Laser Treatment for Psoriasis
If you're living with psoriasis, you know how uncomfortable and embarrassing the red, itchy, scaly skin can be. Treatment options for psoriasis include steroid cream or other medicated creams, oral medications, and light therapy.
All of these treatments work well, but medications can have side effects and light therapy requires a regimen of three sessions a week for two to three months.
Choosing a Treatment for Psoriasis
There isn't a cure for psoriasis, and there isn't a perfect treatment either. Therapy for psoriasis can be demanding and cause side effects. So it's important that you understand what you're getting into. Before treatment, you should make sure that your doctor is comfortable prescribing systemic and biologic medications when they're necessary, advises Bruce E. Strober, MD, PhD, co-director of the Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Center at New York University. He says that some doctors are reluctant...
Read the Choosing a Treatment for Psoriasis article > >
Today, there is another option for treating psoriasis: lasers. This treatment uses intense, focused doses of laser light to help control areas of mild to moderate psoriasis without harming healthy skin around them. Targeted laser therapy is similar in effectiveness to traditional light therapy, but it works in fewer sessions with stronger doses of light that can reach deeper into the affected skin. The handheld laser wands are also good for reaching psoriasis in hard-to-treat areas, such as the elbows, knees, palms of the hands, soles of the feet, and scalp.
How do laser treatments for psoriasis work? Can they really clear up your skin? Here's what the research shows about this new treatment for psoriasis.
Psoriasis Laser Treatment: How It Works
Patients can have laser treatment for psoriasis in their dermatologist's office. Each session takes only a few minutes. During the treatment, the doctor aims the laser directly at patches of psoriasis. You might feel some warmth at the site or a snapping sensation against the skin.
Laser treatments for psoriasis use one of two types of lasers: a pulsed dye laser (PDL) or an excimer laser.
Pulsed dye lasers create a concentrated beam of yellow light. When the light hits the skin, it converts to heat. The heat destroys the extra blood vessels in the skin that contribute to psoriasis, without harming nearby skin. With this treatment, patients usually have 15- to 30-minute sessions every three weeks.
Excimer lasers aim a high intensity ultraviolet B (UVB) light dose of a very specific wavelength -- 308 nanometers -- directly at the psoriasis plaques. Because the laser light never touches the surrounding skin, it reduces the risk of UV radiation exposure. Excimer lasers are used to treat mild-to-moderate psoriasis. You'll have two treatments a week, with at least a 48-hour break between treatments.
Which laser is better? Both work pretty well. With PDL, you'll have fewer treatments and you may have fewer side effects. Some research indicates that the excimer laser works better overall, but PDL might be a better option for the small group of people that doesn't respond to the excimer laser.
Your doctor will determine your dose of laser light based on the thickness of your psoriasis plaques and your skin color (a lower dose is used on lighter skin). During the procedure, you should be given dark goggles to protect your eyes.
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