Light Therapy Treatment For Vitiligo

5 2018 healthday news doctors have discovered a combination of treatments that can return color to skin that has been lightened by vitiligo.

Light therapy treatment for vitiligo.

Can treat widespread vitiligo. However treatment is a long term process that requires consistency. Possible side effects of narrow band ultraviolet b therapy include redness itching and burning. In the recent past the combination of ultraviolet a light and psoralen was used for treatment of vitiligo.

This treatment combines a plant derived substance called psoralen with light therapy photochemotherapy to return color to the light patches. In the puva method psoralen plus uva a uva light therapy box is typically used. According to daavlin the typical response time is 25 repigmentation after three months and 50 repigmentation after six months. About 50 to 75 effective in restoring pigment to the face trunk upper arms and upper legs.

Combining psoralen and light therapy. Psoralen is a type of medication that can be taken orally or topically to treat a number of skin conditions including vitiligo. The excimer laser is similar a similar approach to treatment as narrow band uvb but delivers a single wavelength of light which is what lasers do this wavelength is 308nm within the nbuvb spectrum and this seems to be the right wavelength to treat vitiligo. The remission rate of light therapy is around 50 percent at 6 months which is a much better remission rate than most other vitiligo treatments.

Uses uva light and a medicine called psoralen to restore skin color. Yes light therapy is the most effective form of treatment for vitiligo today. Among other vitiligo treatments light therapy particularly narrowband uvb light therapy is up to 93 percent effective in re pigmenting the skin partially or fully. Not very effective for the hands or feet.

It is highly effective but works best to treat only small areas of the skin so it s most often used when a patient. If light therapy or laser treatments don t work your doctor may recommend treating vitiligo with skin grafting this involves removing a small part of your skin from one area not affected by.