Sometimes, there’s more than enough blame to go around when it comes to the most annoying of song lyrics. In this case, we have the tedious Katrina & The Waves, the gospel rock of The Rolling Stones, the bland Roxette, and the “inspirational” work by Van Morrison and Cliff Richard. These songs focus on the idea that, when light shines on you, there can only be beneficial outcomes. This gives additional credibility to the new App available for download at $1.99 from iPhone. Let’s face it, everything offered for sale in the App Store has been vetted and approved by Apple itself. This is the AcneApp. Most importantly, you are not paying for the download of an advertisement for a product or service. This App has been developed by Dr. Greg Pearson. You will be pleased and relieved to know this man is a qualified dermatologist based in Houston. When it comes to acne, this man knows his spots. It works by flashing blue and red lights on to your skin while you have the phone clasped to your face. In theory, these flashing lights help kill the bacteria responsible for causing acne.
When writing a review about a new App for the iPhone, it’s somewhat unconventional to point out that, for $1.99, you can buy a small bar of soap. Unless we missed something in Science 101, soap is slightly more effective than light. And, in terms of looking cool, do people really want to walk around holding an iPhone to their noses? That said, Dr. Pearson is pleasingly refreshing. He gave an interview to the prestigious New York Times. When asked whether his App was effective, he admitted there had been no clinical trials. There had been some before-and-after pictures floating around on YouTube, and he volunteered to judge all pictures sent to him. But, so far, there’s no evidence this App will have any measurable effect on your acne. This actually makes it a “good science” story, right up there with the stories about the electromagnetic radiation from the handphone causing tumors if you use them for long periods of time.
Put this story another way – this App is almost completely harmless and costs you only a token sum. It will make a good joke to amuse your friends for a day or so. But the real treatment for acne remains the range of products starting with hydrogen peroxide and, when all else has failed, finishing with accutane. So far, there has been no other drug developed that matches accutane for effectiveness. When the treatment of acne has become such a massive source of profit, it remains faintly puzzling that no pharmaceutical company has managed to develop something new. But, as it stands, for those of you with acne that resists the “ordinary” treatments, you either have to learn to live with the disfigurement or run the risks of accutane. Always discuss the use of this drug with your regular healthcare professional. The decision is a careful balance between benefits and costs. You must be sure the benefits outweigh the costs before deciding to use this drug.
