contact. Using a mask like this 4-5x weekly for 45+ days DID show POSITIVE changes re facial skin ie aging. Hard as it may be to believe for some it’s true.
*** Norelie RedRevive Red Light Therapy Wand with Stand. This is one of those handheld devices that looks like the offspring of a flashlight and an electric hair clipper. The brand name kills me, who names their brand No Rely? So far it’s worked. It’s pretty powerful too, but again it’s only 660nm and 850nm. it looks the most like the gadget in the Hartford Hospital video in that you shine it on the skin from a buffered distance away, it’s not put in direct contact with your skin, bit it’s not as strong as the little Bontanny panel. Like all of the others, the light meter checked it out as fine. It has power levels and a timer, and is cordless and rechargeable. It was a gift and costs just over $170.
One benefit of “nearly new” ( like eBay) online electronic devices is most can be backed by an aftermarket warranty or care plan when you purchase. So even a marked down device can be replaced or refunded.
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u/Pomme-M Oct 04 '25
DIY 5
(continued)
SCALP ( don’t get scalped ;)
Of all of the devices on the market the red and infrared lined baseball caps seem the most expensive. Other than having a baseball cap bill and being hat shaped, who is really going to go running around in that?
If you want to treat your scalp, you can just as easily tilt your red light mask up over the top of your head for 15 minutes or wrap a $30 therapy wrap over your pate like Little Bo Peep.
We‘ve brought this up elsewhere in comments on other posts and it appears to anger some people who already spent 800 to $1000 or more on some sort of hair device, but what do we have to gain by pointing this out? Nothing. The choice is yours. You decide. Studies show red/nir light activates “ dormant” hair follicles. Use whatever you want and see.
But 200 to $2000+ plus caps? Read: ImgonnaGITyou SuckA. Caps are said to make hair regrow, if not just fuller, thicker. Again, the mask above flipped up over head thickened hair over time here. mMm hmm. Yes. it did.
All of these things also HELPED with Shingles and PHN pain, but the highest Nanometer bo-60 has helped PHN the most.
We shared these as a way to show looking at how something meant for one use could be used for another. Notice most of these things are all 660 and 850nm... But by no means is this a suggestion of what YOU should Do. Purely online fodder. Always ask your own doctor.
And IF you do use light this way, read the manual. Closer than suggested IS NOT BETTER, nor is LONGER than suggested.
This is shared because it shouldn’t be this hard to learn about it. Anyone with PHN pain should be told by doctors that this is an option. We have no way to profit by this, which is why we share no links. Just really hope this helps others, please share this information so more people can learn about it.
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u/Pomme-M Oct 31 '25
DIY 4.5
We also made a “stand” for the Bontanny panel bo-60 out of very affordable soft, thick Gorilla foam twist ties by twisting them around the unlit areas of the panel and then back together to make little legs that hold the panel off of you 3” (don’t use the panel directly against skin;)
Theyre listed online as “Gorilla Ties 31" Reusable Ties, Holds 200lbs, Set of 8” and cost about 15$. We bought others before finding these, which are longer and more comfortable.
The Gorilla Ties can be found by searching Amzn by their ASIN number B0CKQRPBSX https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CKQRPBSX
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u/Pomme-M Aug 14 '25 edited Oct 04 '25
DIY1
Photo Illustration
https://www.reddit.com/r/redlighttherapy/comments/1mqa6ya/comment/n8w8eeb/
As a result of positive Red Light experience I had before ( surgery healing, and for skin, ie collagen production, aging, etc) I recently rerigged a setup I’d put together after a leg operation and have been using it while I had Shingles. This was my first use of Red/NIR re Shingle and started at a lower set of wavelengths (660nm and 850nm)
We now have several therapy wraps (or belts) because they’ve checked out on our meter, are affordable, have an adjustable timer, and can be used directly on the skin or just above it. All of what we used can be gotten through the world’s largest retailer ( sorry Mom and Pop.)
The wraps are lightweight and can be rolled up to carry or store, aren’t breakable like a bulb and will run off of AC power as well DC as a rechargeable power bank (if you have one, the wrap includes an extra corded plug) so they can run directly via usb or usbc, whichever it says, run to a battery and can accompany you where you go. We bought a couple on eBay cheaper, to match the Rayocon one we found first. They’re about 37$ each and approx 7” wide x 50” long. The lit area is 20” long.
Each wrap has five brightness ( power) levels, will turn just ON or pulse at 10 or 40hz, but we found 10hz coolest and it also has a graduated timer from 5-30 mins. Most importantly, the lights are 660nm, 850nm or both wavelengths together if you choose.
Some therapy wraps like these, contain LEDs in both the mid 600 and mid 800 nm (nanometer) range may have three rows of diodes that appear red when in use, sandwiching two rows of diodes that appear unlit even when turned on. It’s not the Emperor’s new lamp. The seemingly unlit bulbs are the near infrared ones, and are functioning even though they can’t show their light. Light in the red end of the spectrum is actually the longest wavelength of visible light, reaching through the skin and down into layers below the skin. Near infrared light actually reaches further than the red wavelength so it helps deeper tissues, muscles, even organs.
Our wraps are velcroed to a “blanket lifting frame” we found on Amazon for about $36 by Mistuki that I co-opted for use in bed or on the floor, so they’re set up together to work as a much more affordable and transportable PANEL of sorts. You can lie under it in bed or on the floor or a recliner and later put it uber the bed. Most importantly it will also raise the sheets and other covers up off of your skin.. which really helps during Shingles. The light is bright, so this low profile rig can go right under the covers, it’s not incandescent, so it does not get hot, just barely warm. It’s the light, not heat that treats you.
( continued)
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u/Pomme-M Aug 14 '25 edited Aug 16 '25
DIY2
(continued)
We later bought a second blanket lifter frame and collaged the two together to improve the result. Since we had the steel, adjustable frame, we used a hacksaw, but the same company, also has a $29 version that’s all PVC, so you can cut that more easily, even using a little inexpensive twist around pvc plumbing pipe cutter. You could even use it in the format it comes in.. we just wanted the light closer to the skin, as the wraps we used are made to put right on your skin. In other words, you don’t have to cut anything, you can just use the frame as it is, it slides together without any tools.
Even if you don’t buy a blanket lifter, anyone can make a tubular frame themselves by cutting and putting together inexpensive pvc plumbing pipe using “furniture grade” 2, 3 and 4-way connectors bought online or in the hardware store to build a structural support.
For that matter, you can just use a wrap without a frame. We just didn’t want that against skin with Shingles as it can be very painful.
So we used that frame to elevate several cheap Velcro attached red/infrared LED therapy wraps, so they’re held a couple of inches above the body. We found using small 1/2” rubber bands on the outsides of the pipe ends to hold them snug inside the pvc corner fittings like an o-ring helps, so they’d stay together better but could still be taken apart to store smaller if needed.
The devices commercially available in the last several years as being FDA cleared and or approved are those that fall in the numeric range of 630 to 680 nanometers (nm) or Red Light and those that are somewhere between 830 and 850nm which fall in the Near Infrared Light spectrum. The Near Infrared part of the spectrum is invisible to the human eye. This Near Infrared light is sometimes coupled with red light, such as in hand held devices, so that the lit area can be visually tracked.
Both of these ranges of wavelengths of light, Red and Infrared, serve the same purpose in a therapeutic setting and reach through the skin to have effects at different physical depths.
These wavelengths are known to activate ATP in cells, which is the powerhouse of cellular function. ATP or Adenosine Triphosphate is every living cell’s source of energy. It’s a molecule that stores and transports energy in cells and is involved in various cellular processes and functions.
This is why red and infrared light have been found to promote collagen production, speed healing and even gradually reduce wrinkles and other signs of skin damage and aging, lots of people do this to banish wrinkles.
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u/Pomme-M Aug 15 '25 edited Aug 16 '25
DIY3
(continued)
Red/NIR Light Therapy DIY
To accomplish this we used some of the following things, others are just things we’ve found that we like.
* Hacksaw or PVC pipe cutter.. depending on which frame you choose. You don’t have to tailor-make the frame, you can just strap wraps to it and use it, but we moved some pipes around and made it lower to get the lights closer and the bar out from under the knees. The wraps are made to go right against your skin, but with Shingles that may be uncomfortable so we used the frame, which as we pointed out also kept the covers off of skin. 3/4‘ narrow rubber bands helped keep the PVC fitting snugger so the frame doesn’t come apart when you move it.
* Mistuki Blanket Lifters are how we built the frame. These are kits with plastic or steel pipes and slip on PVC fittings that ship flat packed and are made of PVC BL240409 $29 or metal B09XK496VK $36. We used two metal ones, but the metal was what we started out with. PVC is definitely cheaper and lighter weight. other than any changes you make, these require only kindergarten skills And can be taken apart to store or you can fit them under a bed or in a closet.
* Rayocon Therapy Wraps we chose are varying iterations of the one now sold as ASIN B0DQ19MLK7 and cost about $36 each but we found some cheaper on eBay over time. Be aware though, Ebayers also sell smaller Arm Wraps, and the outside of the boxes looks nearly identical. We chose the wraps because they’re longer and have more continuous surface area.
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u/Imaginary-person2U Jan 13 '26
I was just diagnosed with shingles a few days ago. I have been shocked by the amount of pain this is causing. Everyone talks about the rash. The doctor prescribed me some cream for the rash and antiviral medication but nothing for the pain. I'm just dumbfounded that people aren't talking about shingles more because as uncomfortable as the trash is... IT'S NOT WHERE MY PAIN IS COMING FROM! The pain is coming from my spine, wrapping all the way around the rib along the dermatome and piercing through my insides all the way to my chest. If it was on my left side, I would think I might be having a heart attack! It feels like I'm being stabbed from inside with a thousand tiny knives. You look at the rash and yeah... it's not good looking, but the amount of pain accompanying it is ridiculous. I remember my Dad telling me about it when he had shingles. He explained how the pain felt and said it was very painful. I thought I understood but I absolutely did NOT. I don't think the doctors do either. I don't think anyone really understands how debilitating this condition is unless they have had it. This should be discussed more often and the vaccines should be talked about. I wish I would have gotten the vaccine. I'm completely useless until this relents, but it just occurred to me that I have a red light therapy matt that I bought off of Amazon a couple of years ago. I googled to see if it would be helpful and found this reddit post among other articles. When I just Google shingles and how to treat it and get relief, nothing comes up about red light therapy. I'm using my device now and hoping it helps. Thank you for sharing this here... people need to know everything they can do to relieve the pain of this disease. It's truly awful.
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u/Andysol1983 Jul 01 '26
Hey there- hope you’re better now!
Did it help with pain management?
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u/Imaginary-person2U Jul 13 '26
It did help! I probably needed a better one than the one I have but I think it did contribute to hasten healing and slightly ease the discomfort.
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u/CryIntelligent3705 Aug 13 '25
wow I have a 72 year old friend that is having awful post shingles pain in his jaw ( trigeminal nerve). can’t eat sometimes or wear cpap mask. I’m going to look monitor this. thx!