Who hasn’t felt like staying in bed and hibernating in the depths of winter? If it’s an occasional feeling, no problem, but if it’s chronic, you could have seasonal deficit disorder (SAD).

“First and foremost it’s important to get a diagnosis from your physician or health care provider, and then you have two options and both have been validated scientifically. Currently light therapy is the primary treatment for SAD but an alternative is using an antidepressant as well,” explains Iris Krawchenko , of Dell Pharmacy. She adds that anti-depressants must be taken all year long, while light therapy is only used seasonally.

Women are more likely than men to be diagnosed with SAD. Symptoms often begin when a woman is in her 20s and get progressively worse. Candidates for light therapy will lack energy, decrease their activity level, crave carbs and therefore gain weight. They’ll have trouble getting up in the morning and experience difficulties socially, wanting to withdraw from activities, becoming irritable and possibly suffering from severe anxiety attacks and heart palpitations. Symptoms must be experience for two consecutive winters to fit the SAD profile.

Dell Pharmacy carries a range of light boxes that simulate sunlight. For relief from symptoms, SAD sufferers receive a daily dose of artificial sunlight by sitting in front of the box for 30 minutes a day, preferably before 8 a.m. The duration of the exposure and the distance between the patient and the appliance is determined by a health care professional.

“We’ve been involved in light therapy for over 20 years. We do our research annually so we see what’s current, what has been studied, what has been validated and what is safe,” explains the pharmacist.

Light therapy boxes produce an extremely bright light that simulates sunlight at a level of 10,000 lux. Krawchenko stresses that when purchasing a light therapy box, be sure the light does not peek in the blue wave length. This quality of light has been linked to macular degeneration in the eyes.

By purchasing your appliance at a pharmacy like Dell, you will get expert advice. You will also have the opportunity to rent a unit for a two-week trial. If the treatment is beneficial and you decide to keep the box, the $50 goes toward the purchase.

Gaining in popularity is the dawn simulator, although, Krawchenko says, it hasn’t been validated scientifically like the other boxes. The light begins to come on in the morning at a preset time and by the time the alarm goes off you are basking in a room filled with light.

To check out the selection of light therapy boxes visit a Dell Pharmacy store in your area. For locations check out the website at www.dellpharmacy.com.