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Whether it is psoriasis, atopic dermatitis/eczema, lichen planus, etc., the UVL from the bulbs in the box, or from the big bulb in the sky, enters your skin and affects cells’ functions various ways in epidermis, dermis and in your blood stream. Skin is filled with blood vessels that normally service all the tissue types in skin. The total volume of blood in the plumbing network pumped by your heart circulates through these cutaneous culverts in just a few minutes.
The UVL can dampen cantankerous, abnormal white blood cells while they float by in their conduits, causing a cutaneous curse (skin diseases) before they migrate into your skin proper. That means the UVL has affected white blood cells circulating throughout your entire body, creating a systemic treatment. This indicates that the beneficial biological results are not limited to skin, the largest organ of our bodies.
Radiating only blood has been done to treat cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, actually a systemic blood cancer that is thought to originate in skin. It is called extracorporeal (outside of body) photophoresis. The patient has a catheter inserted into a vein as an exit with the other end stuck into a vein downstream. As the blood passes outside, it flows in a tube through an ultraviolet light machine that delivers much higher doses than can be used on skin, to try to kill off the bad white cells and not the good guys. This permits the higher doses to blast away without barbecuing your hide in the process. The whole procedure is quite laborious and expensive, and is reserved for more “serious” diseases.
In the meantime, using your skin as the systemic portal of entry instead of by oral medication is quite convenient. Another doctor
column in the Aug. 10 USA Weekend magazine pointed out that UVL isn’t all bad and may be quite helpful in treating atopic dermatitis. This is not news to dermatology. That doctor omitted the long list of other light-responsive skin conditions.
One patient I dealt with who had horrible, lifelong atopic eczema, asthma and hay fever let me treat her with UVL-A and a drug called psoralen, a combination used in Egypt since 1300 B.C. Her skin cleared elegantly for the while, but unexpectedly her asthma also improved to the point that she needed only an antihistamine to control it. To date, I have not been able to interest any allergist/ internist in trying this as a study. Alas, and alack.
A lesson is that UVL often is more of a friend than a foe for certain external ailments. It can produce positive internal results appropriately employed. I trust this hint has been “enlightening.”
