SolRx Light Therapy
Service Description
It is important that you discuss with your physician / healthcare professional the best choices for you; their advice always takes priority over any guidance provided by Solarc. Your Immune System is Overreacting. What is Psoriasis? Psoriasis is a common, non-contagious, chronic, relapsing, and remitting immune-mediated disease characterized by skin lesions including red and silver / scaly plaques and papules, which often itch and may vary in severity from minor localized patches to complete body coverage, including hair-covered areas and possibly the genitals. The immune system improperly causes skin cells to locally multiply up to 10 times faster than normal and pile up on each other to form raised and typically scaly lesions. elbow psoriasis uvb home phototherapy for psoriasis psoriasis medication uvb home phototherapy for psoriasis What are the Treatment Options for Psoriasis? The medical treatment of psoriasis almost always starts with “topicals”, which are physician prescribed drugs in the form of creams and ointments applied directly to the skin, such as: various potencies of steroids, the Vitamin D analogue “calcipotriol” (Dovonex®/Taclonex®), and topical calcineurin inhibitors (Protopic & Elidel). Dovobet® is a very popular topical that combines a steroid and calcipotriol in one cream. All topical treatments have possible side effects, for example, prolonged steroid use can cause skin atrophy (thinning of the skin), rosacea, irritation and tachyphylaxis (loss of effectiveness). Topicals can also be quite expensive, with one tube costing up to $200 and sometimes a tube or two required per month for extensive psoriasis. For more severe conditions, the topicals seldom provide much relief beyond itch and flake control, making clinical or home UVB phototherapy1 next in line, which within weeks of diligent use can heal lesions completely such that they become normal, healthy, and clear skin. Lower dose maintenance treatments can then be used to control the condition indefinitely and drug-free with practically no side effects. Plus there is the immense benefit of making large amounts of Vitamin D naturally, which is carried away by the tiny blood vessels in our skin for health benefits throughout the body. As a simple qualification test, if a psoriasis patient responds well to natural summer sunlight or cosmetic tanning (both of which contain a small amount of beneficial UVB but also with a much larger amount of harmful UVA), then medical UVB photo