Rays of hope: light therapy through the ages
Light has been seen as a potent therapy for centuries. Here, a look at treatments throughout the ages, for everything from skin blemishes to mental health.
It was an arresting image: Four children, wearing black masks to protect their eyes, sitting in front of large lamps. The caption placed them at London’s Institute of Ray Therapy, which opened in 1930.
The old photo got us thinking about light therapy, then and now. A hundred years ago, it was all the rage; of sweating it out under infrared lights in a steamy sauna.
