So first of all, to answer everyones question of what exactly is UV therapy, this post will be solely about the the types UV rays that exist, and how they effect the skin and the type of treatment I am doing. So what is UV therapy?
UV therapy is like a sun bed. But it isn't. Basically.
Thats how I've been describing it to friends and anyone who asks me about it. However, the difference between the sunbed you might be using down in your local tanning place, and the magical UV booth that I'm using is that all the harmful stuff, like the UVA and UVB rays are controlled. I hear you say "the hell are those?". Well, I've just gone ahead and done a quick FAQ about it all...
What is UV light/radiation?
Ultraviolet Light is what is omitted from the sun and is made up of UVA and UVB wavelengths or rays. The stuff that makes you tanned and sunkissed during the summer.
Thats all well and good, but what is UVA and UVB?
Well let me tell you...
> UVB rays are short, powerful and harmful rays that affect the outer layers of the skin. UVB causes sunburn and produces melanin, which gives people a tan. It also damages DNA in the skin, which causes skin cancer.
> UVA rays are long rays that penetrate deep into the skin. UVA damages the skin causing wrinkling, sagging and premature aging. It may also have a role in causing skin cancer.
How does this apply to light therapy though, is there a difference for the therapy?
Yes, actually there is. There are two types of light therapycalled broadband UVB light therapy and UVA light therapy...
>BroadbandUVB therapy has been used to treat skin conditions since the 1920s. Eczema treatment involves standing in a light box three times per week for a total course of 20 to 30 treatments. The length of the first treatment is determined by a MED light test, after the length of each treatment increases until the skin becomes slightly pink, but never burnt.
>In order for UVA light therapy to be effective, an oral medication, psoralen, is taken an hour before the treatment to make the skin more sensitive to the light therapy. This combination of psoralen and UVA is called PUVA phototherapy. PUVA eczema treatments are given two to three times per week for 12 to 15 weeks. As with UVB, the length of exposure is increased gradually, and weekly maintenance treatments may be given after the first phase of treatment. Some people are unable to tolerate PUVA because of nausea from psoralen.
So what type of of uv therapy are you receiving?
I am currently receiving UVB light therapy! This is my second course of light therapy, and its going a lot smoother than my first time during the Summer of 2015.
Will you do another post on your experience of the magical light booth?
Yes. Yes I will
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Hi there, I apologies its been so long since I've written an actual blog post compared to an instagram update, but here I am! I've good few posts in my drafts and up my sleeve so stay tuned. For now, Im going to be addressing my UV therapy and answering any questions I receive about it.
About 6-7 weeks ago I started my second attempt at uv therapy. After several extreme long lasting and actually physically painful flares I had truest felt fed up. Up until the end of September I thought I'd get through anything my dermatitis had to throw at me. After getting through Easter of this year with my "monster face" phase, the only way I know how to describe it- I truly felt I'd be fine.
That was until the dermatitis spread. Spread onto my tummy, my back, my shoulders and the crevices of my wrists. And once again like my toddler years behind my knees. It was sore. I would wake up in the morning unable to move my arms without discomfort and fear of tearing open cracked skin. I wouldn't be able to move my neck to the left or right for several days without wincing. My hands would be stuck in a claw or fist form until o heavily moisturised them. The worst to me was that I felt like it was coming back on my face, no matter how much protopic I was putting on I would wake up still feeling as if it was getting worse. I felt like I had taken a thousands steps backwards without an explanation or warning that it was going to happen.
After one morning waking up commenting to my parents I wish I could go to A&E knowing they'd wrap me up in moisturising bandages and place me in a cocoon of comfort, we all felt something real had to be done. So I began to attend an immunologist in blackrock. They did every test they possibly could on me, but to no avail revealed any information we didn't already know.
The events that followed resulted in a lengthy conversation with my consultant about immunosuppressants. The only, and final approach, to relieving my body and mind from the dermatitis. ( I'll discuss the immune suppressants in another post ) after discussing my options, I didn't feel mentally or emotionally ready for such drastic drugs, especially since at the time the weeks to come were hellish and stressful with deadlines , with the end of a project in college. I wouldn't have been able to cope. So a course of uv therapy seemed the best option.
