Phototherapy is a type of medical treatment that involves exposure to fluorescent light bulbs or other sources of light like halogen lights, sunlight, and light emitting diodes (LEDs) to treat certain medical conditions.
There are different types of phototherapy and the kind, as well as the technique used by your doctor, will depend on the condition you have that is being treated.
Phototherapy is also known as light therapy and heliotherapy.
Skin conditions like eczema, psoriasis, vitiligo, itchy skin, and the skin symptoms of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma can be treated using phototherapy. The phototherapy treatment involves using UV light—a kind of light present in sunlight—to reduce skin cell growth and inflammation.
There are three main types of phototherapy used for skin disorders:
Broadband UVB: Also known as BBUVB, broadband UVB involves treating skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis with the full spectrum of ultraviolet-B radiation.
Narrowband UVB: This involves using only a small portion/part of UVB radiation to treat the skin condition. It is more intense than broadband UVB and it’s the most common phototherapy option used by dermatologists.
PUVA: This stands for Psolaren ultraviolet-A. This involves combining UVA light with a certain kind of chemical called psoralen. Psolaren can be applied to your skin or you can take it as a pill. This chemical is found in plants and it makes your skin more sensitive to the light that’s to be applied. PUVA is more intensive and has more side effects than broadband or narrowband UVB, and is usually only resorted to when treatment with the others have been unsuccessful. It’s used for conditions like vitiligo, cutaneous T cell lymphoma, and psoriasis.
The effects of phototherapy for skin disorders are usually temporary. This means it’s not a permanent treatment and you may have to undergo numerous sessions—also known as maintenance therapy—of it over your lifetime to maintain the results.
Phototherapy has been used for over six decades to treat hyperbilirubinemia and jaundice (the yellowing of a baby’s skin, eyes, and body tissues as a result of excess bilirubin). In this case, the phototherapy is used to reduce the baby’s bilirubin levels.
Bilirubin absorbs light, which results in the breakdown of bilirubin to substances that the baby's body can process and excrete
There are two major ways babies with jaundice are treated with phototherapy. The usual way is to cover the baby’s eyes and place them under halogen spotlights or fluorescent lamp lights.
For babies who are born preterm or have already been treated with the overhead conventional lights, "biliblankets" may be used. Also known as fibreoptic blankets, these biliblankets are laid with fiber-optic cables which shines the blue light onto the baby’s back and body.
Compact fluorescent light tubes and blue LED (light emitting diode) devices are also used to give babies phototherapy treatment. They can be kept close to the babies' bodies as they do not produce a lot of heat.
