CAMS Blue Light kills bacteria, 
a root cause of inflammation and chronic pain

Pat. Pend.

Chronic (long-term) pain affects an estimated 116 million American adults—more than the total affected by heart disease, cancer and diabetes combined, according to a June 2011 consensus report by the U.S. Institute of Medicine (IOM).

The IOM report, Relieving Pain in America: A Blueprint for Transforming Prevention, Care, Education, and Research notes that pain costs the U.S. up to $635 billion each year in medical treatment in lost productivity.

“One of the most significant components of chronic pain is inflammation,” says Charles Crosby, DO, MD(H). It is also one of the least understood.

What is the role of inflammation in chronic pain?
Many people recognize the symptoms of acute (short-term) inflammation: swelling, redness, heat, pain and decreased range of motion.

“However, when the inflammatory response does not shut down properly, inflammation continues at a low level,” Dr. Crosby explains. “This low-level inflammation can play a pivotal role in the persistence of chronic pain.”

“Silent inflammation” is the low-level, symptomless inflammation that underlies so many medical conditions. This type of inflammation can persist for years just below the usual threshold of detection.

How does inflammation begin?
“Inflammation often begins with microbial infection,” Dr. Crosby explains. “Although the symptoms of infections may eventually subside, indicating that the infection has resolved, the microbes may persist at low levels—just enough to disrupt normal cell membrane electrical potential.”

Stress and trauma can cause this type of infection to migrate to other parts of the body, where it can cause noticeable symptoms and further infections. A person can have a symptomless secondary infection and silent inflammation for years without knowing it.

But additional stress, such as an illness or toxic exposure, can cause full-blown infection, inflammation and chronic pain.

What are microbes?
Microbes are microscopic organisms such as:

  • Bacteria
  • Viruses
  • Algae
  • Fungi
  • Yeasts

Can’t antibiotics kill microbes?
Not always. “Microbes may hide in what are known as biofilms—slimy, gel-like substances produced as a protective shield by organized colonies of microbes,” Dr. Crosby explains.

Biofilms are virtually impenetrable by antibiotics and other chemical methods intended to eradicate them,” he adds. “They escape traditional methods of treatment and become resistant forms of infection.” This leads to virulent infections caused by drug-resistant strains of bacteria such as MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus).

How can CAMS Blue Light break through biofilms?
Biofilms are more vulnerable to energetic methods of eradication like the application of certain electromagnetic wavelengths,” says Dr. Crosby.

Recent research has demonstrated that blue light at a wavelength of 470 nanometers (nm) effectively controls many types of bacteria, including:

  • Periodontal bacteria responsible for gum disease
  • The bacteria that cause acne
  • MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus)

“The newest innovation in CAMS technology includes blue lights that resonate at the 470-nm wavelength,” Dr. Crosby explains.

How can CAMS Blue Light be used to kill microbes?

  • Hold the CAMS device  3/8 inch from the skin.
  • Treat the area for two minutes every four to six hours for three or four days.

“The 470-nm wavelength of visible light is effective in controlling both gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial strains,” says Dr. Crosby.

“In many instances, CAMS Blue Light therapy can replace oral antibiotics, thereby avoiding their adverse effects and their cost,” he adds.

How dangerous is MRSA?
An article in the May 2008 issue of AAOS Now, published by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, reports:

The number of hospital admissions for MRSA has exploded in the past decade. By 2005, admissions were triple the number in 2000 and 10-fold higher than in 1995. In 2005 in the United States alone, 368,600 hospital admissions for MRSA—including 94,000 invasive infections—resulted in 18,650 deaths. The number of MRSA fatalities in 2005 surpassed the number of fatalities from Hurricane Katrina and AIDS combined and is substantially higher than fatalities at the peak of the U. S. polio epidemic.