Light therapy

[iguana]

Hi -- I'm new.

I've never been on drugs for psoriasis, but I do find that sunlight helps tremendously.  So all summer and into the fall, I'm doing ok.  But then winter comes.  The sunlight isn't very strong and I'd get frostbite if I went out without clothes.  Things get worse and I find I'm just holding on until spring.

So I'm wondering what the options are for home phototherapy.  Is anyone actually doing this?  If so, what equipment would be recommended?

It's mostly in my nails, but I have wondered if the winter time arthritis I get is also related.

[jiml]

Hi -- I'm new.

I've never been on drugs for psoriasis, but I do find that sunlight helps tremendously.  So all summer and into the fall, I'm doing ok.  But then winter comes.  The sunlight isn't very strong and I'd get frostbite if I went out without clothes.  Things get worse and I find I'm just holding on until spring.

So I'm wondering what the options are for home phototherapy.  Is anyone actually doing this?  If so, what equipment would be recommended?

It's mostly in my nails, but I have wondered if the winter time arthritis I get is also related.

Hi iguana   to the forum I hope you will enjoy the forum, you will find us a friendly bunch of sufferers always ready to offer and receive support and advice

I find sunlight a great help with the relief of psoriasis ( not that we get much here in the UK ) I haven't tried home Uv treatment myself but have read of others that have with some success.
There is a portable unit marketed by Philips to do small areas but haven't heard of anyone using one

Enjoy the forum and feel free to visit the off topic section where you will find everything but psoriasis is talked about
I hope someone here can give you some answers  

EDIT
my wife has just reminded me that I have in our loft a small uv lamp which I haven't used for 20 years but it did help with small patches but I remember it was easy to burn with it if the distance from the bulb was to close or my timer forgot to go off

[Fred]

Hello Iguana   to Psoriasis Club.

You may find this thread of interest: Purchasing a sunbed

And this is the one Jim mentioned: Philips launch wearable light treatment for psoriasis

Regards.

Fred.

[Caroline]

Hi Iguana,

Wellcome to the forum.

Indeed summer, in a dry country with lots of sun does really work. It seems among others to be dependant of the vitamins D that your skin is producing.

Winter, certainly for arthritis can be terrible.

To my idea UV lamps do not work. I have a sunshower in my bathroom but I did not find relief with it. Scientific research shows that UV light from lamps hardly encourages your skin to create vitamin D, so this my be an underlying cause.

So... Most of us stick to some kind of medication.

Caroline

[Kat]

When I started UV treatments I looked into home versions as the drive to the clinic was over an hour for me. (An hour there, an hour back for a few minutes of therapy 3 x per week got old quick!) Most of the reviews I read were not really favorable. The clinic has a unit that cost thousands, so it is probably difficult to get the same type of benefit from a less costly unit. But there were also some people who felt it helped them, so it probably depends on a lot of things. In my case the psoriasis was spread out so getting to all of it with just a small lamp would probably not have worked well. A tanning bed was out of the question due to cost, the size (no room really to put one) and the cost of the electricity here to run one. I'm not sure if it's improved but years back when tanning beds were big here I knew a few people who had them and they all said that it caused there electricity bill to be very high.

I think if I were to consider purchasing one, I would try to go through my doctor to get information on what is available for home that has the qualities (the strength of the light, the type of light, etc) needed.

[benlytz]

I have a small handhold uv-lamp. It is good for one lesion at a time, but it do help.