Puva Light Treatment For Psoriasis

Repeated treatments are necessary.

Puva light treatment for psoriasis.

It involves exposing the skin to controlled amounts of natural or artificial light. Therein lies the risk. Puva clears up psoriasis quickly with long lasting results. Puva psoralen and ultraviolet a radiation treatment has been used for decades to treat severe psoriasis.

Puva requires patient compliance with consistent treatments for 9 15 weeks to achieve maximal results. Puva may also be a viable option for patients who have failed uvb therapy. Light therapy is effective for reducing or clearing up the symptoms of psoriasis. This process called puva slows down excessive skin cell growth and can clear psoriasis symptoms for varying periods of time.

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. Puva psoralen and ultraviolet a is an ultraviolet light therapy treatment for skin diseases. But it takes about 16 to 19 puva treatments to put a psoriasis outbreak into remission. Light therapy is a first line treatment for moderate to severe psoriasis either alone or in combination with medications.

Topical puva is the preferred treatment method for palmoplantar psoriasis although bb uvb has been proven effective. Targeted uvb therapy with excimer lasers is the preferred treatment method for. Psoralen uva puva ultraviolet light a uva is relatively ineffective for psoriasis unless it s used with light sensitizing agents called psoralens. 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.

An estimated 75 percent of people using narrow band ultraviolet b uvb therapy which is the most common type. In this combination therapy the psoralen taken internally acts as a skin sensitizer. Puva treatment is a very effective and safe treatment option for patients whose psoriasis is not well controlled on topical therapies alone. The light slows down the production of skin cells and is an effective treatment for some types of psoriasis that have not responded to topical treatments.

686 the psoralen is applied or taken orally to sensitize the skin then the skin is exposed to uva. Talk with your doctor about whether home phototherapy is an option for you. Because of that it s typically only recommended for severe cases.