Is Sunlight a Form of Therapy That Can Treat Plaque Psoriasis?

Ultraviolet light or phototherapy can be used to treat psoriasis, says Dendy Engelman, MD, a dermatologic surgeon with Metropolitan Hospital Center. Learn more about light therapy in this video.

Transcript

00:00

Ultraviolet light, or phototherapy

00:06

can be used to treat psoriasis. We use it in my office all the time with a narrow band of ultraviolet light, which

00:13

is the B spectrum, which is 311 nanometers of light. And so that's why when patients go into the sun,

00:20

if they have psoriasis, their skin does clear. It does get better, because ultraviolet light is actually

00:26

anti-inflammatory. It also suppresses the immune system, and we know that we have over-activity of our immune response when we have psoriasis.

00:33

So that is a treatment that we use in office, and oftentimes that people don't have access to phototherapy in a booth, or a laser,

00:41

we do encourage a little bit of natural sunlight. It's one of the few times a dermatologist will tell you to go get some sun.