Puva Light Treatment For Psoriasis

It involves exposing the skin to controlled amounts of natural or artificial light.

Puva light treatment for psoriasis.

Puva psoralen and ultraviolet a is an ultraviolet light therapy treatment for skin diseases. Psoralen uva puva ultraviolet light a uva is relatively ineffective for psoriasis unless it s used with light sensitizing agents called psoralens. Because of that it s typically only recommended for severe cases. Puva may also be a viable option for patients who have failed uvb therapy.

Light therapy is a first line treatment for moderate to severe psoriasis either alone or in combination with medications. An estimated 75 percent of people using narrow band ultraviolet b uvb therapy which is the most common type. Repeated treatments are necessary. Each session only takes a few minutes but you may need to go to hospital 2 or 3 times a week for 6 to 8 weeks.

This process called puva slows down excessive skin cell growth and can clear psoriasis symptoms for varying periods of time. But using it for a long time can raise your chances of skin cancer. Puva clears up psoriasis quickly with long lasting results. Talk with your doctor about whether home phototherapy is an option for you.

Targeted uvb therapy with excimer lasers is the preferred treatment method for. The sensitized skin affected by psoriasis can then be treated by ultraviolet a radiation. In this combination therapy the psoralen taken internally acts as a skin sensitizer. Puva requires patient compliance with consistent treatments for 9 15 weeks to achieve maximal results.

Topical puva is the preferred treatment method for palmoplantar psoriasis although bb uvb has been proven effective. Therein lies the risk. Eczema psoriasis graft versus host disease vitiligo mycosis fungoides large plaque parapsoriasis and cutaneous t cell lymphoma using the sensitizing effects of the drug psoralen. Puva psoralen and ultraviolet a radiation treatment has been used for decades to treat severe psoriasis.

Light therapy is effective for reducing or clearing up the symptoms of psoriasis. Puva is a tried and true phototherapy treatment for chronic plaque psoriasis. But it takes about 16 to 19 puva treatments to put a psoriasis outbreak into remission.