Photo Light Therapy for Psoriasis

For people with severe outbreaks of psoriasis, light therapy can bring much needed relief and remission of symptoms. It's been found that exposure to ultraviolent light stops the rapid skin growth associated with psoriasis. If you have minimal scale buildup on more than 3 percent of your body, your doctor may prescribe light therapy for you as part of your treatment plan.

Uses

• Light therapy seeks to mimic and intensify the natural effects of sunlight. Most psoriasis sufferers find that their symptoms are greatly reduced when the expose affected areas to the sun. But light therapy can supplement these effects, either for wintertime relief, for people who live in areas without much natural sunlight or for patients who need accelerated relief.

Process

• There are several kinds of light therapy, but ultraviolet B light (UVB) is the most commonly used. Light therapy uses either broad band or narrow band UVB light concentrated on affected areas of the skin. The treatment can be done in a doctor's office, in a clinic (usually called "psoriasis day care") or at home. Your health care provider will let you know how to prepare, but in most cases, you'll be asked to shower or scrub off any loose skin flakes, undress, then receive the light treatment.

  Treatment sessions vary depending on your skin type and color, as well as the severity of the disease. Effective light therapy requires a level of commitment. It takes multiple, regular treatments for improvement, although most patients report some relief quickly.

  Light therapy usually ceases once your symptoms clear, and can be restarted when they return. If you experience frequent, severe outbreaks, it's possible to continue light therapy as a preventative measure. The National Psoriasis Association reports that it takes an average of eight maintenance treatments per month to maintain skin clarity.

  Light therapy can have side effects. These most commonly include skin irritation, freckling and sunburn.

Severe Case

• If your psoriasis is extremely severe, you may receive a combination of treatments called the Goeckerman Regimen. This combines light therapy with coal tar applications and steroidal medications. A variant of this is the Ingram Regimen, which uses the medication anthralin instead of coal tar. Both of these regimens are administered in "psoriasis day care" clinics and are done over the course of three to five weeks of sessions.