Uv Light Therapy For Vitiligo

Treatment decisions uv light treatments protopic elidel steroid creams other treatments getting a second opinion treatment decisions treatments can be provided by the nhs.

Uv light therapy for vitiligo.

Vitiligo and uvb therapy. Use a broad spectrum water resistant sunscreen with an spf of at least 30. Uv therapy has been used as a form of skin diseases treatment for years. Tofacitinib tells them it s ok to come out of hiding and the uv light brings them out of hibernation king and his colleagues also reported on a white man in his 50s who had long standing vitiligo.

Uv radiation triggers various reactions in different skin layers ranging from therapeutic to potentially lethal. Vitiligo or leukoderma is the loss of pigment in the skin resulting in inconsistent patches. Sunglasses labeled uv 400 uvb uva protection 100 are recommended. When sunlight reach the skin one part is reflected and the other part is absorbed by the skin.

The first attempts to use phototherapy as a treatment for dermatological diseases were made in 1800. Creams steroids and protopic which can be prescribed by your doctor which are used for up to 2 months or longer under close supervision. In the puva method psoralen plus uva a uva light therapy box is typically used. The excimer laser is similar a similar approach to treatment as narrow band uvb but delivers a single wavelength of light which is what lasers do this wavelength is 308nm within the nbuvb spectrum and this seems to be the right wavelength to treat vitiligo.

Narrow band uvb comparison narrow band ultra violet b light is a relatively new technology on the vitiligo front. In the past most doctors have used the puva system which involved the use of ultra. Pigment producing cells called melanocytes stop producing or die all together causing skin to lighten. The most common skin response known as tanning protects us from the sun and this process is also the basis for vitiligo treatment.

In 1927 the first positive results of psoriasis light therapy were documented. Protect your skin from the sun and artificial sources of uv light. Puva is used less often in children because of the risk of side effects. In the recent past the combination of ultraviolet a light and psoralen was used for treatment of vitiligo.

It is highly effective but works best to treat only small areas of the skin so it s most often used when a patient. Light therapy for vitiligo. The main available treatments are. Vitiligo can affect any part of the body but patches are typically found on areas that are exposed to the sun.

Narrowband uv b nb uvb is widely used and has become the first choice of phototherapy for adults and children with generalized vitiligo.