Red blood streaks, also known as "facial telangiectasia", commonly known as "highland red" or "red face", is a skin condition caused by the long-term and continuous expansion of facial capillaries. This type of skin is usually weak and sensitive. When it encounters excessive cold, overheating, emotional excitement or sudden temperature changes, facial flushing will be more significant. In clinical treatment, intense pulsed light (IPL) is one of the commonly used treatment methods. What is its treatment principle? In actual operation, how can the treatment be carried out to achieve better results?

Facial telangiectasia is a common skin vascular disease, which is mainly manifested by diffuse facial flushing and visible telangiectasia, which is usually red, purple or bluish purple in color. According to the morphological characteristics of the dilated blood vessels, telangiectasia can be divided into dot-shaped, linear, dendritic and papular. The disease is more common on the face, especially in the nose, middle cheek and chin. The diameter of the dilated blood vessels is generally between 0.1 and 1.0 mm, involving dilated venules, capillaries or arterioles.

Three common types of facial telangiectasia

The causes of facial telangiectasia are relatively complex and can be generally divided into two categories: primary and secondary. Primary telangiectasia usually has a familial tendency. Its pathogenesis is related to the weakness of the skin stratum corneum and the defective vasodilation function of capillaries caused by genetic factors, which makes it difficult for blood vessels to contract normally after dilation. Secondary telangiectasia is more common and is mostly caused by the following factors: long-term use of hormone drugs, blood circulation disorders, excessive exfoliation, and sensitive skin. Common clinical manifestations include high altitude redness, facial flushing, and inflammatory redness.

Capillary dilation is also common in healthy people.

There are various clinical methods for treating facial telangiectasia, including topical medications, systemic medications, laser therapy, sclerotherapy, and electrosurgery. However, with the continuous advancement of medical beauty technology, photoelectric therapy has gradually become a conventional method for treating red blood streaks due to its advantages such as short recovery period and significant efficacy.

According to the "Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Common Diseases Related to Laser Beauty (2024 Edition)", photoelectric therapy has now become the preferred method for the treatment of telangiectasia. Photoelectric therapy can be divided into two categories: selective and non-selective. Selective photoelectric therapy includes pulsed dye laser, long pulse width YAG laser, KTP laser, semiconductor laser, and intense pulsed light; non-selective photoelectric therapy includes CO₂ laser, argon laser, etc. Overall, the effectiveness of photoelectric therapy is between 53.3% and 100%.

Intense pulsed light (IPL) is based on the principle of selective photothermal action and uses the photothermal coagulation effect to achieve therapeutic effects. Its full-band strong light of a specific wavelength can be selectively absorbed by oxygenated hemoglobin, causing hemoglobin coagulation, thereby effectively treating capillary dilation. Oxygenated hemoglobin has a high absorption rate in the wavelength range of 500nm~600nm. In contrast, melanocytes absorb ultraviolet light (240nm~360nm) most significantly, and the skin's absorption of photothermal is mainly determined by melanocytes. Therefore, during the treatment, as long as the appropriate wavelength is selected and the appropriate tissue depth is reached, the dilated capillaries can be effectively treated.

A study included 144 patients with facial telangiectasia and divided them into a control group and an observation group using a random number method, with 72 cases in each group. Patients in the control group received systemic drug treatment and used medical skin care products rich in vitamin K1 and mushroom glucose (Winona Shuyan Anti-Redness Repair Cream), which were applied to the face every night after cleansing for one month at a dose of 0.1ml/cm². Patients in the observation group received photorejuvenation treatment. The study aims to observe the treatment effects of the two groups of patients.

Clinical data showed that the total effective rate of the observation group treated with intense pulsed light was 100%, which was much higher than that of the systemic drug treatment group.

1. Application of intense pulsed light:

Intense pulsed light is the first choice for treating superficial skin capillary dilation. For larger capillaries, pulsed dye laser is a better choice, but it may cause adverse reactions such as swelling or purpura. Generally, purpura is prone to occur when using shorter pulse widths for treatment, while longer pulse widths and lower energy can effectively reduce the occurrence of purpura.

2. Choice of wavelength and pulse width:

When using intense pulsed light to treat red blood streaks, the appropriate wavelength should be selected according to the patient's skin color: those with lighter skin should choose shorter wavelengths (such as 560nm), while those with darker skin should choose longer wavelengths (such as 590nm). For blood vessels with larger diameters, it is recommended to use long pulse widths for treatment, and the end point of treatment is the immediate deepening of the blood vessel color; while for small blood vessels, a shorter pulse width can be selected, and the end point of treatment is the blurred edge of the blood vessel or even the complete disappearance of the blood vessel.

3. Precautions during treatment:

During the treatment, the instantaneous changes of the blood vessels after absorbing energy should be carefully observed, which is crucial to determine whether repeated treatment is needed. At the same time, it is not recommended to gradually increase the energy from low to high and repeatedly irradiate during the treatment process.

References:

1. Progress in photoelectric treatment of facial telangiectasia

2. Intense pulsed photon skin rejuvenation device for the treatment of facial telangiectasia

3. Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of common diseases related to laser beauty (2024 edition)

4. Discussion on the value of intense pulsed photon skin rejuvenation device for the treatment of facial telangiectasia

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Foremed Legend

The core founding team of Suzhou Foremed Legend Medical Technology Co., Ltd. comes from well-known universities at home and abroad, such as Peking University. Foremed Legend focuses on the design, research and development, and application of high-end medical beauty optoelectronic equipment based on compliance and product strength. It is committed to becoming a leading enterprise in the field of high-end medical beauty optoelectronic equipment in the world, a provider of integrated intelligent solutions for diagnosis and treatment, and a pioneer of medical beauty data integration platform.

Through tackling a series of underlying key technologies, Foremed Legend has now independently developed a number of high-end medical equipment, including picosecond laser therapy devices, long pulse laser therapy devices, intense pulsed light therapy devices, photoacoustic imaging skin detection devices, and cold air therapy devices, and continues to deepen the research and development of core product technologies, using better technical solutions to benefit the vast number of beauty seekers.

Adhering to the principle of using technology for good, Foremed Legend will work with industry and ecological partners to bring more safe and effective medical aesthetic optoelectronic equipment and integrated diagnosis and treatment solutions to the global medical aesthetic market.