Red light/Near Infrared and pump

Now this is interesting: Glow & Grow - Alternity Healthcare

But, they are quite proud of their price! Wow! Appears to be electric pump device with the redlight and near infrared light diodes inside the tube. In theory could have benefit.

That’s a lot of money for a pump…

Yep! Not in my future. But it would seem you can copy it with a decent red light/near infrared “wrap”, not just a claimed FIR heating pad.

Transmission of IR light use in “red light therapy” frequencies is ~92% for the various types of clear plastics used on pump tubes.

Andy, you mean about 92% will permeate the plastic from outside? I was wondering.

I’m not from US but I don’t understand why FDA (Food and Drugs) needs to approve something like this…

Second, 950 for a Chinese pump, hummm.

Yes.

I looked up the various plastics tubes are advertised as being made of, then went to the manufacturers’ web sites and looked up their transmissivity, and they were all the same within a couple of percentage points, at red light therapy frequencies,

Andy, thank you! I had been trying to locate info on this and had little luck. Seems to me that the purveyor of the pump I mentioned above is reaching if the wave lengths can penetrate an ordinary (but good quality) tube, making the cost factor for a DIY dependent really on the red light device chosen for use.

The frequencies used in all of the nih.gov reports I looked at were 660 and/or 850 nanometers, which are also the common frequencies for commercial red light therapy lamps. (most use both frequencies) Perhaps not coincidentally, those are the two most common high-infrared LEDs on the market.

I bought a bunch of LEDs and a power supply with the intent of making a loose sleeve I could fit over my pump tube. That way I could perforate the sleeve to allow for some air flow. The larger LEDs pull 3 watts each. I have a thermocouple and meter to monitor temperature, but I wanted provision to get rid of waste heat if necessary.

Unfortunately the project got stalled, but hopefully I can get some workshop time in the coming months.

Andrew Huberman has a great video on YouTube about the science behind red light for therapy/recovery. The title is “Using Light (Sunlight, Blue Light & Red Light) to Optimize Health | Huberman Lab Podcast #68” on YouTube. I’m getting a small red light device soon to help with recovery. Crazy that this stuff actually works.

What’s really neat is that heat lamps put out plenty of NIR and they’re super cheap. NIR penetrates tissue quite well, but also goes through lots of other things.

For my money, a heat lamp pointed at the crotch would do just fine.

This is exactly the kind of thing that appeals to me. But for the $$$ I’d throw in another 1K and go US/autosound multi head.

Shine those red/near infrared light on your balls. 36hours later, it will be like you took Viagara.

30 minutes elsewhere, no problem. More than 10 minutes on my scrotum and skin will peel off for the next couple of days. It’s not painful and it’s OK after a few days, but it’s annoying enough that I keep NIR exposure to no more than 10 minutes for that spot.

I have no idea if anyone else runs into the same problem. I’m using a 54-watt screw-in LED illuminator on an articulated arm, so I can aim it directly at that area.