Does PUVA treatment work?
PUVA is usually reserved for patients whose psoriasis is severe or is not responding adequately to other treatments. In most patients PUVA is effective at clearing psoriasis although psoriasis in body areas shielded from light (eg scalp, body folds) may not clear satisfactorily with PUVA.
What are the side effects of phototherapy in adults?
Phototherapy is a valuable therapeutic tool in Dermatology, but there may be drawbacks. Acute and long-term adverse effects, of variable severity, include skin erythema, xerosis, pruritus, blistering, altered pigmentation, photoaging, and photocarcinogenesis.
Is PUVA treatment painful?
PUVA pain is a rare, intermittent, severe burning pain that occurs 4–8 weeks after the onset of PUVA therapy. Because the pain worsens with ongoing therapy, PUVA must be discontinued and the pain usually resolves spontaneously in a few weeks.
What is PUVA used to treat?
PUVA is a combination of psoralen (P) and long-wave ultraviolet radiation (UVA) that is used to treat psoriasis and some other several severe skin conditions. Psoralen is a drug taken by mouth that makes the skin disease more sensitive to ultraviolet light.
How do you use PUVA?
For oral PUVA, methoxsalen capsules are taken two hours before the appointment for treatment. For bathwater PUVA, the patient soaks in a bath containing a solution of psoralens. In most cases, treatment is undertaken two or three times each week.
What are the complications of phototherapy?
The short-term side effects of phototherapy include interference with maternal-infant interaction, imbalance of thermal environment and water loss, electrolyte disturbance, bronze baby syndrome and circadian rhythm disorder.
Is PUVA chemotherapy?
PUVA Therapy Overview PUVA refers to the interaction of long wavelength ultraviolet light (320-400 nm) with a pharmaceutical molecule of plant origin, psoralen, producing a type of “photodynamic chemotherapy.” PUVA is useful in treating a number of human diseases.
What does PUVA mean in medical terms?
PUVA Therapy PUVA is the acronym for Psoralen + ultraviolet light A. PUVA is a type of phototherapy used in treatment of psoriasis and other skin conditions. Treatment requires the patient to ingest a light-sensitizing medication called psoralen before being exposed to UVA rays.
How long does PUVA treatment last?
PUVA can be used to treat the entire skin, or just localised areas, such as the hands and feet. With hand and foot PUVA, a psoralen gel is applied to the affected areas 15 minutes before each treatment with the UVA lamp. The treatments are usually given twice a week, for up to 10 weeks.