Light therapy for psoriasis: Experiences, opinions, advice

@Paticek90 Hello,

Thank yu for posting, I am sure there are some members on here who will be able to tell you about their experiences with light therapy :)

I have had light therapy it did a world of good but the downside is it can come back don't know with most people everyone different. I went 3 days a week the first was about 15 seconds then gradually the seconds went up then minutes. I would recommend it mine completely went after light therapy. But sadly it's creeping back slowly after 2 year ago. 

@goodygumdrops Thank you for sharing your experiences for@Paticek90‍!

I had a really bad flare up in December 2017 was away for  a long weekend and boom! I decided to look into purchasing a light therapy hand held unit I could use at home (NHS) would not cover sending me to hospital for it, I realised due to having guttate and some plaque psoriasis over 60% of my body a hand held would take a very long time.

I ended up purchasing a five tube unit which I stand in front of three times a week for 1-2 mins front, back and sides, pics show Jan 2018 when flare up was really bad then March 2018 when I had been using the light therapy unit for not quite 3 months, it wasn’t cheap but it is definitely one of the things that I have purchased in my life that has given me my life back, I have a couple of dots of psoriasis on my legs my arms are staying almost clear, this year I went abroad on holiday and swam in the sea! Something I have not done for 15 years plus, I am already booked to go abroad again in 2019 as I have hardly any inhibitions about my skin now. 

I have noticed if I lapse with the treatment it does come back, to any one thinking about trying a light therapy session do! Give it a few months and see what happens, I know we are all different and it may not work for some but it certainly has for me, I wish I had bought one years ago. 

@Chattycat Thank you so much for sharing, it is amazing the affect it has had on your skin. I hope this continues and you can carry on swimming in the sea :)

Hi there,  Many years ago I had light therapy and took a trial drug 8 methoxypsoralen prior to each treatment. It was very time consuming having to attend the hospital on specific dates and times and I found that quite stressful. I believe it worked, starting off on a really low dose (like going to the hospital for a 1 minute exposure and working the time up over a period of weeks) and in the end it was me that gave the treatment up, as I could not maintain the appointments combined with work. Several years back I just started attending the local sun tan centre prior to holidays and again this worked for a period of time, but like everything with psoriasis, the efficacy soon wears off. (That is until I was prescribed Humira subcutaneous injection fortnightly by the Dermatologist and have been clear for 2 years!!)   Whatever you decide I wish you the best of luck.

@Paticek90 yes I have had it 3 times yes it did work for me but once I have completed course it's starts to come straight back. 

I had light therapy a good thew years ago and it cleared it up it’s was really good for me and would recommend it to anyone wanting it the down side was it did come back but only after 2 years .I was going for the treatment for about 2 months 2 times a week 

Had light therapy a good few years ago and had no benefit from it whatsoever.  It was at a time when I actually lived in Cyprus so had an abundance of natural sunlight anyway.

My skin specialist decided that sunlight was not at all beneficial to me so I stopped the treatment.  I have to say that my psoriasis was always worse in the summertime and a lot better during the cooler winter months.  If you decide to have it I wish you luck.

i no longer suffer with proriasis, other than dry elbows, since my menapause.  Thankfully as my whole body was affected, but I am suffering from acute psoriatic arthritis.  I don’t know which is worse!

Hi never had light therapy ,my psoriasis was really bad ,I got cream from Gp and it done wonder in one week