Phototherapy: UV Light Treats Skin Disorders
Phototherapy is a treatment method that uses ultraviolet light (UVA and UVB) to treat chronic skin conditions, including:
- Psoriasis
- Vitiligo
- Cutaneous T cell lymphoma
- Chronic pruritus (itching) from renal and kidney failure
- Eczema that doesn’t respond to other treatments
Our dermatologists use narrow-band UVB therapy to treat a variety of acute and chronic skin disorders. This is an in-office treatment that requires frequent treaments initially to improve skin disorders then results can be maintained long term with less frequent treatments.
Photodynamic therapy is another type of phototherapy that is used to treat precancerous lesions (actinic keratosis), as well as skin cancer. In this therapy, a light sensitive chemical is first applied to the skin for several hours. Then the skin is exposed to light that activates the chemical and destroys the cancer cells.
