How Light Therapy Can Heal Your Skin Condition

Light therapy uses wavelengths of light to treat a range of skin conditions. It’s one of the most effective treatments available for conditions like psoriasis, eczema, vitiligo, and chronic itching that haven’t responded well to creams, medications, or other conventional therapies. 

Light therapy targets the affected skin directly, which is why it can produce significant results with fewer side effects than many alternative treatments. That said, it isn’t the right approach for every skin condition or every person. 

The wavelength used, the duration of treatment, the frequency of sessions, and the combination with other therapies need to be tailored to you. Getting those details wrong produces poor results at best and harm at worst. Determining whether light therapy is appropriate for your specific condition requires a proper evaluation by a specialist.

At Advanced Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology Center PA in San Antonio and Schertz, Texas, our team, led by Patricia Gomez Dinger, DO, offers light therapy as part of a comprehensive treatment approach to skin conditions. Our team assesses your skin, identifies what’s triggering your symptoms, and determines whether light therapy is the right fit.

Here, we cover how light therapy works, what conditions it treats, and what the treatment process looks like.

How light therapy works

Narrowband UVB is currently the most widely used form of light therapy for skin conditions. It delivers a narrow range of ultraviolet B light that penetrates the skin and slows the rapid skin cell growth that causes conditions like psoriasis, and reduces the overactive immune response behind many inflammatory skin conditions. 

PUVA combines UVA light with a medication called psoralen, which makes the skin more sensitive to the light and allows the treatment to penetrate more deeply. It’s used for more severe or resistant cases of psoriasis and other conditions where narrowband UVB alone hasn’t been enough.

The effects of light therapy are gradual, but for the right person, the results are significant and can last considerably longer than topical treatments.

Psoriasis

Psoriasis is an autoimmune condition in which the immune system triggers skin cells to grow too rapidly, producing thick, scaly, inflamed patches. Narrowband UVB slows excessive cell turnover and reduces the inflammation that drives it. 

For people with moderate to severe psoriasis covering large areas of the body, light therapy is often more practical and better tolerated than medication.

Eczema

Eczema is a chronic inflammatory skin condition that causes dry, itchy, and inflamed skin. For people with moderate to severe eczema that hasn’t responded well to topical corticosteroids or other treatments, light therapy is a well-supported next step. 

Narrowband UVB reduces inflammation in the skin and significantly reduces the itch that makes eczema so disruptive.

Because it works on the immune response in the skin rather than suppressing the immune system throughout the body, it carries fewer long-term risks.

Vitiligo

Vitiligo is a condition in which the immune system destroys the pigment-producing cells in the skin, causing patches of skin to lose their color. It's chronic and can be unpredictable. 

Narrowband UVB is currently the most effective treatment available for vitiligo, particularly for widespread cases where topical treatments aren’t practical. It works by stimulating the remaining pigment cells at the edges of the white patches to repopulate the affected areas, gradually restoring color. 

What treatment is like

Light therapy is typically administered two to three times per week. The number of sessions needed varies depending on the condition being treated and how you respond, but most people require between 20 and 30 sessions to achieve significant improvement. Sessions are relatively quick and involve no downtime, allowing you to return to normal activities immediately afterward.

We monitor your skin throughout the course of treatment and adjust your dose as needed. Side effects are generally mild. 

Some people experience temporary redness or dryness of the skin following sessions, similar to mild sun exposure. Serious side effects are uncommon when the treatment is properly administered and monitored.

Light therapy is one of the more effective options available for persistent skin conditions that haven’t responded to conventional treatment. 

Book an appointment with us today if you’re dealing with a skin condition that hasn’t responded to other treatments. Our team will assess your skin and determine whether light therapy is appropriate for you.