Sun exposure makes the skin darker due to the fact that sun exposure activates melanocytes in the basal layer of the skin, which are responsible for synthesizing pigments and then transferring them to the epidermis, making our skin yellow and darker. If a more efficient artificial ultraviolet light is used to irradiate the white spot directly, can we make it darker faster? This is vitiligo phototherapy, patients can regularly go to the hospital through the instrument direct irradiation of the affected area, so that the white spot gradually darken, this is also a common treatment to improve the skin symptoms.
The most commonly used phototherapy: 308nm laser treatment: for small area, limited type of vitiligo, patients can choose 308nm laser irradiation, this way of treatment is more efficient; NB-UVB ultraviolet therapy: if the white spot area is larger, 308nm laser is too expensive, then you should choose NB-UVB, NB-UVB can both single irradiation of the affected area, the disease area is very large patients also NB-UVB can irradiate the affected area alone, and patients with a large area of disease can also enter the whole body chamber to do whole body phototherapy. The above two modalities are suitable for most patients, unless they are suffering from photosensitive diseases (such as lupus erythematosus, solar dermatitis) or are taking photosensitive medications, then this therapy is not applicable. Treatment period: 308nm laser needs to be treated twice a week,; NB-UVB needs to be done every other day. If in the progressive stage, phototherapy should be combined with a combination of hormone therapy, and hormones should not be discontinued for this reason. 1 to 2 weeks after the start of phototherapy, patients should come to the hospital for follow-up to let the doctor see the effect in order to adjust the treatment plan. Generally speaking, it takes at least 1-2 months for the skin to recover and no immediate results will be seen.