Phototherapy, together with heliotherapy (Helios, Gr. = sun), belongs to the medical treatments with light. Phototherapy works with artificial light sources such as UV or white light lamps. Heliotherapy, on the other hand, uses natural sunlight.
Fields of application of phototherapy
The following phototherapeutic areas of application are distinguished:
- Infrared light: heat radiation for rheumatic diseases or chronic inflammation (e.g., sinuses).
- White light: irradiations for sleep disorders and winter depression.
- UV radiation: skin diseases (neurodermatitis, psoriasis, acne), jaundice in newborns.
Phototherapy in the broadest sense is also the use of lasers, which in recent years has entered many areas of medicine (for example, surgery, ophthalmology, cancer therapy, cosmetic treatments).
Infrared light
The effects of the different forms of light on the body are very different. The infrared light has mainly a warming effect. It increases blood circulation, has a muscle relaxing and pain relieving effect.
UV light
UV light has a special effect on the skin. Irradiation can calm the immune system in the upper layers of the skin. This is important in allergic diseases such as neurodermatitis, as they are based on an overactive immune system.
Inflammatory skin diseases can also be alleviated. In psoriasis, the radiation has a growth-inhibiting effect and can thus stop the increased formation and desquamation of skin cells.
In pediatrics, UV light is used to treat jaundice in newborns. This yellowing of the skin is due to the storage of a degradation product of the red blood pigment hemoglobin, which can only be excreted in small quantities by the kidneys. UV irradiation causes the dye to break down into readily soluble components that can be excreted in the urine.
White light
Irradiation with white, bright light, which roughly corresponds to the composition of sunlight, is used primarily in the therapy of sleep disorders. This method is commonly referred to as light therapy.
Sleep disorders are often based on shifts in the biological daily rhythm (e.g. shift work). Irradiation in front of a light screen (“light shower”) can bring the organism back in line with the time of day. Light screens are also used in the treatment of so-called winter depression.
These mental disorders are triggered by a lack of sunlight, which leads to an imbalance of important messenger substances and hormones (melatonin, serotonin). Under no circumstances, however, should visits to commercial solariums be included. Light therapy with UV light must always be medically appropriate and monitored.
