What Conditions Do Medical Phototherapy Lamps Treat?
Ultraviolet light has many useful purposes, with UV electromagnetic radiation providing germicidal and healing properties. Medical phototherapy is the process of using various wavelengths of UV light to treat certain conditions. UV phototherapy lamps are useful in treating and providing relief to a variety of ailments and illnesses.
Phototherapy lamps are proven to treat many health conditions, including:
Neonatal jaundice - UV lamps are the main source of treatment to break down bilirubin in the blood that occurs when an infant’s liver is not yet fully capable of breaking down the toxins in the body. “Bili” lights help the baby’s body and prevent brain damage.
Mood disorders, depression – many people experience Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) during the winter months with less sunlight. Light therapy lamps help to treat depression which can be mild to severe and can improve symptoms of fatigue, lack of interest, and many other depressive symptoms.
Sleep disorders – phototherapy lamps treat sleep disorders, including jet lag, by helping the body to regulate the natural circadian rhythm.
Light therapy lamps also treat a host of skin conditions and are prescribed by dermatologists to ensure the right wavelength is used to treat specific conditions such as:
Acne – UV light is proven to help treat acne, which affects nearly 60 million people in the U.S. Topical treatments can minimize symptoms, but many are ineffective, leaving people looking for help. Combinations of red and blue light therapy have been proven successful in treating acne to reduce outbreaks and lessen the severity of symptoms.
Eczema – UV light is useful for successfully treating eczema with UVA, UVB, and narrow-band UVB wavelengths that reduce symptoms and help to clear skin.
Psoriasis – light therapy helps to treat psoriasis by successfully lessening the severity of symptoms and preventing outbreaks. Sometimes medication called Psoralen is used in conjunction with UVA and UVB wavelengths to help absorption for successful treatment.
Vitiligo – UV lights treat vitiligo which is a skin condition that leaves white patches on the skin due to a loss of melanin. Narrowband UVB lamps are a popular way to treat vitiligo and help repigment skin cells.
Ultraviolet medical phototherapy lights are used to treat these conditions and others, such as helping wounds to heal by increasing blood circulation and preventing infection. Photodynamic therapy, PDT, is a treatment where UV blue light is used in conjunction with medications to treat certain types of cancer and kill cancer cells or tumors of atypical growth.
As you can see, ultraviolet lamps have vast healing power, although the right type of lamp with the correct wavelength must be used to treat each condition. It is important to use light therapy correctly under a physician’s care.
LightSources is a leading global supplier of UV and fluorescent lamps using medical phototherapy as well as germicidal applications. Our UVC germicidal lamps are used worldwide to sterilize and disinfect in air purification systems, water treatment systems, and surface sterilization applications. Contact us to speak with an engineer about our many phototherapy lamps and our ability to design, engineer, and produce custom-designed wavelengths to meet your specific requirements.