Safety Precautions and Contraindications

General Disclaimer: We provide information about our medical and wellness devices. While we make every effort to make sure the information is accurate and informative, the information does not take the place of professional or medical advice. This information is for general purposes only. Providing this information does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional healthcare services, including the provision of medical advice. No doctor patient relationship is formed. The use of this information or any material from our web site or marketing materials is based upon clinical trials, peer-reviewed manuscripts and the experience of our clients and may not be relevant for some individual circumstances. Accordingly, this information is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical conditions that they may have, and they should seek the advice of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions.

 A level of caution should be exercised by all patients, especially those with co-morbidities (see table below), when using any form of light therapy including a SYMBYX device. Patients can also have these conditions silently without being aware of them. There is always a risk of producing unwanted side-effects, including mild and transient nausea, vomiting, dizziness and vertigo. It is important to recognise these symptoms, cease using your SYMBYX device immediately and seek medical advice if symptoms persist. If a patient is aware of such underlying conditions before commencing light therapy, then they are advised to commence with a 1-2 week, half of typical recommended dosage, under clinical supervision*.

Circumstance	Recommended Action	Clinical Reasoning
Prescription medications (including for Parkinson’s)*	Do not make any changes to a patient’s medication unless they increase photosensitivity. Discuss with prescribing healthcare practitioner first.	SYMBYX lasers are designed to complement all pre-existing therapies.
Patients suffering from extreme sensitivity to light (incl vestibular migraine; epilepsy)	Do not treat with SYMBYX lasers.	Risk of invoking a deleterious episode.
Pregnancy	Do not treat with SYMBYX lasers.	Insufficient supporting evidence, even-though no negative episodes have been documented.
Heart conditions*	Treat with caution**.	Parkinson’s is a condition where a patient’s autonomic nervous system is often compromised. May manifest in a range of symptoms - sleep disturbance, orthostatic hypotension, nausea, fatigue, restless legs, sweats, swallowing problems. Light therapy might temporarily increase symptoms. If so, patients should commence a 1-2 week, half of recommended dosage under clinical supervision*. There is evidence to show that with the right protocol, several symptoms of autonomic dysfunctions can be improved.
Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS)	Do not treat over head with any form of light. Treat according to SYMBYX protocols on rest of body (incl neck).	Insufficient supporting evidence, even-though no negative episodes have been documented.
History of acute psychiatric episodes, severe hypermobility (incl Ehlos Danos); acute polyarthritic disorders*	Do not treat unless under clinician supervision.	Insufficient supporting evidence, even-though no negative episodes have been documented. Hypermobility and polyarthritic conditions are often accompanied by dysautonomia.  Patient should commence a 1-2 week, half of recommended dosage under clinical supervision*.
Rheumatoid Arthritis*	Treat with caution.	Insufficient supporting evidence, even-though no negative episodes have been documented. Patient should commence a 1-2 week, half of recommended dosage under clinical supervision*.
Stroke	Treat with caution the effected side only (ie, side of lesion) when applying light to head area. Before commencing treatment, please contact a SYMBYX Clinician at clinicalsupport@symbyxbiome.com	Risk exacerbating any functional deficit between affected and unaffected side if non-lesion side receives transcranial light therapy.
Tumour site (active primary or secondary)	Never treat over an active tumour site. Seek medical clearance before commencing any laser therapy.	Insufficient supporting evidence, even-though no negative episodes have been documented.

* The incidence of dysautonomia is a common complication in Parkinson’s (30-40%) and several other disorders. It has also been observed in patients suffering from migraine, cervicogenic headaches, fibromyalgia as well as hyper mobility and acute polyarthritic conditions. Symptoms may include dizziness, vertigo, nausea, low blood pressure, and visual disturbances.

If dysautonomia symptoms increase during the initial 2-4 treatments with a SYMBYX device, we recommend a 3-5 day complete rest period followed by 2 weeks treatment at a lower dosage - treat 5 spots on the abdomen in the first week (one beep on each spot) and increase to 9 spots in week 2 (also for one beep); DO NOT treat the cervical spine (neck) during these 2 weeks. If dysautonomia symptoms subside, please recommence with the full dosage per SYMBYX recommendations.

** Patient's with a pacemaker should exercise extra caution and avoid placing the laser over their chest/heart region, even-though no negative episodes have been documented.