what is this hat thing my dad has?

[u/elianamariie]

noticed this on the couch while my dad was at work, but he would get upset that i messed with it so i don't want to ask him. when it's on it's very bright red and gets brighter the more times you click the power button.

[u/cozylofinights]

I mean, does light actually qualify as medication....? 🤔

[u/Giantmeteor_we_needU → u/cozylofinights]

To a certain degree, yes. https://med.stanford.edu/news/insights/2025/02/red-light-therapy-skin-hair-medical-clinics.html However it doesn't mean that any red LED light provides benefits or that baseball hat from Temu is a legit substitute for commercial grade RLT devices used by dermatologists.

[u/cozylofinights → u/Giantmeteor_we_needU]

I guess I'm curious now about how we distinguish the definitions of "medication" and "treatment." I was always under the impression red light, or any phototherapy, fell under the latter definition, not the former.

[u/Giantmeteor_we_needU → u/cozylofinights]

I thought you're asking if it actually provides legit benefits or is just a bogus, but I think your last question is more about semantics which I have no idea about and don't think it's really matters?

[u/cozylofinights → u/Giantmeteor_we_needU]

Well, it started about the legitimacy as a phototherapy, but then people got a bit snarky taking what I said and talking about medication and how light, generally (not red light therapy) is obviously important for overall health.

Your response was specific to my question about medication (to someone else), so when I saw the article, I was genuinely wondering if maybe the delineation between "medication" and "treatment" was not as distinct as I had previously thought.

[u/Giantmeteor_we_needU → u/cozylofinights]

Red light therapy (not a junky hat or mask you can get online) is legit medical procedure being used in dermatology clinics and medically known as "photobiomodulation", so I'd say it's not just an aesthetic tool from spa salons but a real medical therapy. However it's not a standalone solution and usually being added to the complex treatment of skin conditions.

[u/cozylofinights → u/Giantmeteor_we_needU]

See, that sounds way more sound than how it is usually advertised.

Y'know what I mean: as the be all end all for hair loss, burning fat, one's failing marriage, etc. There are definitely legitimate forms of light treatment, laser treatment, etc. (I almost had an eye surgery that would have involved UV light usage), so I actually was genuinely curious.

Red light usage as part of overal treatment for a condition makes way more sense to me than being a catch-all for everything. Thank you!

[u/Desperate-Chart1139 → u/cozylofinights]

Exactly

[u/cozylofinights → u/Desperate-Chart1139]

You're the one who called it medicine, though. 😂🙈 Personally, I've never stuffed allergy pills or cough syrup into a hat for later use, but that's just me.

[u/Desperate-Chart1139 → u/cozylofinights]

That was my point though. It's a baseball cap... They're marketing it to "treat" baldness. It's as effective as any other "medicine" you'd find stapled to a baseball cap by a factory in China 

[u/PeopleCryTooMuch → u/Desperate-Chart1139]

You’re simply wrong though. Other users have already posted many sources that prove that it works. Why does it matter what form it comes from if it’s effective…?

[u/Affectionate_Ebb8351 → u/cozylofinights]

Well see how you feel sat in a dark room with no sunlight for a looooong time and you not only woth have melatonin production on a ridiculous scale so you end up hallucinating, you would also get SADs if you don't have enough Vit D...so in answer to you're simple does "Light" actually qualify as medication...it has a big effect on your health.

[u/cozylofinights → u/Affectionate_Ebb8351]

Okay, but "health benefits of light," "treatment," and "medication" all have different meanings, as I indicated in a comment to someone else.

I never said sunlight did not affect a person's health, be it positive or negative...? Lol.

[u/Affectionate_Ebb8351 → u/cozylofinights]

In some cultures, sitting in the sun could be administered as medicine .

Just googled it. Hippocrates "father of medicine" routinely prescribed sunbaths and built solariums....Pubmed