My experience with Phototherapy (light treatment).....

Welcome back again to another installment. Today I'm going to discuss Phototherapy, also known as light treatment or UVB. I have gone into further detail about this in past blog posts, on weekly to daily basis so this is going to be a summery of my experience and just explaining what phototherapy is.

Phototherapy involves exposing the skin to ultraviolet light on a regular basis and under medical supervision, in my case, in a hospital. This is very different to tanning beds which are advised against using for skin conditions as it is not beneficial and does more harm than good. UVB (ultraviolet B) is present in natural sunlight and slows the growth of affected skin cells, therefore helping psoriasis.

I have been through this treatment three times, in 2011, 2013 and 2015. If you'd like to go back to my first post on the intial assessment where I go into detail about what happens for the first session, check it out by clicking here. 

My first and second time doing the treatment were very beneficial, to the point that my skin cleared, or was close to clearing. I do wonder if the more you go for the treatment, the less effective it become. My third time doing the treatment, was when I had flared due to Enbrel (which will be in more detail in the next installment). It seemed like my skin was more stubborn, and a mixture of trying new biologics had maybe played a part in it also. 

As I came to the end of my third time, which was only the start of May this year, I still wasn't happy with my skin. It had progressed, but not to the extent it had done in the past. I would really recommend this treatment for anyone with very bad psoriasis, but not to be doing so too often. My doctor said after a few hundred session that it would be considered a higher risk to skin cancer. Each time I had only done 20 - 28 sessions at most so I don't have to worry just yet.

Another thing about this treatment is that once the days session is done, it is very important to try and avoid the sun for the remainder of the day and use sun cream when outside. Reason being, at each session you are getting your days dosage of sunlight recommended.

Any questions, or anything you feel I should go into more detail about, leave it in the comments below.

Until next time....